Last week, Boeing informed about the successful maiden flight of the first AH-6 Little Bird light attack helicopter for Thailand. The event took place on 22nd August 2024 at the company´s site in Mesa, Arizona.
In February of 2022, the US Department of Defense awarded Boeing with a 103.8 million USD contract to produce eight AH-6 rotorcraft for Thailand. The Royal Thai Army had procured the AH-6 as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance aviation readiness and modernize national defence capabilities. The purchase package includes eight Little Birds, spare parts, training devices, support equipment, and technical publications for the Thai customer. All the rotorcraft are expected to be delivered to the Royal Thai Army by May of 2025.
´With its superior performance and flexible, easily configurable mission equipment, the Little Bird packs enormous versatility into a small, combat-proven package to get the job done,´ said Christina Upah, vice president of Attack Helicopter Programs and senior Boeing Mesa site executive. ´We are proud to partner with the U.S. Army to provide Thailand with these critical defence capabilities, and we look forward to supporting training for the first Thai Little Bird pilots in the near future.´
The company stated that featuring a purpose-built military fuselage, integrated cockpit, and the latest fully integrated weapons, the AH-6 was designed for a wide range of missions and operating environments to meet customers’ needs around the world.
After completing the Thailand’s AH-6 fleet, Boeing will train the Royal Thai Army pilots at the company´s Mesa site, as well as at the US Army Yuma Proving Ground. There, the Thai crews will learn to operate the Little Bird and leverage versatile mission capabilities of the helicopter.
All photos and quotations © Boeing. Information from the Boeing Company press releases were used.
