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For the similar helicopter in Battlefield Hardline, see Patrol Helicopter.

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

Battlefield 2[]


The MD530 is used as the USMC's scout helicopter in Battlefield 2: Armored Fury. The driver is armed with two miniguns, and can use a UAV once about every minute. Like other scout helicopters, the MD530 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 repair the helicopter with their wrench or airdrop anti-tank mines on high-traffic roads while Special Forces can do the same with their C4.

The MD530 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.

Gallery[]

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat[]

BF2MC Littlebird 1

The AH-6J is a light helicopter issued to NATO in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. 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[]

Little Bird P4F

The MD530 as it appears on Dragon Valley.

The MD530 Littlebird is a vehicle featured in Battlefield Play4Free on Dragon Valley or the Rush variant of Dalian or Oman. 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 player must have the Helicopter Piloting Training to pilot it.

This helicopter is equipped with miniguns that are effective against infantry, light vehicles and other helicopters, but are relatively weak against armored vehicles. Aside from the pilot, the aircraft can also carry two passengers, who have access to their infantry weapons and can fire from the vehicle. The pilot can also deploy countermeasures.

The AH-6 can seat 3 players. A Pilot and 2 passengers. The passengers sit on the outside with most of their body exposed and can be a dangerous postion to be in if someone decides to shoot at the passengers.

Battlefield 3[]

"Improved attack version of the MH-6."

— Battlelog description

The AH-6J Little Bird is a vehicle featured in Battlefield 3 and 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[]

Upgrades[]

Weapons[]

Battlefield 4[]


The AH-6J Little Bird is a scout helicopter featured in Battlefield 4.

Multiplayer[]

In multiplayer portion of Battlefield 4, the AH-6J as the USMC scout helicopter, and serves as the counterpart to the Russian Ground Force and People's Liberation Army Z-11W.

Scout choppers are much smaller and more maneuverable then Attack and Transport choppers, making them significantly smaller targets. However, they are also much more lightly armored, with the windshield providing no protection whatsoever.

A Scout Chopper's roles range from anti-infantry to anti-light vehicles, and as such is armed with a pair of miniguns (either a set of 7.62mm guns or 25mm guns) and missiles (heat-seeking air-to-air missiles or a guided missile for ground targets).

The Scout Chopper's main weapon is a pair of miniguns. By default, it's armed with 7.62mm Miniguns, whose high rate of fire works well coupled with steady aim against soft targets (ranging from ATVs to scout choppers). Though it does overheat, the miniguns have unlimited ammo, a benefit when weighed against the 25mm. However, it does no damage to heavier vehicles and precision may not always be possible. The second option is the 25mm Cannon, which has a thirty-round magazine and sixty in reserve. It is, unlike the 7.62mm miniguns, capable of damaging heavy vehicles such as MBTs and APCs, therefore making it more efficient against ground vehicles. It also inflicts splash damage, which makes precision less important and makes the helicopter capable of fighting enemies hiding in cover. However, it has limited ammunition -- when it runs out, the pilot must wait until a new magazine is generated -- and fires at a slower rate than the 7.62mm miniguns.

The secondary armament can be either of two types of missiles, the default being the air-to-air, fire-and-forget Heatseekers, which function similarly to the FIM-92 Stinger. Like all missiles, the heatseekers can be deflected by IR Flares or ECM Jammers. The second missile is the Guided missile, an air-to-ground missile similar to an FGM-148 Javelin. Just like all guided missiles, a lock-on to the target must be maintained, leaving the helicopter vulnerable to attacks if one is at range and concentrating on an enemy. Laser designation will give the guided missile a boost in damage, and also allow the guided missile to engage aerial vehicles (which can therefore make the guided missile more modular than the heatseekers).

With regards to countermeasures, IR flares deflect oncoming missiles, ECM makes missiles harder to detect and makes the vehicle disappear off of air radar (useful for engaging enemy players who use air radar and getting the jump on a player), and Extinguisher can be used to repair a disabled helicopter.

As upgrades goes, gyro stabilizer allows a helicopter that's been subject to a mobility kill to maintain stability. Auto-loader helps rearm the weapons of the helicopter quicker, and lets the miniguns cool down faster. Proximity scan allows the user to see nearby enemies, though it doesn't change the minimap. Stealth coating increases the lock-on time for enemies targeting the user. Air Radar replaces the mini-map with a much larger one, and additionally scans for enemies.

The passenger seats can make use of their personal equipment, so for instance an Engineer with a Repair Tool can be on the side repairing the vehicle, which would allow the pilot to continue flying without having to stop for repairs, or make use of a lock-on launcher such as a stinger or javelin, which would increase firepower output. However, the passengers are more exposed then most of the choppers seat to incoming fire. The fourth seat cannot use any equipment whatsoever, although they can still spot and give orders.

Comparison[]

Compare to Z-11W, while sharing the same statistical performance, AH-6J Little Bird has a much smaller tail collusion, making it easier to fly and land safely in narrow space.


Gallery[]

Battlefield 2042[]


"Designed to make impossible insertion/extraction missions possible. The Nightbird's ninja-like ability and compact farme rewards the most creative and daring aviators."

— In-game description

The MD540 Nightbird, commonly known as the Nightbird, is a scout helicopter appearing in Battlefield 2042.

Unlike the other helicopters, which are sluggish but highly protected, the Nightbird trades most of its armor and protection in favor of extremely high mobility. It can dodge and weave through tight spaces if piloted correctly, and knowing how to pilot the Nightbird correctly is incredibly important in order to strafe infantry and stay alive.

It is exceptional at eliminating ground threats through strafing runs and surprise hit-and-run attacks, and its armaments can be used to deter other air vehicles as well.

In order to achieve this, as mentioned previously, the Nightbird's protection is near non-existent. The glass windshield is thin enough for pilots and passengers to be able to get shot out of the cockpit by even the lightest of small arms fire, and the other passengers are exposed to the outside environment. It is also able to be destroyed by almost every heavy weapon very quickly, with most tank shells taking one shot to destroy it, and the EBAA Wildcat able to melt it's durability via its Dual AA cannons. Even the stationary Centurion C-RAM on the Reclaimed map has no problem dispatching it in a short burst. Experienced pilots know how to prioritize their targets and ensure the safety of their vehicle.

The latest patch, Update 6.1.0, also made it so that standard bullets will be able to damage the Nightbird, futher weakening it's durability on the battlefield.

Primary Weaponry[]

By default, pilots are equipped with Mounted Miniguns, which have a high rate of fire and decent spread. These melt infantry, with a quick tap of the trigger usually able to severely injure, if not outright kill, anything that walks. They have quite a high skill ceiling, however, with a lot of game knowledge and understanding quite necessary in order to get the most effective gameplay out of these. They have a spin up time before firing and also the bullet convergences. There is one minigun strapped to each side of the helicopter, and there is a certain range at which they are both dialed in to converge. This means that at a certain range, it is possible to deal double damage at an accurate spot (preferably an enemy). They cannot deal damage to heavy armor, like tanks or the MAV, but they do shred light transports, like hovercrafts or the LATV4 recons. They are also great at dispatching other helicopters and jets as well, once you know how to aim.

At 60 kills/assists, the Mounted 20mm cannons can be equipped. This system trades firepower for an easier experience. This is due to the fact that they deal splash damage, allowing for shots to be less precise but still being able to kill quite quickly. They also gain the ability to deal slight amounts of damage onto heavy armor, unlike the miniguns, and can really help against them when paired with the rockets or the ATGMs. The overheat builds up extremely quickly, however, taking only a few seconds to heat up. Pilots can avoid this by bursting the weapon and going behind cover to let them cool off before reacquiring targets. They have a steep damage falloff, relegating them to ranges similar to that of the Miniguns. These weapons are recommended for pilots who still have trouble aiming with miniguns, and are a decent stepping stone in learning how to aim both.

Secondary Weaponry[]

The Nightbird comes stock with 70mm Anti-Personnel Rocket Packs. Dumbfired, these rockets deal additional splash damage and have an increased splash radius against infantry targets, able to blow up clusters of enemies really fast. These rocket pods have a fast rate of fire and a moderate ammo capacity, at a trade-off of being much less powerful against enemy armor than ATGMs, but are still capable of devastating light vehicles and armor.

At 120 Kills/assists, the ATGM is acquired. These act like the Javelin Launcher, requiring the user to maintain a full lock on an enemy ground vehicle before firing, while also capable of firing onto a SOFLAM-designated vehicle, including aircraft. Upon a successful hit to a ground vehicle, the missile deals substantial damage to the target, and usually destroying aircraft in one blow. They need to restock one at a time, and the maximum capacity at any one time is two. The missile can be affected and disrupted by IR flares, thermal smoke, and can be destroyed by active protection systems.

Countermeasures/Equipment[]

By default, the MD540 is equipped with the Missile Countermeasures and the Repair System. The Missile Countermeasures behave identically to IR flares from previous titles. Upon activation, the flares can interrupt enemy lock-ons and disrupt incoming missiles. Once all flares have been fired, the countermeasure goes on a cooldown for 15 seconds until they are ready to be used again. The missile countermeasures serve as the main defensive option against anti-air weaponry for all air vehicles.

The Repair System allows it to immediately repair damaged parts of the helicopter and start an overtime regeneration, which stacks with passive regeneration. Regeneration continues until the vehicle is fully repaired, or if any damage is received.

The classical AH-6J Little Bird also appeared as an Attack Helicopter for the US BF3 faction inside of portal. The progress achieved by Portal Little Bird will also be calculated into the base game Mastery for Nightbird (the unlock progress for equipments will not).


Trivia[]

  • In Battlefield 3, its serial number is S4706I.

External links[]

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