Royal Thai Army's First AH-6 Little Bird Helicopter Completes Maiden Flight

The first of eight Boeing AH-6 Little Bird light attack helicopters ordered for the Royal Thai Army completed its maiden flight on August 22 at Boeing's facility in Mesa, Arizona.

Boeing was awarded the contract by the U.S. Department of Defense in February 2022 under a Foreign Military Sales agreement, which includes eight helicopters along with spares, training devices, support equipment, and technical documentation for Thailand. The contract was estimated to be worth around $105 million.

Boeing will provide pilot training for the Royal Thai Army after the completion of the fleet. The training will take place at the company's Mesa site and the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, focusing on operational capabilities and mission versatility of the AH-6.

The AH-6 is suited for precision attacks, close combat, security and escort, troop insertion and extraction, and combat search and rescue operations. It features a mission computer capable of processing large amounts of data and sharing it quickly with other systems to improve decision-making, situational awareness, and reduce pilot workload while ensuring soldier safety. The single-engine aircraft has a cruising speed of 126 knots (233 km/h), a range of 179 nautical miles (331 km), and a maximum flight time of 2.1 hours.