Kiowa upgrades improve aircraft, extend service life
HUNTSVILLE, Al  - For more than two decades, the Kiowa Warrior has played an
Mag. Gen. William "Tim"Crosby, PEO Aviation Commander, discusses the Kiowa Warrior upgrade program.
important part in Army aerial reconnaissance, providing eyes and ears to troops on the ground. It remains one of the most used aircraft in the Army, but has not had a substantial upgrade since its introduction in 1990.
But a team of engineers and technicians at the Army's Prototype Integration Facility, a part of the Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center is developing the technology for the first major upgrade. In the largest and most comprehensive development program that the AMRDEC's PIF has ever undertaken, the Project Office for Armed Scout Helicopters is coordinating technologies developed by the PIF and original equipment manufacturers to convert the OH-58D into the next generation OH-58F.
The upgrade is essential to meeting the Army's goal of keeping the OH-58 operational to at least 2025, said Lt. Col. Matthew Hannah, Kiowa Project Manager a the Army's PEO-Aviation. "In the world of what we do, this is a great day," he said. "These upgrades address some significant obsolescence issues."
By acting as lead systems integrator, the Army, for the first time, is actually building helicopters in Huntsville.
Under the Cockpit and Sensor Upgrade Program (CASUP) the Kiowa will get electronic, avionic, and mechanical changes designed to make the aircraft easier to fly, lighter in weight, and more effective in its mission. A nose-mounted Common Sensor Payload (CSP), housing cameras and other sensors, will give pilots better situational awareness, said Maj. Jeff McCoy, Kiowa Assistant Product Manager. Increased Height Landing Gear (IHLG) will elevate the helicopter slightly higher off the ground to allow for the sensor package.
Flying the Kiowa will be easier for the two-man crew, thanks to an upgraded Control and Display Subsystem with three all-color displays, and a new Digital Intercommunication System. "This will significantly reduce the total amount of work the copilot will have to do," said McCoy.
PIF engineers are working on a totally new wiring harness that will save about 19 pounds. Together with other upgrades, they aim to trim at least 40 pounds from the Kiowa's weight - savings that allow more ammunition or fuel to be carried.
In a hangar at Madison County Executive Airport, two stripped-down OH-58Ds await their upgrades, the first two of three to be converted in Huntsville. Three more will be modified at the Army's Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) as the program's production process moves into low rate initial production phase in 2015. These will be the first of more than 350 OH-58D models to be upgraded to OH-58A status.