MD Helicopters Gains Second Afghan Contract

MD Helicopters reported a follow-on contract from the U.S. Army to provide MD 530F Cayuse Warrior Scout attack helicopters to Afghanistan. Twelve more will be delivered under a firm, fixed-price contract “to meet the needs of the 2016 fighting season,” the company said. MD Helicopters supplied an initial 12 in 2015.

According to the company, the original 12 MD 530Fs were operational in theater in fewer than nine months from contract award and have participated in a number of successful operations. They are armed with FN Herstel gun pods and 2.75-inch rockets. Lynn Tilton, CEO of MD Helicopters, praised the type’s “reliability, ease of operation and proven close-air-support capabilities.”

Company officials told AIN at the LIMA Langkawai airshow in Malaysia last year that are offering the MD 530 series for direct commercial sale, as well as via U.S. Foreign Military Sales programs. Total training and maintenance solutions are available, equivalent to a “power-by-the-hour deal,” one said. Deliveries could be made nine months after contract.