Lebanon receives ‘Little Bird’ helos

Six MD 530 Little Bird helicopters delivered to Lebanon aboard a chartered cargo plane. (Lebanese Army)

Lebanon has acquired six MD Helicopters Inc (MDHI) MD 530 ‘Little Bird' scout and light-attack rotorcraft from the United States.

The supply of the helicopters aboard a chartered cargo plane was introduced on the official web site of the Lebanese Army on 6 October.

“At Beirut Airbase, the Lebanese Army received Six MD 530F helicopters donated by the United States, in the presence of a number of officer and members of the Defense Cooperation Office of the US Embassy in Lebanon,” the announcement mentioned.

The six MD 530s that have been contracted in late 2018 are a part of a wider USD120 million arms package deal from the US introduced in 2017. They have been purported to have been delivered by the top of September 2020, however the Covid-19 pandemic is prone to have performed a significant half within the delay to this timeline.