In what would amount to an early retirement, Taiwan is reportedly evaluating the withdrawal of its OH-58D Kiowa armed reconnaissance helicopters after more than three decades in service with the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command, which currently operates a fleet of 37 aircraft. According to local media, the decision is closely linked to the fact that the platform’s manufacturer no longer produces the helicopter after the United States ceased to be its main user, a situation that has had a significant impact on the availability of spare parts and related materials.
Expanding on the details, it should be recalled that the island’s government had already invested nearly 490 million New Taiwan dollars in the acquisition of spare parts for the fleet to cover a period of around 12 years, a purchase completed in 2018. Nevertheless, there are growing concerns about the increased risk of technical failures due to the aging of the platform’s components and the scarcity of available replacements.
In particular, the main concern among Taiwanese technicians reportedly lies with the targeting system used to guide missiles (such as the Hellfire) against enemy targets, a component whose failure would significantly degrade the OH-58D Kiowa’s attack capabilities. Should this occur, the helicopter would be reduced to a light reconnaissance platform armed only with 12.7 mm machine guns and M260 70 mm rocket launchers.
This is no minor issue, given that the helicopter would play a key role in the event of a potential conflict with China, operating as a platform intended for urban combat against armored units deployed during an amphibious landing and for providing close support to infantry units in defensive maneuvers. The Kiowa is designed for a harassment role, through which Taiwan would seek to delay the advance of invading forces for as long as possible, buying time for the deployment of regional allies to assist against an overwhelmingly larger force.
Faced with this potential loss of capability, Taiwanese military authorities are reportedly considering retiring the helicopters by 2028, forcing strategists to look for one or more affordable replacements to fill their role in the future. In this regard, Taipei is said to be interested in acquiring a fleet of around 30 armed Black Hawk helicopters from the United States, as well as in modernizing existing Black Hawk aircraft to add the ability to deploy missiles, cannons, and other weapons.
On the other hand, for the reconnaissance tasks also carried out by the OH-58D Kiowa, the Taiwanese Army is reportedly inclined to incorporate U.S.-made JUMP 20 unmanned systems. In fact, a small number of these platforms have already been delivered by the United States as part of a military assistance program, and have been made available to the Navy and the Coast Guard for testing and evaluation.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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