Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] yesterday said that the Army initiated a contract for the OH-58 A2D cabin conversion upgrade program.
“We are pleased and proud that the United States Army has awarded us the first phase of the ‘A2D’ agreement,” said John Garrison, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter. “We have enjoyed a long tradition of cooperation and innovation with the U.S. Army and and the “A2D” program is yet another example of this tradition.”
The A2D conversion program is a service initiative to replace war time losses suffered by the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. This conversion program takes existing A model OH-58s and upgrades them to the D model.
“The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior is a significant work horse for our combat operations fleet,” said Col. Robert Grigsby, Army Armed Scout Helicopter project manager. “This conversion will ensure the Kiowa Warrior continues to be a combat multiplier on the Joint and combined battlefield across the full spectrum of military operations.”
The agreement calls for an initial conversion of eight cabins with an option for a second group of 10.
After the conversion of the 18 OH-58A aircraft, and establishment of a hot production line, Bell will be in a position to respond to the Army’s potential requirement to replace wartime losses with new metal cabins reducing overall fleet age.
The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior has the highest operational tempo–approximately 90 hours per month per aircraft flight utilization rate–highest readiness rates, in excess of 85 percent full mission capable, in the Army combat fleet of aircraft, the company said. The helicopter also is the most requested close air support aircraft in theater today.
The Kiowa Warrior has surpassed 630,000 total combat flight hours.
Bell is also developing an OH-58 Block II fleet representative demonstrator to facilitate prototyping activities to benefit Army future requirements.