美 육군의 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior 성능개량 소식...

 

美 육군이 총액 약 20억$ 의 예산으로 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior 에 대한 성능개량 사업을 진행할 것이라는

Flight International 기사를 소개 합니다.

 

이번에 진행하는 성능개량 사업은 조종석과 항전장비들에 대한 교체이며, 금년 4월에는 엔진 교체 사업

에 대해서도 진행 여부를 결정할 예정이라 합니다.

 

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DATE : 04/01/11

SOURCE : Flight International

Army launches OH-58F cockpit and sensor upgrade programme

By Stephen Trimble

 

The US Army has been cleared to launch a nearly four-year, $1.98 billion project to develop the first major technology upgrade for the Bell Helicopter OH-58D Kiowa Warrior in two decades.

 

The cockpit and sensor upgrade programme (CASUP) will convert the army's armed scout helicopter into the OH-58F model, with funding transferred from a cancelled programme that would have replaced the Kiowa Warrior with the Bell ARH-70 Arapaho.

 

The OH-58 fleet is now programmed to remain in service until 2025, or nearly 56 years after the first examples were delivered.

 

Lt Col Scott Rauer, Kiowa Warrior product manager, describes CASUP as a "fairly significant investment of dollars".

 

The work will replace the current aircraft's DRS Technologies mast-mounted sensor with a nose-mounted Raytheon common sensor payload. This will require airframe design changes, including raising the landing gear and rearranging the nose compartment.

 

"It provides long-term sustainment and viability for the aircraft to continue its mission because the aircraft has evolved in the battlefield," Rauer says.

 

However, the army may have to revisit the upgrade strategy for the OH-58 after April, when an analysis of alternatives is scheduled to be released presenting options for a long-term replacement. The study is considering a wide range of possibilities, including a more powerful, re-engined version of the OH-58.

 

 

  ⓒ Bell Helicopter

 

  ⓒ Bell Helicopter