The Chilean Army has a requirement to replace its 1990-vintage MD 530F Lifter helicopters. Source: IHS/Gareth Jennings.
Boeing and MD Helicopters Inc (MDHI) look set to pitch their 'Little Bird' light attack helicopters against each other as they compete to fulfil an expected requirement to replace Chile's ageing MD 530F Lifters.
Boeing's AH-6i and MDHI's MD 530F, MD 530G, and 540A platforms are derived from a common Hughes Model 369/OH-6 Cayuse predecessor, more commonly known as the Little Bird, and with the Chilean Army looking to replace its older model MD 530Fs, both companies are likely to propose their latest generation offerings as a tailor-made solution.
The Chilean Army is believed to currently field seven MD 530Fs that it received in 1990. Delivered in an unarmed configuration, these were later modified by the service to carry machine guns and/or rocket pods. These ageing platforms now need to be replaced by newer and more reliable platforms.
With the AH-6i, MD 530F, MD 530G, and 540A all using the same basic airframe and many of the systems as the older MD 530Fs, both Boeing and MDHI will be stressing the procurement, training, and sustainment savings that could be made with their respective Little Bird offerings, as well as the operational advantages that would come with fielding the latest version of the helicopter.
With more than 1,400 OH-6As having seen service with the US Army, and nearly double that number of MD 500-series aircraft still flying with militaries and police forces throughout the world (including the US Army's famed 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment [SOAR] 'Night Stalkers'), the AH-6i, MD 530F/G, and MD 540A all come from a highly capable and proven lineage.
As with all Little Bird variants, these latest offerings are agile, fast, and have great lethality, as well as being affordable to procure and operate, and simple to maintain. Common specifications include a compact footprint - the main rotor system has a diameter of only 8.33 m, and the airframe is only about 9.95 m in length - a six-bladed main rotor assembly with composite blades, a chin-mounted electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensor turret (although not for the baseline MD 530F), the same crash-resistant A-frame structure with rugged skid landing gear, and two or four stub-wing-mounted weapon stations.