Bell AH-1Z Viper

The Bell AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine attack helicopter, based on the AH-1W SuperCobra, designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. It is one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family. It is often called "Zulu Cobra", based on the military phonetic alphabet pronunciation of its variant letter. The AH-1Z was developed in the 1990s and 2000s as a part of the H-1 upgrade program on behalf of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). It is essentially a modernisation of the service's existing AH-1Ws, and was originally intended to be a rebuild program before subsequent orders were made for new-build helicopters instead. The AH-1Z and Bell UH-1Y Venom utility helicopter share a common tailboom, engines, rotor system, drivetrain, avionics architecture, software, controls and displays for over 84% identical components. It features a four-blade, bearingless, composite main rotor system, uprated transmission, and a new target sighting system amongst other improvements. In December 2000, the AH-1Z conducted its maiden flight. Low-rate initial production was launched in October 2003. In September 2010, the USMC declared that the AH-1Z had attained combat readiness. It fully replaced the preceding AH-1W Super Cobra in October 2020. The type forms a key element of the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) taskforce, which support all phases of USMC expeditionary operations. Since its introduction, the USMC has pursued upgrades, such as installing Link 16 datalink and outfitting it with the AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM). The AH-1Z has regularly competed with the Boeing AH-64 Apache for export orders. The first export customer was the Royal Bahraini Air Force. The Czech Air Force has also ordered the type. At one point, Pakistan was set to operate its own AH-1Zs, but deliveries were blocked due to political factors.

Summary from Wikipedia, photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.