MD Helicopters (MDH), under new ownership since September 2022, is actively marketing its Cayuse Warrior Plus light scout, reconnaissance and attack helicopter, which it no longer refers to using an MD500/520/530 series designation. According to the company, the Cayuse Warrior Plus is an all-military helicopter from the ground up, and is much more than a commercial helicopter with military equipment “bolted on”.
Since the company was acquired under bankruptcy protection, it has closed down its former airframe manufacturing facility in Mexico and its helicopters are now made entirely in Mesa, Arizona. The company takes an MD530 airframe at an early point on the production line and makes major and irreversible changes, strengthening the airframe to cope with the rigors of military operations, with new bulkheads, a ballistically tolerant crashworthy fuel system, high-capacity landing gear, and new fairings that allow the doors to be closed when weapons are carried.
The latest variant has a new Dillon Aero weapons plank, with hardpoints that can be moved to compensate for changes in the helicopter’s center of gravity and adapt to asymmetric load outs. The Cayuse Warrior Plus incorporates a weapons management system from Moog, in place of the Dillon Aero system used in previous Cayuse Warrior variants, such as those supplied to Afghanistan, Lebanon and Kenya. The Plus mounts an under-nose L3Harris Wescam MX-10D sensor turret that enables the use of precision-guided weapons such as the AGM-114 Hellfire missile and APKWS (Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System) guided rockets, providing what MD Helicopters’ Senior Director of Sales, Steve Suttles, calls “a lethal, qualified precision kill capability.” While the helicopters supplied to Lebanon have a sensor turret and are sometimes referred to as “Plus” machines, they do not have the same precision weapons capabilities.
Speaking at the IDEX defense show in Abu Dhabi last week, Suttles said that MD Helicopters has “start-up levels of energy and resourcing” and is confident of a healthy order book. While the company will not talk about potential customers, AIN’s Emirati sources suggest that the Joint Aviation Command is looking at the Cayuse Warrior Plus to augment its NorthStar Bell 407 MRHs, with a requirement for about 24 helicopters, while an African nation (believed to be Nigeria) is seeking an initial batch of 24, to be followed by 12 more per annum over the following three years.
While Suttles was unwilling to talk about competing helicopters, he was keen to emphasize that the Cayuse Warrior Plus is “the very best helicopter in its class technically, and from a price standpoint and a delivery standpoint,” stressing that aircraft could be delivered within 12-18 months of an order being placed.
Suttles also told AIN that the Cayuse Warrior Plus was “not competing in quite the same space,” as the Boeing AH-6i Little Bird, which ironically uses an airframe supplied by MDH. He acknowledged the higher gross weight conferred by the AH-6i’s six-bladed main rotor but insisted that the Cayuse Warrior Plus represents a compelling alternative to more expensive scout helicopters, including the AH-6i. “We can do everything that they can, at a much lower price point.”
While the U.S. government categorizes the AH-6i as a Foreign Military Sales-only aircraft under its defense export rules, Suttles said that the Cayuse Warrior Plus is more exportable, potentially available via Direct Commercial Sales, and is fully ITAR-approved and -compliant.