Thailand will arm itself with light fire support helicopters. Yesterday, February 21, the press service of the US Department of Defense announced a contract with Boeing for the production of AH-6i Little Bird helicopters for Thailand.
Most likely, the order is part of a contract between the US and Thailand from 2019, when the US State Department approved the sale of eight AH-6i helicopters with an extensive package of weapons and support equipment.
AH-6i Little Bird Helicopter
Image source: boeing.com
The total package requested by Thailand was estimated at $400 million and included 50 Lockheed Martin AGM-114R Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, 200 BAE Systems Advance Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) guided missiles and 500 70mm Hydra missiles. In addition, the package includes machine guns, ammunition, as well as various electronic systems.
AH-6i Little Bird is a light multi-purpose helicopter that can be used for reconnaissance, escort and attack. Having a small size and weight, it is equipped with four points for suspension of the same weapons that are used on AH-64 Apache attack helicopters: M230 30 mm automatic cannon, guided (Hellfire, Stinger) and unguided missiles (Hydra 70). In addition, various machine guns, including large-caliber ones, can be installed on the AH-6i. For reconnaissance missions, as well as early detection of the enemy, the AH-6i helicopter uses the on-board surveillance module L-3 Wescam MX-15Di. It is equipped with infrared, video and thermal imaging cameras, as well as a laser rangefinder and a target designator, which is also used to guide missiles fired by other equipment.
The Boeing AH-6i Little Bird was developed on the basis of the AH-6 Little Bird combat helicopter designed for the Marine Corps and the US National Guard, which, in turn, is based on the MD 530F civilian helicopter. The use of a new onboard electronic system and the modernization of some elements in the design of the combat vehicle allowed the developers to create a versatile and relatively inexpensive multi-purpose helicopter.
The crew of the AH-6i helicopter can consist of one or two pilots, and in the absence of weapons, three more people can be accommodated in the passenger compartment. The length of the helicopter is 10 m with a rotor diameter of 8.3 m. The empty AH-6i weighs just over 700 kg, and its maximum take-off weight exceeds 1.6 t. The helicopter can reach speeds of over 280 km / h, the non-stop flight range is 430 km.
