Cutting the kiowa down
Cutting the Kiowa Down
Removal of the OH-58D(R) Kiowa
The government decision to remove the OH-58d(R) Kiowa Warrior from its inventory is hasty. Their quick decision to remove certain aircraft and fill in slots with other does not seem logical. The Army is also changing its inventory by playing a poorly planned game of leap frog with the AH-64 Apache and the UH-60 Blackhawk moving them between Active and the National Guard. The overall plan is to make the Apache the primary and only helicopter for recon and observation in the United States army. In the beginning the Kiowa was a single-engine and single-rotor. Primarily used for observation helicopter and a few direct fire support missions on the battle field. The army needed a recon helicopter that could fly in to hostile territory and observe from a distance without being seen and still have the fire power to return to the enemy if needed. After several modifications the OH-58D was born and pushed out to the units. The Kiowa has been serving in many missions since 1969 such as Vietnam, Iran-Iraq war, Panama, and Afghanistan and with several side missions as well. Since the war on terrorism the Kiowa has flown over 800,000 combat hours, and it has the best Operational Rate (OR) in the fleet at 85% highest in the army’s aviation fleet and it also has the highest OPTEMPO standing at 85 hours. . In 2004 the Kiowa was on the list to be replaced by the high cost RAH-66 Comanche. The Comanche was a technology advance helicopter with high versatility in the air and weaponry. Due to the high cost to build and burning more than 7 billion dollars, the army stopped the project with no replacement. The role of armed aerial scout or the armed reconnaissance helicopter (ARH) will be temporarily cover by the apache till a successor of the Kiowa is crowned by the army, which brings up the discussion of biding from competing companies. . Implementing a new helicopter will cost billions of dollars in development,
Removal of the OH-58D(R) Kiowa
The government decision to remove the OH-58d(R) Kiowa Warrior from its inventory is hasty. Their quick decision to remove certain aircraft and fill in slots with other does not seem logical. The Army is also changing its inventory by playing a poorly planned game of leap frog with the AH-64 Apache and the UH-60 Blackhawk moving them between Active and the National Guard. The overall plan is to make the Apache the primary and only helicopter for recon and observation in the United States army. In the beginning the Kiowa was a single-engine and single-rotor. Primarily used for observation helicopter and a few direct fire support missions on the battle field. The army needed a recon helicopter that could fly in to hostile territory and observe from a distance without being seen and still have the fire power to return to the enemy if needed. After several modifications the OH-58D was born and pushed out to the units. The Kiowa has been serving in many missions since 1969 such as Vietnam, Iran-Iraq war, Panama, and Afghanistan and with several side missions as well. Since the war on terrorism the Kiowa has flown over 800,000 combat hours, and it has the best Operational Rate (OR) in the fleet at 85% highest in the army’s aviation fleet and it also has the highest OPTEMPO standing at 85 hours. . In 2004 the Kiowa was on the list to be replaced by the high cost RAH-66 Comanche. The Comanche was a technology advance helicopter with high versatility in the air and weaponry. Due to the high cost to build and burning more than 7 billion dollars, the army stopped the project with no replacement. The role of armed aerial scout or the armed reconnaissance helicopter (ARH) will be temporarily cover by the apache till a successor of the Kiowa is crowned by the army, which brings up the discussion of biding from competing companies. . Implementing a new helicopter will cost billions of dollars in development,