Will "Little Bird" solve the big problems of American special forces?
The US Special Operations Command is frankly saying: more is needed! More than what and for whom - this is the question of our review. This is a helicopter for special operations.
The fathers of American special forces commanders are like blood crows craving the increase in speed and payload that should come with the new helicopter.
We are talking about replacing the M / AH-6 "Little Bird" with something more modern, because today the "Little Bird" does not meet the requirements of SOCOM and there is no certainty that the helicopter will remain in service with the commandos after 2030, when new ones will enter service. machines developed in the framework of the FVL program.
More precisely, within the framework of the FLRAA (Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft) subprogram, where work is underway to create an assault helicopter with an increased flight range, which should seem to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 "Black Hawk" medium multi-purpose helicopter. Yes, the “Hawk” can no longer cope at all and really needs to be replaced.
Competitive trials for applicants for a share in the military budget should begin in the fall of 2022.
Bell and Sikorsky became the finalists in the competition, the latter entered into an allied agreement with Boeing. Comparative tests should show who is better, Bell V-280 "Valor" or Sikorsky / Boeing SB-1 "Defiant", respectively.
The choice of one device for further implementation based on comparative tests of demonstrators is expected to be completed by early 2022, the first prototype should be ready by 2025, and serial deliveries are planned to begin in 2030.
There is no doubt that the M / AH-6 "Little Bird" will survive until this time. Another question: what's next? After all, the service life of the "Bird" is neither more nor less, but 42 years. An impressive figure that designers and manufacturers can be proud of, if it weren't for ... If it weren't for the rapidly changing world, not for the better.
And in today's world, the M / AH-6 "Little Bird" remains the slowest of the three helicopters that are involved in special operations by the same 160th Special Operations Regiment "Night Hunters". The larger MH-60M "Black Hawk" and MH-47G "Chinook", which are used for long-range operations, are larger and faster.
And, despite this, they want to change the Black Hawk.
But what to do with the M/AH-6 "Little Bird", which is also highly revered and needed as a vehicle for commando raids and close air support in cramped urban environments, landing sites in dense jungles and in other places where the "Black Hawk" cannot participate in the first place due to its size.
In general, the presence of three machines of different sizes allows a more flexible approach to the issues of transport support for ongoing operations, adapting the use of helicopter types directly to each individual mission.
Of course, since its appearance in the US Army, the "Little Bird" has gone through a rather long modernization path, which has generated several interesting modifications. The AH-6C became a lightweight fire support variant capable of carrying weapon on two or four external hardpoints, the EH-6E model is used for electronic warfare and reconnaissance, or is used as an air command post.
The MH-6H model is an improved version of the support helicopter, which allows you to fight the ground forces of the alleged enemy. To fight aviation or open combat, the helicopter has practically no armor, but the machine can provide some fire support to its paratroopers. A set of weapons may include a 30 mm aviation automatic cannon, 2 machine guns of 7,62 mm caliber, 2 heavy machine guns of 12,7 mm, 2 blocks of unguided rockets, 2 anti-tank missiles.
In general, the "Bird" with its small size turned out to be a really decent "street fighter" capable of operating in urban conditions at minimum heights. And even today, the helicopter is quite relevant, there are very few models in the world equal to it.
But Jeffrey Downer, who is in charge of aviation at SOCOM, believes that the days of "Little Bird" are passing. And by 2043, when vehicles developed under the FARA / FLRAA program appear in service, the M / AH-6 “Little Bird” will retire.
At an industry conference for SOF forces in Tampa in May 2022, Downer said:
“Our Little Birds fly at 90 knots (150 km/h). FARA gives us the ability to fly more than twice as fast at 180 knots (300 km/h). For the FLRAA, this requirement is 230 knots (370 km/h), which is well above the 110-120 knots (180-200 km/h) we are flying right now on the MH-60M Black Hawk.
My biggest concern is that we are upgrading our fleet to fly 200+ knots, and I have a helicopter that is 80-90 knots so it can't keep up."
Despite this, Downer said, work on the modernization of "Little Bird" will continue. Today, the M / AH-6 "Little Bird" fleet consists of almost two families of machines. AN-6 are support helicopters that perform not only the functions of delivering troops to the place of the operation, but also provide fire support. MN-6 - unarmed versions used exclusively for transport purposes.
The entire fleet of A/MH-6s is in Block 2.2 configuration, which includes survivability upgrades, emergency seats and sealed fuel tanks. In the near future, the helicopters will receive a set of modernization improvements, including a new six-bladed main rotor system, which should improve the aircraft's flight characteristics.
The Block 3.0 upgrade, due to begin in 2023, will bring the Little Birds new larger-diameter composite propellers, a new set of electro-optical and infrared tracking sensors in a new cockpit. As conceived by the designers carrying out the modernization, the bird's cabin should become more unified with the Chinook and the Black Hawk.
The question arises: why? Especially given the moment that new, faster and more modern cars are just around the corner?
Well, first of all, then, that “Freedom”, “Independence”, “Zamwalt” and “George Bush”. And if you take aviation, not everything is beautiful and fast there either. There are enough long-term construction projects, this is generally a common thing today, and not only in the USA. And no one today, in 2022, will give guarantees that in 2034 everything will be smooth and beautiful.
Meanwhile, commandos are the most sought-after troops in the US Army. And without helicopters, they will really look bad when performing their tasks.
Downer (and in his person all American special forces) needs a helicopter (or a vehicle of a different layout), small, maneuverable, light, capable of delivering 4-6 people with weapons to the site of the operation. And it would be absolutely nice if this device could be transferred to the other side of the world (and the United States has interests everywhere) in the cargo compartment of the C-130.
Well, and the fact that American special forces are increasingly working in cities, this helicopter should not be afraid of dense urban development.
In general, yes, the M / AH-6 "Little Bird" is ideal in all respects, except for speed.
The most interesting thing is that modern concepts that are born in the FLRAA program will not be able to confidently replace the "Little Bird".
The Bell 360 "Invictus" helicopter from the FARA program and the Sikorsky "Raider X-compound" from there will definitely not be able to replace the M / AH-6 "Little Bird".
The Sikorsky specialists say that the weapon storage compartment in the Raider, which is located behind the cockpit, can be rebuilt to carry troops, but Bell cannot do this in its Invictus.
In addition, both helicopters have rotors larger than the "Bird" in diameter. Almost three meters, which will not allow the use of cars in missions related to urban development.
So it is clear that some M / AH-6 models will remain in service until 2038. According to the same Downer, when there is something to replace the "Bird", then the replacement processes will begin.
In the meantime, no matter how much you would like something new, but the "Little Bird" will play its big role in the everyday life of American commandos. Indeed, a helicopter that can be loaded into a C-130, unloaded somewhere in Nairobi and flown on a mission is a powerful thing.
“We've kind of pushed the boundaries in terms of what we can get from Little Bird and we're trying to figure out what the next helicopter will look like. We could continue to build on this platform, but since there is another one, we are looking at what can be done based on its capabilities.” - Downer.
And then the fun begins.
2034 year. FARA vehicles should start coming into service, but SOCOM… is waiting for the Block 4 configuration for “Little Bird”!
Downer is talking about a more powerful hybrid engine that will give the Birdie more range. It is planned to slow down the rotational speed of the main rotor at cruising speed in order to reduce the drag of the machine.
“We need this street fighter. We need this helicopter that can deploy quickly, so we will have some mixed designs in the future.” - Downer.
So no matter how much you would like to get a new car at your disposal, it will still be the old “Little Bird”, which has no equal in terms of capabilities in the American army and is not expected in the near future. Hence the beginning of a new chain of upgrades.
In general, everything is logical. If we take Russia, then we have the T-14 Armata, we have the T-90M Vladimir, but work on hundreds of T-72Bs does not stop. Fine-tuning to T-72B3 and T-72B3M allow tank be relevant, despite the half-century age of the machine.
Exactly the same thing happens with the M / AH-6. There will be new helicopters - great. No - the American commandos have someone to count on.
But much less attention is paid to what will become of the Black Hawk and Chinook. Yes, work is underway on the MH-60M "Black Hawk" and MH-47G "Chinook". Both helicopters will receive a next-generation tactical radio system and upgraded Silent Knight radars in 2023. It is believed that the Silent Knight all-weather radar will allow helicopters to significantly increase their flight capabilities in all weather conditions and at any time of the day.
Otherwise, Downer and SOCOM are confident that the new vehicles created under the FLV program, be it the Bell V-280 "Valor advanced" tiltrotor or the Sikorsky-Boeing "Defiant X compound" helicopter, will be able to replace aging special forces vehicles.
Except M/AH-6.
SOCOM works very closely with the army in terms of the implementation of orders for military equipment. But if for some reason the new FARA or FLRAA vehicles do not meet the requirements of the commandos, then they will have to get out of the situation on their own.
Helicopters of new programs fully meet the requirements of the army, which simply does not need a "street fighter". So it is understandable why SOCOM decided to act independently, upgrading the M / AH-6 for their own needs.
But if they decide to retire the Little Bird, the American commandos could really have a big headache in replacing a small but very useful helicopter.
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