Army Commences Kiowa Replacement Evaluation

Army Kiowa Replacement Attracting a Wide Variety of Competitive Bids

Army Aviation these days is certainly capturing the headlines in terms of controversy and future programme options.

The question of who will ultimately control the Iroquois and future Black Hawk fleet, what type of aircraft will replace the present Kiowas and what is the long-term fate of the fixed-wing element of Army Aviation presently are all major discussion points within DOD. Of these, the one that Army is hoping to gain the greatest degree of operational flexibility on is the eventual replacement of the long-serving Bell OH-58 Kiowa.

The Kiowa entered ADF service in 1971 and for its day represented a considerable improvement over the ageing and grossly underpowered Bell 47 Sioux. Today the same can be said for the range of potential Kiowa replacements, all of which boast a considerable improvement in payload/range and hot and high performance. What Army is seeking though is not a straight Kiowa replacement. If it were it would be looking more firmly at the US Army AHIP (Army Helicopter Improvement Programme), the military versions of the Aerospatiale Squirrel (already operated by the RAN & RAAF) and the McDonnell Douglas MD500/ 530 series.

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