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===Advanced Scout Helicopter=== [[File:OH-58A Kiowa US Army in flight.jpg|thumb|OH-58 Kiowa]] In the 1970s, the U.S. Army began evaluating the need to improve the capabilities of their scout aircraft. Anticipating the [[AH-64 Apache|AH-64A]]'s replacement of the venerable [[AH-1 Cobra|AH-1]], the Army began shopping the idea of an Aerial Scout Program to stimulate the development of advanced technological capabilities for night vision and precision navigation equipment. The stated goals of the program included prototypes that would: <blockquote>...possess an extended target acquisition range capability by means of a long-range stabilized optical subsystem for the observer, improved position location through use of a computerized navigation system, improved survivability by reducing aural, visual, radar, and infrared signatures, and an improved flight performance capability derived from a larger engine to provide compatibility with attack helicopters.<ref name="cmh-1972-05">{{cite book |last= Cocke |first= Karl E. |chapter-url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1972/ch05.htm |chapter= V Force Development |url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1972/index.htm#Contents |title= Department of the Army Historical Summary |publisher= [[United States Army Center of Military History]] |year= 1972 |access-date= 17 January 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130602204630/http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1972/index.htm#Contents |archive-date= 2 June 2013 |url-status= dead}}</ref></blockquote> During March 1974, the Army created a special task force at [[Fort Knox]] to develop the system requirements;<ref name="cmh-1974-11">{{cite book |chapter-url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1974/ch11.htm |chapter= XI Research, Development and Acquisition |url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1974/index.htm#Contents |title= Department of the Army Historical Summary, 1974 |access-date= 14 April 2007 |publisher= [[United States Army Center of Military History]] |first= Karl E. |last= Cocke |year= 1978 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071214152124/http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1974/index.htm#Contents |archive-date= 14 December 2007 |url-status= dead}}</ref> by the following year, the task force had devised the requirements for an Advanced Scout Helicopter (ASH) program. The requirements were formulated around an rotorcraft capable of performing in day, night, and adverse weather, and compatible with all advanced weapons systems planned for development and fielding into the 1980s. The program was approved by the System Acquisition Review Council and the Army prepared for competitive development to begin the next year.<ref name="cmh-1975-10">{{cite book |chapter-url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1975/ch10.htm |chapter= X Research, Development and Acquisition |title= Department of the Army Historical Summary, 1975 |publisher= [[United States Army Center of Military History]] |url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1975/index.htm#Contents |first= Karl E. |last= Cocke |year= 1978 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071214152112/http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1975/index.htm#Contents |archive-date= 14 December 2007 |url-status= dead}}</ref> However, as the Army tried to get the program off the ground, Congress declined to provide funding in the fiscal year 1977 budget and the ASH Project Manager's Office (PM-ASH) was closed on 30 September 1976.<ref name="cmh-1976-10">{{cite book |chapter-url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1976/ch10.htm |chapter= Research, Development and Acquisition |title= Department of the Army Historical Summary, 1976 |access-date= 14 April 2007 |publisher= [[United States Army Center of Military History]] |first= Karl E. |last= Cocke |year= 1977 |archive-date= 14 May 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080514042454/http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1976/ch10.htm |url-status= dead}}</ref> While no development occurred for some years, the program survived as a requirement without funding. On 30 November 1979, the decision was made to defer development of an advanced scout helicopter in favor of modifying existing airframes in inventory as a near term scout helicopter (NTSH) option. The development of a mast-mounted sight would be the primary focus to improve the ability to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition missions while remaining hidden behind trees and terrain. Both the UH-1 and the OH-58 were evaluated as NTSH candidates, but the UH-1 was dropped from consideration due to its larger size and ease of detection. The OH-58, on the other hand demonstrated a dramatic reduction in detectability with a Mast-Mounted Sight (MMS).{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} On 10 July 1980, the Army decided that the NTSH would be a competitive modification program based on developments in the commercial helicopter sector, particularly Hughes Helicopters' [[MD Helicopters MD 500|Hughes 500D]], which had made major improvements over the OH-6.<ref name="cmh-1980-11">{{cite book |chapter-url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1980/ch11.htm |chapter= 11. Research Development and Acquisition |title= Department of the Army Historical Summary, 1980 |url= http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1980/index.htm#Contents |access-date= 14 April 2007 |publisher= United States Army Center of Military History |year= 1983 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071214152144/http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1980/index.htm#Contents |archive-date= 14 December 2007 |url-status= dead}}</ref>
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