WacoTrib By MIKE COPELAND 4/30/2019
L3 and AVX Aircraft of Fort Worth are in the running to land a contract to replace the the OH-58
Kiowa helicopter, seen here in 2015 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. The OH-58
was in continuous use by the U.S. Army since 1969 and had seen combat in every conflict since
Vietnam before their use was discontinued several years ago.Attack helicopters hovering over Waco may sound far-fetched, but L3 Technologies has joined AVX Aircraft Co., based in the Fort Worth area, in designing a chopper to meet U.S. Army specifications with an eye toward landing a production contract.
Such a deal would represent a coup for New York-based L3 Technologies, which operates an aircraft modification plant at Texas State Technical College airport but has not historically built choppers. L3 has operations worldwide, but the U.S. Army specifically mentioned Waco in an announcement last week listing companies tasked with creating competing designs.
The L3-AVX team is one of five groups the Army has chosen to design, build and test a “Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft.†The Army will choose two finalists to build and test a prototype by 2023, with field-ready production to start by 2028, according to Army press releases. The new helicopter will be a replacement for the OH-58 Kiowa helicopter discontinued several years ago.
L3 officials have declined to comment much beyond a press release.
More:
https://www.wacotrib.com/news/business/l-competing-for-military-helicopter-contract/article_7b19ed5e-1ca1-5625-a51f-cbb3f12d9103.html
