Misplaced Pages

#436563

24-548: AH6 may refer to: Boeing AH-6 , an American helicopter gunship AH6 (highway) , a highway in the Asian Highway Network . The highway spans across South Korea, North Korea, Russia, China, and Kazakhstan. [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

48-445: A civilian MD 530F , first flew on September 8, 2004, and made its first autonomous flight (with safety pilot) on October 16, 2004. In April 2006, Boeing used the ULB to demonstrate the ability of another helicopter, in this case an AH-64 Apache to remotely control the ULB's weapons payload as a part of Boeing's Airborne Manned/Unmanned System Technology Demonstration (AMUST-D) program. For

72-603: A maximum mission payload of 2,400 lb (1,090 kg). The AH-6i is the export version of the AH-6S. The AH-6i first flew on September 16, 2009. Jordan has expressed interest in ordering the AH-6i in May 2010. In October 2010 Saudi Arabia requested 36 AH-6i aircraft with related equipment and weapons from the United States through a Foreign Military Sale . Kaman Corporation is developing

96-540: A retrofittable graphite epoxy rotorblade for the AH-6. In summer 2011, an H-6U performed autonomous landings on a moving truck bed for French companies Thales and DCNS for France's General Directorate for Armament , in preparation for sea trials on a French frigate in 2012. In October 2012, the AH-6i completed a flight demonstration for the U.S. Army in anticipation of the Armed Aerial Scout program. While

120-503: A usable external payload of 6,000 lb (2,720 kg) and has been used in theater to resupply Marines. Evaluations were to begin in February 2014 at Marine Corps Base Quantico . Marines at Quantico announced they had successfully landed an unmanned Little Bird, as well as a K-MAX, autonomously using a mini- tablet computer in April 2014. The helicopters were equipped with technology called

144-625: Is estimated to cost US$ 2 million. The systems related to the unmanned flight capabilities have also been designed to be able to be installed in any other helicopter as well, including the Apache. An Unmanned Little Bird performed a fully autonomous flight in June 2010, including avoiding obstacles using LIDAR . In 2009, it was reported that Boeing was working on the "AH-6S Phoenix" for the US Army's restarted ARH program, named Armed Aerial Scout . The AH-6S design

168-497: Is stretched by 15 inches (380 mm) to allow room for other ARH crew shot down in combat to be recovered. The aircraft also would feature an extended aerodynamic nose to house avionics hardware. AH-6S cockpit and main rotor composite blades are to be based the AH-64D Block III. The AH-6S will have an improved tail rotor and a more powerful Rolls-Royce 250-CE30 engine. The Little Bird has an endurance of 12 hours and carries

192-761: The Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter resulted in selection of the Bell ARH-70 Arapaho , but was ultimately not procured due to financial and other reasons, and the AAS program itself did result in a new design procurement. The next program lead to the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft , which was also halted before procurement. Meanwhile the OH-58 was retired by the 2020s, leaving the Army to fill

216-502: The United States Army 's Yuma Proving Ground , flying a pre-programmed 20-minute armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission around the facility. All previous flights during the 450 flight hour engineering development phase had a safety pilot on board, although the aircraft was typically flown remotely from the ground. With the successes of the ULB, Boeing incorporated its technologies into an A/MH-6, designating it

240-608: The A/MH-6X. On September 20, 2006, the first A/MH-6X lifted off on its maiden flight from Boeing Rotorcraft Systems' Mesa, Arizona facility with a pilot on board. While the ULB Demonstrator had a payload of 2,400 pounds, the MELB has an additional 1,000 pounds of payload capacity. The A/MH-6X is similar to the A/MH-6M, but includes a prototype glass cockpit and a number of upgrades to

264-603: The AH-6i is aimed at international customers, Boeing intends to offer it for the program. The Army ended the AAS program in late 2013. In December 2012, Boeing demonstrated the Unmanned Little Bird version of the AH-6 to the South Korean Army . The aircraft flew autonomously for 25 minutes to demonstrate the unmanned system's capabilities that can be integrated into Army MD 500 Defender helicopters. In September 2013, Aurora Flight Sciences and Boeing offered

SECTION 10

#1732851318437

288-510: The Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS), which combines advanced algorithms with LIDAR and electro-optical/infrared sensors to enable a person holding a tablet to select a point to land the helicopter at an unprepared landing site. Autonomous landing without the need for remote control or tele-operation reduces operator burden and allows them be resupplied or conduct other missions like medical evacuation around

312-525: The H-6U Little Bird for the U.S. Marine Corps unmanned lift intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capability competition. Boeing, working as a subcontractor, was flying the Little Bird without human input, but with a pilot on board to comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations during testing near Manassas, Virginia . The H-6U is competing against the unmanned Kaman K-MAX , which has

336-468: The clock. The AACUS weighs 100 lb (45 kg), so it can be easily integrated onto other aircraft like the CH-53E Super Stallion and V-22 Osprey . According to Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, Chief of Naval Research, operational use of the system could be possible by 2015–2016. The Office of Naval Research selected Aurora Flight Sciences and the Unmanned Little Bird to complete development of

360-408: The electronics and avionics. The A/MH-6X is an optionally manned or unmanned aircraft which is a hybrid of the ULB demonstrator and the A/MH-6M mission-enhanced Little Bird which is used by US Army Special Operations Command. Boeing funded the development program itself; it intends to market the aircraft for both military and homeland security roles within the U.S. and internationally. The aircraft

384-571: The expected $ 16 billion cost of a new armed scout helicopter fleet was concluded to be too much. The Army then moved on with considerations for scrapping the entire OH-58 Kiowa fleet and moving more AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the active Army for use in the scouting role. AAS requirements for a scout helicopter with increased speed, range, payload, and the ability to fly 6,000 ft (1,800 m) high at 35 °C (95 °F) temperatures will remain and whether one will be bought will depend on aircraft availability and Army funds. Even if

408-404: The gap with other types of aircraft and systems. The Armed Aerial Scout program replaced the previous Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program, which chose the Bell ARH-70 Arapaho that was canceled due to cost overruns. An Analysis of Alternatives was conducted and a Request for Proposals was planned to be issued in 2014. The U.S. Army had until December 2012 to decide whether to proceed with

432-468: The initial test, the Apache Longbow was on the ground, while the ULB was airborne several miles away and Hellfire missiles were fired from the ULB by a tester sitting at the co-pilot's station in the Apache. Both aircraft are equipped with tactical common data link equipment and technologies manufactured by L-3 Communications . The ULB Demonstrator first flew in the unmanned mode on June 30, 2006 from

456-445: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AH6&oldid=1097225054 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Boeing AH-6 The Unmanned Little Bird demonstrator, which Boeing built from

480-662: The pace of other technologies, such as unmanned capabilities and future sensors. The Army concluded that its decision for the AAS program would result in either a new development effort or a service life-extension program (SLEP) for the OH-58F Kiowa. Evaluations of commercial off-the-shelf designs were made from voluntary flight demonstrations in 2012. The five candidates included the OH-58F Block II , AH-6i , AAS-72X/X+ , MD 540F , and AW139M (used for demonstration, with AW169 AAS offered as candidate). The Sikorsky S-97 Raider

504-498: The program. On 29 November 2012, Army officials decided to proceed with the Armed Aerial Scout program to acquire a new scout helicopter. On 8 January 2013, the Army began redrafting the presentation for the service's vice chief of staff before they move ahead with a competition. Vice Chief of Staff General Lloyd Austin III requested more data from the voluntary flight demonstrations done on helicopter entries, as well as taking into account

SECTION 20

#1732851318437

528-559: The prototype AACUS system over Lockheed and the K-MAX. Data from The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, MD 530F data General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Armed Aerial Scout The Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) was the planned replacement for the OH-58 Kiowa in United States Army service. This program resulted after

552-411: Was allowed to continue to promote its offering in the program. In October 2013, the Army said that the AAS program was at risk of being delayed or canceled due to sequestration cuts. The Armed Aerial Scout program ended in late 2013 with no alternative scout helicopter being selected for procurement. In 2012, Army leaders had thought a new aircraft was the best option. After sequestration in early 2013,

576-402: Was offered, but no prototype was available for demonstration. Army evaluations concluded that no current aircraft met requirements. A decision on the Armed Aerial Scout program was expected "in late summer or early fall" 2013. Boeing had attempted to stop MD Helicopters from offering its MD 540F in the program, as it shared the same airframe design as Boeing's AH-6. In July 2013, MD Helicopters

#436563