AH-6 Little Bird

Were you looking for the OH-6 Loach from Battlefield Vietnam?

A AH-6 in reality.

The Boeing AH-6 Little Bird is an Scout Helicopter used by the United States Marine Corps. It is based on the Vietnam-era OH-6 Cayuse.

Battlefield 2: Armored Fury

MD-530 Little Bird
Used by	United States Marine Corps
Crew	Pilot 2 passengers (3 total)
Speed	Fast
Maneuvering	High
Driver Weapons
Primary weapon	2x M134 Dillon miniguns
Fire mode	Automatic
Ammunition	900
Customization
Sensors	UAV
Countermeasures	Flares
Camouflage	None

In Battlefield 2: Armored Fury, the MD-530 Little Bird is used as the USMC's scout helicopter. The driver is armed with two M134 Dillion miniguns and can use a UAV once about every minute. Like other scout helicopters, the Little Bird can carry two passengers on the sides. These passengers can use whatever kit weapons they have with them, allowing Anti-Tank soldiers to fire rockets at enemy armor, or Engineers to fix the helicopter with their wrench or airdrop anti-tank mines on high-traffic roads while Special Forces can do the same with their C4 to give enemy vehicles a nasty surprise.

The MD-530 is considered the best out of the three scout helicopters in combat. Its guns are mounted the closest, allowing it to easily get two hits on an enemy scout helicopter every time.

The MD-530 is also very vulnerable to anti-air and ground fire. IGLA sites can easily down one if it is out of flares, and Support soldiers can lay down fire upon them, as can any heavy or mounted machine gun. The pilot should make good use of the UAV before going into an enemy control point to spot threats and take them out.

A 3D render of the MD-530

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

In Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, the AH-6J is a light helicopter issued to NATO. It appears in the mission Catching Flak as a friendly vehicle that players can hot-swap to. It features two seats: one pilot and one passenger. The pilot controls the vehicle and has rapid firing rocket pods at their disposal with 200 rockets in reserve, and the passenger has dual miniguns at their disposal.

It is a fast and maneuverable vehicle capable of dispatching high amounts of firepower short time. However, its armor is relatively weak and it can be shot down with ease by mounted machine guns or even a group of foot soldiers with conventional weapons.

Battlefield Play4Free

The MD530 Littlebird is featured in the map Dragon Valley. It has high maneuverability, fast speed and decent firepower. It spawns when the B flag is held by the US Marine Corps and is the American counterpart of the Russian Z-11w.

The MD530 as it appears on Dragon Valley.

Battlefield 3

AH-6J Little Bird
Used by	United States Marine Corps
Speed	Slow
Maneuvering	High
Health	500
Disable threshold	34%
Driver Weapons
Primary weapon	Twin mounted M134 Dillon Miniguns
Damage	10-2 per bullet
Rate of fire	1000 rpm each gun 2000 rpm in total fire rate
Secondary weapon	FIM-92 Stinger (1200 points) AGM-65 Maverik (24000 points)
Customization
Sensors	Proximity Scan (7000 points) Laser painter (40000 points)
Avionics	Air Radar (10000 points) Beam Scanning (29000 points)
Countermeasures	IR Flares (400 points) Extinguisher (14000 points) ECM Jammer (48000 points)
Camouflage	Stealth (2500 points)

"Improved attack version of the MH-6."

— Battlelog description

The AH-6J Little Bird is available for use in several multiplayer maps, including Damavand Peak, Kharg Island, Noshahr Canals, and Sharqi Peninsula, and is essentially the US equivalent of the Z-11 W.

The Little Bird is available to the Attackers in Rush on Damavand Peak when the second set of M-COM stations is destroyed, and to the US side throughout the entire round of Conquest, the Attackers or US side on Noshahr Canals throughout the entire round of both Rush and Conquest, and available in Rush mode to the attackers on Sharqi Peninsula. The Little Bird is also available on Armored Shield, Bandar Desert and Death Valley in Conquest.

It is best to have an Engineer in the second and/or third seats to repair the vehicle mid-flight, which will prolong the time the helicopter will be in the air. Other classes can use their personal equipment, but can only aim weapons in small sectors to each side. A fourth passenger sits in the front—if this passenger has unlocked the laser painter, he/she can switch to it and use it much like the CITV station on the MBT .

The AH-6J is extremely effective against infantry and light armored vehicles. Against heavy armored vehicles such as IFVs and tanks, the Little Bird requires precision and caution as, although difficult, one well aimed tank round can instantly destroy the vehicle. It is possible to disable a heavy armored vehicle with 2-3 full bursts with the main weapon which can be helped significantly if used in conjunction with a Guided Missile. The Little Bird is extremely vulnerable to portable anti-air weapons or vehicles due to its low health and players being exposed to small arms fire and explosive damage, due to the glass canopy.

Specializations

Gadgets

• IR Flares – 400
• Extinguisher – 14000
• ECM Jammer – 48000

Upgrades

• Stealth – 2500
• Belt Speed – 4400
• Proximity Scan – 7000
• Air Radar – 10000
• Maintenance – 19000
• Below Radar – 32000 (Permanent)
• Laser Painter – 40000 (Permanent - co-pilot - fourth passenger seat)

Weapons

• Heat Seekers – 1200
• Guided Missile – 25000

The AH-6J Little Bird as seen above Blackburn in Fault Line Series Episode 3.

Marines BASE jumping off a ledge at Damavand Peak, escorted by AH-6J Little Birds.

AH-6J Little Bird.

Rear side view.

AH-6J Little Bird Cockpit with HUD disabled.

Trivia

• It has the same role and similar traits as the OH-6 Loach in Battlefield Vietnam.
• In Battlefield 3 its serial number is S4706I.
• The Little Bird is the easiest helicopter to get shot out of due to its large windows.
• Interestingly, in Battlefield 3 map Noshahr Canals, two AH-6Js spawn in the US deployment, against only one Z-11W at an airstrip far away from the RU deployment. Apparently, the RU team overcomes that by having access to tanks, as the US team only gets LAV-25s and a  AAV-7A1 AMTRAC as armored vehicles.

External links

• AH-6 Little Bird on Wikipedia