MD Helicopters LLC (MDH) signed a 5-year, $19 million support contract with the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) to provide spare parts, repair & overhaul, and in-country technical and logistical support for SANG’s 12 x MD 530F light attack helicopter flight training fleet. The contract is for a base year plus four additional option years. Under the $19 million contract, MDH will supply a field service representative and logistics technician in Saudi Arabia to support fleet maintenance and parts management. Additionally, the contract provides aircraft materials to maintain the current fleet. The Saudi Arabian National Guard’s MD 530F fleet was previously maintained by an in-country contractor. MD Helicopters LLC staff are already on location providing support and over $1M of spare parts will be delivered this month.
“The Saudi Arabian National Guard is a long time MD customer, and it is our privilege to be their preferred partner for ensuring timely and cost-effective maintenance of the fleet. By working directly with MD, SANG will experience increased responsiveness, faster turn times, and higher quality work, which translates into time and money savings,” says Ryan Weeks, president at MD Helicopters.
The MD 530 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army’s OH-6A Cayuse/Loach light observation helicopter. Production of the type was continued into the twenty-first century by Hughes’ successor companies, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems, and subsequently MD Helicopters. Since being introduced in 1967, numerous models have been produced, often featuring a more powerful engine or a five-bladed main rotor in place of the original four-blade counterpart. The MD 530F (369F) is hot and high version of the MD 530 powered by a Rolls-Royce (formerly Allison) 250-C30HU rated at 650 shaft horsepower (485 kW), certified in 1984.The The MD 530F (369F) is a five-blade, four-passenger, single-engine, single-pilot capable, multipurpose aircraft designed to meet extreme requirements in hot-temperature, high-altitude operations.
The MD 530F uses a single Rolls-Royce (formerly Allison) 650 shaft horsepower (shp) turboshaft engine, is multi-mission capable and is currently in use globally by commercial, government, and foreign military operators. Its main rotor system consists of five fully articulated foldable blades, while the tail rotor system features two blades. The main rotor diameter is 8.38m and the tail rotor diameter is 1.55m. The helicopter is 9.8m-long, 2.6m-high, and the diameter of its main rotor diameter is 8.38m. Its empty weight is 722kg and the maximum gross take-off weight is 1,406kg. MD 530F can carry a useful load of 684kg, an external load of 979kg and a fuel load of 183kg. It is equipped with teardrop-shaped fuselage, which measures 7.04m-long and 1.4m-wide.
The Saudi Air National Guard is not, by tradition, issued equipment not used by the regular military; it does not possess any tanks but has several thousand wheeled armored fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers. It possesses its own helicopters and light aircraft and all the remaining types of military hardware including artillery. The Saudi Air National Guard operate 12 MD 530Fs. The department requested OEM support to increase the maintenance quality and material support. MD will provide direct support for the aircraft, which will improve maintenance and parts acquisition while reducing costs and down time. The in-person subject matter expertise and assistance with materials will allow SANG to be more responsive and available for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
MD Helicopters, LLC (MDH) manufactures high-performance rotorcraft solutions that support operators flying military, commercial, law enforcement, utility, and VIP mission profiles. With thousands of aircraft in service worldwide, MDH has been designing and building aircraft known for their safety, versatility, responsiveness, speed, and reliability since 1947. MD Helicopters, LLC is owned by an investment consortium comprised of MBIA Insurance, Bardin Hill Investment Partners LP, and MB Global Partners. MD Helicopters, LLC. was a subsidiary of Hughes Aircraft until 1984, when McDonnell Douglas acquired it and renamed it McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems. It later became MD Helicopters in 1999 after McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing.
