DCS: OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (2024)

FAQs

Is the Kiowa Warrior retired? ›

The OH-58C was the final Kiowa variant in service with the U.S. Army, with it being used as a training aircraft. On 9 July 2020, the US Army retired the last OH-58Cs from service.

The Army retired its last OH-58 Kiowa Warrior in 2020. There is no replacement. The Army has canceled development of the Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft, or FARA, marking the end of the service's latest program meant to replace the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, which was retired in 2020.

The estimated cost is $100.8 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Kiowa Warrior is equipped with two universal quick-change weapons pylons. Each pylon can be armed with two HELLFIRE missiles, seven HYDRA 70 rockets, two air-to-air Stinger missiles, or one . 50 caliber fixed forward machine gun.

The Army utilized the OH-58D during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Unfortunately, the higher-density altitude in Afghanistan caused complications for the underpowered, single-engine helicopter. Due to combat and accidents, more than 35 airframes were lost, and 35 pilots were killed.

In 1867, the Kiowa were moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. Today, they are federally recognized as Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma with headquarters in Carnegie, Oklahoma. As of 2011, there were 12,000 members.

Though similar in appearance to the civil Bell 206A JetRanger, the OH-58A has significant differences and few parts are interchangeable between models. The Kiowa's main rotor blades and tail boom are longer than the JetRanger's. The rotor system turns at a slower r.p.m. Landing skids are mounted differently.

Adjusting to the changing nature of war was one of the justifications for the FARA cancelation — taking “aggressive measures to pivot the investment strategy” from FARA to more sensors and weapons mounted on unmanned systems as well as investments in existing platforms and the continuing FLRAA program.

The civilian version of the Chinook is the Boeing Vertol 234. It has been used by civil operators not only for passenger and cargo transport, but also for aerial firefighting and to support logging, construction, and oil extraction industries. The ACH-47A was originally known as the Armed/Armored CH-47A (or A/ACH-47A).

In religion the Kiowas were polytheistic and animistic. There was a general belief in supernatural agencies. Their great tribal ceremonial was the Sun Dance or K'ado in early summer. In the Sun Dance the tribe came together for ten days or more.

What race is Kiowa? ›

Kiowa, North American Indians of Kiowa-Tanoan linguistic stock who are believed to have migrated from what is now southwestern Montana into the southern Great Plains in the 18th century.

Around 1790, the two groups made an alliance and agreed to share the area. From that time on, the Comanches and Kiowas formed a deep bond; the people hunted, traveled, and fought wars together. An additional group, the Plains Apache (also called Kiowa-Apache), were also affiliated with the Kiowas at this time.

In early 2014, the Army decided to retire the Kiowa fleet as part of the Army's Aviation Restructure Initiative, ending the legacy of the aircraft. “It's a bittersweet day anytime you lose an aircraft,” said Joseph Shaw, ADD aircraft mechanic.

Other than the Na-Dene linguistic family heritage, there is no connection with the "Apache Nation," including the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. The Kiowa Apache are a distinct tribe, although they associated with other tribes including the Kiowa, and in recent years, the Apache.

So, he laid out instructions for naming the helicopters after their abilities. Howze said since the choppers were fast and agile, they would attack enemy flanks and fade away, similar to the way the tribes on the Great Plains fought during the aforementioned American Indian Wars.

The Kiowa language is still spoken today by about 400 fluent speakers. Kiowa is considered part of the Kiowa Tanoan language family which is distantly related to Tiwa, spoken at Taos Pueblo and is the only branch of this language family spoken on the Plains.

The United States military intervened, and in the Treaty of Medicine Lodge of 1867, the Kiowas agreed to settle on a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. On August 6, 1901 Kiowa land in Oklahoma was opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.

Ahpeahtone, also known as Que-Tah-Tsay or Apiatan (c. 1856 – August 8, 1931) was a chief of the Kiowa tribe in Oklahoma, who is regarded as the last traditional chief of the tribe.

The name "Kiowa" was designated at the time of European contact; contemporary Kiowa call themselves Kaui-gu, meaning the "principal people" or "main people." Today, the Kiowa Tribe is federally recognized, with about 12,000 members living in southwestern Oklahoma.