Bell OH-58 Kiowa Military Helicopter

• Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq
The United States Army has employed the OH-58D during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Due to combat and accidents, over 35 airframes have been lost, with 35 pilots killed. Their presence has also been anecdotally credited with saving lives, having been used to rescue wounded despite their small size.
• Future
The age of the helicopters and the loss of airframes resulted in the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program to procure a new aircraft, the Bell ARH-70, which was later cancelled in 2008 due to cost overruns. The current replacement effort for the OH-58 is the Armed Aerial Scout program. Due to uncertainty in the AAS program and fiscal restraints, planned retirement of the OH-58F Kiowa has been extended from 2025 to 2036. The Kiowa's role as a scout aircraft is being supplemented by tactical unmanned aerial vehicles. UAVs have acted in cooperation with the OH-58 to provide reconnaissance with less risk to crews compared to the helicopter operating alone. The OH-58F has to ability to control UAVs directly to safely perform scout missions. The OH-58 Kiowa will ultimately be replaced by the light version of the Future Vertical Lift aircraft in the 2030s.