MD Helicopters headquarters location Mesa
In 1975, the company won the contract for the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. By December 1981, six AH-64A prototypes had been built and the Army had awarded a production contract to the company. Production would reach more than 1,100 by 2005.
In January 1984, Hughes Helicopters, Inc. was sold to McDonnell Douglas by Summa Corporation. McDonnell Douglas paid $470 million for the company and made it a subsidiary with the name McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems in August 1984.  In 1986, McDonnell Douglas sold all the rights to the Model 300C to Schweizer Aircraft.
On August 1, 1997, McDonnell Douglas merged into Boeing, but Boeing's subsequent plans to sell the civilian helicopter line to Bell Helicopter in 1998 were thwarted by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).In 1999, Boeing completed the spin off of the civilian line of helicopters to a newly formed MD Helicopter Holdings Inc., an indirect subsidiary of the Dutch company, RDM Holding Inc. The line included the MD 500 and variants as well as the family of derivative NOTAR aircraft that originated with Hughes Helicopters Inc. Boeing maintained the AH-64 line of helicopters and rights to the NOTAR system.After suffering dismal commercial performance, the company was purchased in 2005 by Patriarch Partners, LLC, an investment fund. The company was recapitalized as an independent company, MD Helicopters, Inc. MD Helicopters is based in Mesa, Arizona.    Lynn Tilton, the Chief Executive Officer and sole principal of Patriarch Partners, was CEO of MD Helicopters until she relinquished control in March 2020 following bankruptcy court rulings related to Patriarch holdings.By March 2022, the manufacturer filed for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for restructuration, to be acquired by a creditor consortium led by Bardin Hill Investment Partners and MBIA Insurance, providing around $60 million of financing as debtors.Products
(Under both McDonnell Douglas and MD Helicopters)MD 500
MD 500 Defender
MD 520
MD 530
MD 600
MD Explorer(Under McDonnell Douglas only)
head office location home office location central office location main office location corporate headquarters