Gallery: Kiowa Warriors: from legacy to modern special missions

On 15 April 2016, 32 Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warriors flew in formation from Fort Bragg, in the US state of North Carolina, creating a Guinness World Record for the largest helicopter formation flight in history. The event was organized by 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade of the US Army and marked part of the grand finale for the US military fleet in a spectacular swan song for the platform and those who flew in it.

The Kiowa Warrior’s reputation as a capable and rugged aircraft started with the OH-58A, which launched in 1968. It underwent two rounds of modifications and upgrades until the world-record-setting OH-58D flew in 1983, with its upgraded engine and transmission. The single-engine, four-bladed armed reconnaissance helicopter was the first US Army helicopter to have an all-glass cockpit and incorporate a Wire Strike Protection System (WSPS), designed to prevent wire and power line strikes due to its typically low-flying missions. The WSPS proved so successful that it was adapted to virtually every other helicopter in the US fleet.

There were around 2,325 Kiowa Warriors produced up until the delivery of the final new-build platform to the US Army in 1989, with the last of them being retired from active service in the USA in 2020.

For Bell, and its customers, the Warrior’s lineage lives on in the form of the Bell 407M – the first of a fleet of Bell’s Special Missions Aircraft (SMA) that are based on its esteemed commercial platforms, but with even more multi-mission capabilities. Reconfigurable in just 30 minutes, the 407 is a cost-effective, multi-role helicopter, building on the proven features from the OH-58 and its two million flight hours with more than 750,000 of those being flown in combat. With capabilities that extend from public safety, helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) and utility to armed multi-role, including light attack, special ops, reconnaissance, command and control, and anti-piracy, the Bell 407 is already well established globally. In the 407’s commercial configuration, it has achieved more than six million flight hours over its 1,100-strong fleet.

The ‘M’ series takes its mission versatility even further, in addition to low sustainment costs and readily available parts interchangeable with other Bell platforms, all of which combine to keep the platform in the air as much as possible – and quickly.

Such a distinguished pedigree means the Bell 407M and its other SMA counterparts are well placed to meet the needs of Bell customers across the globe, as this next generation of aircraft takes to the skies – no doubt with some more world records on the horizon too.

Pictured are some of the 32 OH-58D Kiowa Warriors flown in formation in 2016 at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) in North Carolina, USA, breaking a world record for the largest flight in formation. They were retired in 2020 and have been replaced by the Bell 407, a successor with the same pedigree, but are technologically up to date and more versatile, able to be easily reconfigured for a variety of missions.