Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

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MD Helicopters (MDHI) bolstered its military business with the signing of a launch customer for its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2014-02-25/md-helicopters-goes-warpath-new-attack-scout">MD&nbsp;530G scout&nbsp;attack helicopter</a>. The Malaysia Ministry of Defense signed a contract to take delivery of six of the upgraded model. Plans call for MDHI to begin delivery of the helicopters to Malaysian army aviation,&nbsp;Pasukan&nbsp;Udara&nbsp;Teneter&nbsp;Darat(PUDT), late this year with all six to be handed over the end of the first quarter of 2017.

 


The MD 530G first flew in 2013 and MDHI formally announced the helicopter and completed live-fire testing a year later. The next in line to the 530F that was certified more than 30 years ago, the 530G is fitted with more robust landing gear to support a 3,750-pound&nbsp;mtow&nbsp;that increases payload for range, endurance and weapons. The helicopter has a top speed of 130 knots.

 


The aircraft is configured to accommodate an integrated on-board stores management system, FLIR, guided and unguided rockets and inboard .50 caliber machine guns. The Malaysian army’s fleet of MD 530G helicopters will be equipped with a custom weapons package, advanced communications capabilities and electro-optical/infrared sensors to detect a range of threats.

 


The Malaysian contract is the second for announced this year for MDHI’s scout helicopters. The company in January announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-01-14/md-helicopters-gains-second-afghan-contract">follow-on contract</a>&nbsp;to deliver 12 more of its 530F Cayuse Warrior scout attack helicopters with enhanced mission equipment to the Afghan air force.

 


MD Helicopters delivered the first 12 MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters to the Afghan air force in support of the&nbsp;2015 fighting&nbsp;season.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-03-25/us-delivers-first-six-md-530f-armed-scouts-afghanistan">Delivery of those helicopters</a>began in March 2015. Also, five other MD 530Fs that were used as primary training aircraft have been upgraded to the Cayuse Warrior configuration.

 


“The MD 530F has played an integral role in building the capabilities of the Afghan air force and the Afghan national defense and security forces since the first aircraft arrived in&nbsp;Shindand&nbsp;in 2011,” said MDHI CEO Lynn Tilton. “In both training and combat configurations, the fleet has consistently maintained a mission launch rate of greater than 97 percent.”

 


MDHI also marked several smaller key wins for its 530F over the past year in other government and civilian sectors, including orders from police departments in Mesa, Ariz.; Las Vegas and Fresno County, Calif. Police departments in Gwinnett County, Ga., and Columbus, Ohio, took re-delivery of helicopters upgraded to the 530F configuration. Also taking delivery of a new 530F was Two Bear Air Rescue in Whitefish, Mont.

 


Those orders capped off a year that began with Tilton anticipating growth across its market segments, continuing the rebound of the company that faced shuttering a decade ago.

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

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