Brings back memories playing Longbow 2.
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Well, thereās another module that I absolutely must have but probably wonāt have time to get proficient with it. 
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For the administratorsā¦can we get a badge or achievement based on this? I know that there are many of us who will easily earn thisā¦umā¦āawardā. [sigh]
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It looks good. Now that I have mitigated the Gazelle ātwitchy controlsā I may give this a look.
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Second and third shots aer absolute killers! 
I wish I could send them back in time to 12 years old me and show him what heāll be playing in the future!
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Dear community,
It has been a few months since we first publicly announced that we are working on the OH-58D Kiowa for DCS World.
For the past two years we have been working on the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Back then we were not yet certain what flight simulator software weād be building the OH-58D for but at some point we decided (again) on DCS world.
During the past 2 years we have been talking to a lot of individuals including people from Bell Textron, Eagle Dynamics and the US Army Cavalry community.Bell Textron granted us a product specific license for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior for commercial use, which means we were given permission to recreate the helicopter for game or entertainment purposes. Without this license a module for the DCS World environment would not be possible.
With the license also comes a responsibility. Anything related to the product will be subject to demanding quality control procedures. We recognize this as an opportunity and a benefit for the community, the simulation of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior in DCS World and ourselves as a developing company. The license also grants us access to certain information otherwise not available to the public. Without it, it would simply be impossible to create a lifelike representation of the aircraft.
We are very thankful to our friends of the Kiowa community. These people are or were members of the US Cavalry and were and still are very helpful to us in many ways. They made sure we got in contact with the right people, got our facts straight and have been testing and providing feedback on the module from day one.
With the manufacturers license secured we got in contact with Eagle Dynamics to discuss with them the plans we had for our next module. This started a long period in which possible contracts were negotiated. Negotiations like these are complex, especially when it involves a third party, in this case Bell Textron. In the end all parties have to agree to the terms and conditions.
In October 2019, a day before the Cosford Flight Sim Show, we got the green light from Eagle Dynamics to announce the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior as a possible DCS World module. Even though the contract had not been finalized, at that point we were at a stage in negotiations where it was very plausible all parties involved would come to an agreement.
Today we can announce that all contracts have been signed and finalized. The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior will be released as a DCS World module. We canāt reveal a release date yet. Weāve set our sights on a release in 2020 though.
A few days ago, Twitch streamer ThePaveHawker, rather unexpectedly got to try an alpha build of the module. This turned in to a livestream that went on for 14 hours and 40 minutes. Even though the stream was unplanned and a rather impulsive decision, it was well received. It also gave us the opportunity to answer many questions the community asked us during the stream.
Following up on this, we plan to have a dedicated streamer show the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior in planned events that we will announce to the community in the near future.We also plan on releasing videos on various systems and procedures to get acquainted with the OH-58D Warrior before release.
Since the flight model of the Gazelle module has been the most controversial part of our products, we pay very close attention to the OH-58D flight model to make sure we get it right this time. We made the flight model and the code behind it our main focus for the better half of the past two years. Only adding avionics and systems later on in the process. Former Kiowa Warrior pilots have been testing and providing feedback on the flight model from day one and continue to do so until they are completely satisfied. When that is the case, the project will be handed over to Bell Textron and their quality assurance team.
You will find most systems operational and accurately modelled in the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module with some exceptions. Systems not included are either classified or have no use in DCS World at this time. We will go into more details on the avionics in the near future.
In terms of weapons we have already included the M3P machinegun, the Hydra rocket pod with 4 different warheads; 10lb, 17lb, smoke and illumination. In addition we have added the APKWS laser guided Hydra rocket equipped with a 10lb warhead. Of course the AGM-114 Hellfire will be included as well.
With the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module you will be able to self lase for any AGM-114 Hellfire missiles you have loaded on your helicopter. You can also lase targets for other OH-58Dās or any other aircraft capable of dropping laser guided munitions in DCS World.
Last but not least we did add the ATAS system, which is the name for the stinger block 1 anti-air missile, that was fully functional and integrated into the Kiowa Warrior until its retirement in the US Army. Not many were ever fired, but the system is very potent and gives the Kiowa Warrior a sting capability against fast moving aircraft.
As has been stated before in a number of articles, we initially planned not to include multicrew capability for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module. At the time these articles were published, ED had not yet announced their plans of adding multicrew capability to the UH-1 Huey module. We are awaiting the results and hope the new multicrew code will be part of the software development kit. If this is the case we will re-evaluate multicrew capability.
As mentioned before, we will talk more about the avionics in different sitreps or news in the near future, as we will also show features that we have already mentioned in this article.
Overall we are happy that we have the opportunity to bring such an iconic helicopter, a workhorse of its kind, to DCS World and have her live on in our community. We also want to thank Eagle Dynamics, Nick Grey and Matthias Techmansky for all the support and the trust they have in our team and that we will be able to properly produce this magnificent helicopter, which was the first to ever have a glass cockpit worldwide.
Now the big question, when will the community hear next news or see new streams or videos about the Kiowa. We are currently planning to have a scheduled stream with a few people available. What, when and who, will be discussed and announced in a few days. So stay tuned.
For now, the whole team wishes all the best and everybody a merry Christmas 2019
Your Polychop Team
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JFC, 15 hours of streaming?!
Beside thatā¦ Cool!
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Y E S ! ! !
Easy to see a lot of Hormez pirate interdiction missions built around this. Maybe a bit āfictonyā, but Hunter-Killing in and amongst all the coves and waterways would make for fun flying.
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Iām a bit divided about this; on one hand, Iām really liking a more team-oriented light gunship added to the game (Ka-50 isnāt near enough), but on the other Iām really scared about the flight model. What Iāve seen of the Gazelle doesnāt give me a lot of faith. Their OH-58D looks about ArmA3 level, but more on rails.
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Admittedly wondering how things are progressing with this module.
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hey and welcome!
iirc last time I saw it featured in some news was the ā23 and beyondā video.
they should hurry, Apache feels all alone out there.
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I enjoy my gunships donāt get me wrong, especially the Hind (possibly sacrilege I know) but Iāve had tons of fun acting as recon in the Gazelle, however, Iād love to switch to the OH-58 due to itās capabilities.
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I enjoy flying the Gazelle (learned it over two days for the recent Falklands Combat Order campaign, which is good popcorn fun). I appreciate its simplicity and those HOT missiles are sure fun and with the powerful TV/TWS easy to use.
I hate the flight model though. Unrealistic and game-y isnāt the word. Frankly unsure how this was deemed acceptable compared to the Huey and Hip.
Iām hoping the Kiowa is better, but will cautiously wait until after release and reviews come out before I decide whether to purchase.
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I donāt mind the Gazelle FM - I fly it normally and it seems quite fine for that, I donāt try anything spectacular. It was made for 1.5 and I donāt think itās had that much done to it since.
I still have to try the campaign - quite funny that I havenāt considering I was attached to the team for it. Nicolas (the guy who wrote it) kept going on about how difficult it was (he thought it was realistic, ops/procedure-wise) and mostly at night for cover, so I basically chickened out!
I havenāt even flown the Hind and Apache as yet and to be very honest, I have little motivation to do so and would even say - beware unpopular statement coming - I wish Iād not bought them. Then I could get the Mirage F1 instead. Still, never say neverā¦ The helicopters were my fave modules and thatās why I got those two. Kiowa would be nice, but Iāll have to see - including what it will cost.
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the hind is my favourite helo in the gameā¦ just the right amount of old school seat of pants ā¦ unlike the flying computer that is the apache ā¦ also give me an old fashioned cross to aim rockets not this new fangled stuff ā¦and when you add that the apache feels almost pedestrian compared to the hind
hind all the way 
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I beg your pardon. The Huey is for real pilots. The rest are for kids
Still, really looking forward to he Kiowa.
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Thatās a good point, itās okay within a (narrow imho) window of the flight envelope. Perhaps a real heli pilot would be sane enough to never encounter its flaws?
Itās great fun, Iād recommend it for sure! And itās free so how can you go wrong?
I donāt mean popcorn fun with any derision at all. Itās missions are simple in that they donāt require any deep knowledge of procedures or in-depth briefing, and objectives are straight forward yet often challenging at the same time.
Itās mechanically on the VTOL VR side of the spectrum compared to the complexity of a BD campaign, and thatās a good thing! Perfect for introducing a new Gazelle pilot (me) to the bird, especially when I donāt have two whole hours set aside to play. Love the Falklands setting and the snippets of history at the beginning of each mission.
(So far none of the missions have been nocturnal. Maybe that will come later?)
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