So, full disclosure: We think the Kiowa Warrior (OH-58) is a pretty cool helicopter. We have also really enjoyed playing aggressively with fast-moving light helicopters when testing the rules for Intervention. So, as we are currently working on updates for all four of our published books, we decided it would be a good opportunity to include some rules for the Kiowa Warrior's main feature - its mast mounted sight (MMS).
Kiowa Warror (Image from Wikipedia)
One of our mantras is to 'build on existing mechanics' rather than 'write new ones'. This promotes consistency and helps keep things simple, thereby helping players understand the rules and minimising the opportunity for broken mechanics.
When thinking about the MMS, we had a defined effect that we wanted to achieve: to enable the helicopter to loiter behind suitable terrain, spotting the enemy without exposing itself to enemy fire. But how best to achieve it?
We initially started looking at the issue from a 'line of sight' perspective, and tried a mechanic that would allow the helicopter to trace line of sight through nearby terrain but not allow enemy units to trace line of sight back to the helicopter. While this approach had its merits and mirrored the approach we'd taken with ground based ISR masts (rules for which are included in the updated Technical Codex), this approach quickly fell apart when applied to helicopters, which operate at three different heights and interact with terrain differently to ground units. Back to the drawing board.
The second approach was to use the way that helicopters benefit from cover. Unlike ground units, (which get a cover bonus depending on the type of cover between them and the enemy), helicopter cover bonuses are dependent on pilot skill. Taking this mechanic as the basis, we decided that using the mast mounted sight requires the helicopter to remain stationary for the turn, but in exchange it gains an additional +2 cover bonus. The net effect of this was to leave the line of sight mechanic intact and provide the helicopter with significant additional protection, without making it invulnerable. We'll play test this a few more times and, if it survives, the Mast Mounted Sight will be included in the next update to Intervention Air Assault, which should be out before the end of the year.
Video: Kiowa Warrior in action (Especially 1:10-2:20)
Also : Another short Kiowa video