Fri, Aug 17, 2007
Fleet Has Accumulated Over 1.4 Million Flight Hours
Bell Helicopter tells ANN the US Army fleet of OH-58 Kiowa
helicopters has accumulated in excess of 1.4 million flight hours
and over 300,000 combat flight hours. Despite these high usage
rates, the daily combat scenario and the harsh environmental
conditions, the OH-58D continues to achieve readiness rates above
80 percent, according to Bell.
Army CW-4 Darren Monroe sums up how commanders in the field feel
about the Kiowa when he stated, "The Kiowa Warrior is the preferred
aircraft when the ground commanders call for air support."
LTC James Barker, Commander of 2-6 Cav added, "Ninety-nine
percent of the convoys that roll out with Kiowa Warrior coverage
are not attacked in any way, shape or form. The Kiowa is to OIF
(Operation Iraqi Freedom) what the A-10 was to Desert Storm."
The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior was first deployed to support combat
operations back in 1998, when it was used to control Iranian
gunboats in the Persian Gulf. From those operations it has moved
from one mission to the next including Operation Desert
Shield/Desert Storm (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), and many others.
During all of these missions the Kiowa and its crews have compiled
an enviable readiness record as the most reliable helicopter in the
Army's inventory.
The Kiowa Warriors are being flown at up to 10 times the normal
number of planned hours... and are able to do so, Bell says,
because of the efforts of both the uniformed personnel and the Bell
support team.
"These high mission capable rates are a result of lots of
factors and Bell is proud to build such a robust platform, but the
real accolades need to go to the men and women in uniform who are
out there on the front line working in unbelievably harsh
conditions servicing these helicopters day in and day out," said
Bob Cook, Bell's executive director for fielded systems. "And our
hat goes off to them."
Bell Helicopter produces commercial and military, manned and
unmanned vertical lift aircraft and the pioneer of the
revolutionary tilt rotor aircraft. Bell's global workforce serves
customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.
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