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An AH-6i testbed aircraft being displayed to reporters at Boeing's Mesa production facility on 8 June. The Saudi Arabian National Guard is due to receive the first of its 24 helicopters in the coming weeks. Source: IHS/Gareth Jennings
Boeing will shortly begin delivering AH-6i Little Bird light attack and reconnaissance helicopters to Saudi Arabia, with the first of 24 platforms set to roll off the Mesa production line in Arizona in the coming days.
With aircraft 61001 now in the final phase of assembly following its return to the line from the paint shop on 6 June, deliveries of the first batch to the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) will begin before the end of the month.
Coincident with the aircraft deliveries, training of US instructor pilots is set to commence in the coming days also. The first SANG student pilots will arrive at Mesa at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2016, with about seven pilots typically rotating through Mesa for one year at a time before returning to Saudi Arabia.
Boeing was awarded the contract to build the AH-6i helicopters for the SANG in September 2014 (although this was actually revealed by company in late 2013). The imminent commencement of deliveries to the SANG comes approximately seven months after Boeing stood up AH-6i production in December 2015. Running parallel to the AH-64E Apache Guardian's 12-station assembly line at Mesa, the current seven-station AH-6i line (consolidating at five stations for full-rate production) will be putting out two helicopters per month. The last of the SANG's 24 platforms is set to arrive on the line in February 2017.
Boeing currently receives the 'green' AH-6i airframes from MD Helicopters Inc (MDHI), which builds them at its Monterrey facility in Mexico, ahead of systems assembly and integration by Boeing at Mesa. A company spokesperson said that, while this arrangement will continue for the first 24 helicopters, no decision has yet been taken as to whether or not it will continue after that.
The AH-6i is based on the 1960s-era Hughes Model 369 (OH-6 Cayuse in US Army service) light scout helicopter, and features an enhanced powerplant, payload, and avionics package.
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http://www.janes.com/article/61064/saudi-arabian-national-guard-to-begin-receiving-ah-6i-helos
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