HUGHES AH-6J/MH-6J LITTLE BIRD NIGHTSTALKER

Hughes MH-6 / AH-6 Little Bird is a modern, light, multi-role American helicopter, with a fixed undercarriage, based on two skids in a classic arrangement with a main rotor and a tail rotor on the beam. The drive is provided by a single motor Rolls- Allison T63-A-5A with a power of 650 hp. The flight of the first prototype took place in 1963. The length of the machine's fuselage is 9.8 m, the diameter of the main rotor - 8.3 m, and the height is 3 meters. The Hughes MH-6 / AH-6 Little Bird was developed by the American arms company Hughes Helicopters (now part of the Boeing concern) for the needs of the American Special Forces, namely the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The main impulse to introduce these machines to the line was the 1980 operation "Orli Szpon", which ended in a prestigious failure. The helicopter is a far-reaching modernization of the standard OH-6 Cayuse. It is worth noting that there are two variants of this helicopter: MH-6, i.e. an unarmed transport variant, and AH-6, i.e. a fire support version capable of carrying 7.62 and 12.7 mm machine weapons and unguided rockets. Helicopters of this type participated in at least several special forces operations in South and Central America in the 1980s, as well as during the 2003 Gulf War.