The MD 530F Cayuse Warrior is an armed variant of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter built by MD Helicopters. The helicopter can be deployed in tactical, reconnaissance and transport operations, as well as carry out airborne law enforcement, executive and personnel transport, air medical services, search-and-rescue (SAR), firefighting and other public safety missions. The MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopter is armed with FN HMP400 LCC (links and case collector) coaxial airborne weapon system developed by FN Herstal. The machine gun pod features .50cal FN M3P machine gun. The weapon system supports all types of 12.7mm x 99mm Nato ammunition rounds. The FN HMP400 has a fully loaded weight of 138kg and ammunition storage capacity of 400 rounds. The weapon system can fire at a rate of around 1,100 rounds a minute. The helicopter can also be attached with Mace Aviation-developed Extended Range Weapons Wing (ER2W), which has four weapons stations and a 35gal internal fuel tank.
The MD 530F helicopter features T-shaped instrument panel installed with an avionics suite, Garmin G500H dual-screen flight display, night-vision-goggle (NVG) devices, and dual LH command flight controls. The Cayuse Warrior helicopter is also equipped with Rhode & Schwarz M3AR tactical radio communications solution with a frequency range from 30MHz to 400MHz. The MD 530F helicopter is driven by Rolls-Royce 250-C30 turboshaft engine, which generates a power of 485kW. The helicopter has a take-off power of 317kW and maximum continuous power of 280kW. The helicopter can fly at a maximum cruise speed of 248km/h and has a maximum range of 430km and service ceiling of 5,700m. It climbs at a rate of 10.5m/s and can endure airborne for more than two hours. The hover-in-ground effect (HIGE) and the hover-out-of-ground effect (HOGE) are 4,877m and 4,389m respectively.
