TSAMTO, October 8. On October 6, the Lebanese Armed Forces Command announced the arrival at the Beirut Air Base of six MD-530F+ light reconnaissance and attack helicopters manufactured by MD Helicopters Inc, donated by the US government.
According to Jane's Defense Weekly, the helicopters were delivered to Beirut by a chartered cargo plane. The six MD-530s are part of a broader $120 million arms package, the transfer of which was announced in 2017. It was assumed that the equipment would be delivered from December 2019 to September 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic probably had a negative impact on the timing.
As reported by TSAMTO, in October 2018, MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) announced the conclusion of a contract with the US Military Command for the supply of 6 MD-530G light reconnaissance and attack helicopters for the Lebanese Air Force under the Foreign Military Sales program. The agreement also included the initial material support of equipment, the supply of on-board systems, ground support equipment and related services. It was noted that MD-530 helicopters will make it possible to protect the border with Syria more effectively.
As previously reported, the helicopters of the Lebanese Armed Forces will be delivered in a configuration with a certified glass cabin with two 6x9-inch Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 LCD displays, a PATHFINDER task management system manufactured by Tek Fusion Global, ARES weapon control system, a shock-resistant fuel system consisting of a main fuel tank and a 38-gallon additional fuel tank, a FN Herstal weapon control system, a reconfigurable weapon system (MCAS) DillonAero, a helmet-mounted aiming system SCORPION company Thales, ballistic protection kit, machine gun container HMP400 company FN Herstal with 12.7 mm machine gun M3, PU M260 with seven 70 mm NAR or 70 mm guided missiles APKWS (Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System), optoelectronic reconnaissance station MX-10D. The helicopters will also be equipped with Falcon III RF-7850A-MR radios from Harris.
MD-530F and MD-530G are developed on the platform of the model 369FF "Little Bird". The main differences between them are the improved MD-530G weapon control system in combination with the possibility of using guided ammunition. MD-530G comes with a fully "glass" cabin as standard (optional on MD-530F), as well as the MX-10D station of L3 Wescam and a targeting system. The MD-530F is equipped with two-point suspension fenders compared to the MD-530G's four-point fenders. In the configuration with the MCAS of DillonAero, which is equipped with helicopters designed for Kenya and Lebanon, there are up to 6 suspension points. It is not yet possible to accurately assess which modification of the helicopters were delivered, MD-530F+ as reported by the Lebanese Armed Forces or MD-530G, as previously reported, since their reverse assembly has not yet been completed.
