Army to Receive Boeing ‘Little Bird’ Block 3.0 Helicopters; David Koopersmith Quoted

Boeing plans to kick off delivery of upgraded A/MH-6M Little Bird helicopters to the U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, also known as “Night Stalkers,” at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, Rotor & Wing International reported Friday.

“What we’ve done on the MELB [Mission Enhanced Little Bird] in concert with TAPO [Technology Applications Program Officer] is a modern airfoil and a six inch longer blade that give them tremendous additional speed and lift … We’ll start delivering those in kits to TAPO, as we’re also delivering kits that include a new fuselage for all MELBs,” said David Koopersmith, vice president and general manager for Boeing’s vertical lift.

Koopersmith said work on the new rotor blades for the MELB Block 3.0 upgrade commenced about seven to eight years ago.

The MELB Block 3.0 helicopter features a new rear gear box, a payload capacity of up to 500 pounds, improved cockpit, updated flight controls and a longer tail boom.