Helicopter - Big buy by Afghanistan - ATW

Photo: MD Helicopters

MD Helicopters Lands $1.4B Order

MD Helicopters (MDHI) has been awarded a five-year, $1.385 billion contract to provide up to 150 MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters to the Afghan Air Force. The foreign military sale was contracted through the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The contract includes program management, delivery support, pilot training and maintenance. First contract deliveries will include a block of 30 MD 530Fs valued at $176.6 million to be delivered by September 2019. These first aircraft will be configured with MDHI’s newly certified Block 1 glass cockpit featuring the Howell Instruments engine instrumentation system, Garmin GDU 620 electronic flight instruments, Garmin GTN 650H communication/navigation/global positioning system and Northern Airborne Technology's cabin audio system. Mission equipment on the aircraft will include a ballistic crashworthy fuel system, consisting of a main fuel tank and a 38-gallon auxiliary fuel tank, high-capacity landing gear, FN Herstal weapons management system, DillonAero mission-configurable armament system weapons plank and fixed-forward sighting system, Rohde & Schwarz M3AR tactical mission radio, and FN Herstal .50 caliber HMP 400 machine gun pods and M260 seven-shot rocket pods. “It is extremely gratifying to see that our focus on quality, technology and rapid delivery has resulted in such a significant contract,” said MD Helicopters CEO Lynn Tilton.