Lebanon Air Force (Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniyya) has received six MD Helicopters Inc (MDHI) MD 530G light-attack helicopters from the United States. The helicopters are part of an arms package organised by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) office at the US embassy in Lebanon. The aircraft were flown to the Middle Eastern country aboard a Boeing 747-400F operated by National Air Cargo. The six helicopters that were contracted in late 2018 are part of a wider $120 million arms package from the US announced in 2017. They were supposed to have been delivered by the end of September 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to have played a major part in the delay to this timeline. The package was also to include Boeing Insitu ScanEagle unmanned air vehicles.
MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) announced receipt of the third Delivery Order issued against its 5-year, $1.4 billion light scout attack helicopter IDIQ contract. The firm, fixed-price award is for six (6) armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopters to be delivered to the Lebanon Air Force (LAF), and includes initial logistics support (ILS) for the aircraft, as well as aircraft systems, ground support equipment, and associated services. Awarded through U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, MDHI’s new MD 530G will receive a U.S. Army Airworthiness Release (AWR) by December 2019. All MD 530G aircraft deliveries to the Lebanon Air Force will be complete by the fourth quarter of 2020.
The Lebanon Air Force Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features MD Helicopters’ next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: Two (2) Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion Global’s PATHFINDER™ Mission Management System (MMS) and “ARES” Weapons Management System (WMS) on Dual Side-Mounted Mission Displays. The Lebanon Air Force MD 530G helicopters will also feature the Harris Falcon III® RF-7850A-MR Multi-channel Airborne Networking Radios with Advanced Encryption Standards (AES). MD Helicopters work with U.S. Army Aviation Engineering (AED) to ensure all aircraft are delivered with a full U.S. Army-awarded Airworthiness Release (AWR).
In addition to this advanced, all-glass cockpit, the MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter boasts an enhanced mission equipment package designed to meet a broad array of mission profiles, including: DillonAero Mission Configurable Armament System (MCAS), 62mm ballistic armor protection, Ballistically tolerant crashworthy fuel system, inclusive of main and auxiliary tanks, FN Herstal .50 caliber HMP 400 Machine Gun Pods, M260 7-shot rocket pods, 70mm/2.75” APKWS (Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System) rockets, WESCAM MX-10D EO/IR laser designator and Scorpion® Helmet-mounted Cueing System from Thales.
