MD Helicopters' Cayuse Warrior enters combat in Afghanistan

The Afghan Air Force’s MD-530F Cayuse Warrior scout-attack helicopter has been used in combat for the first time, helping security forces clear insurgents from three rural districts south of Jalalabad.

Armed with 50-calibre machine guns and ballistic armour protection, the helicopters operated alongside the Afghan Air Force’s Mil Mi-17 transport helicopters based at Kabul as part of Operation Iron Triangle on 11 August.

“This operation marks the first successful employment of armed MD-530 helicopters in support of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces as they continue clearing the districts of Khogyani, Sherzad and Hisarak of insurgents,” says Train Advise Assist Command-East, a multinational military unit supporting NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

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