Ukraine eyes cutting-edge AH‑1Z Viper helicopters amidst Slovak hesitancy
The current Slovak government is hesitant about the previous administration's agreement to purchase AH-1Z Viper helicopters at a substantial discount in exchange for donating MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainians are very eager to acquire the AH-1Z Viper. What can these machines do, and why are they considered unique?
According to the Defense News portal, Slovakia's current government is more interested in acquiring a medium-range air defence system and F-16 aircraft than 12 AH-1Z Viper helicopters.
Ukrainians interested in AH-1Z Viper
Especially considering that the price of the potential sale of 12 Vipers to Slovakia, approved by the U.S. State Department under the Foreign Military Sale procedure, has increased to £492 million from the initially offered £278 million.
The stalled negotiations between Bratislava and Washington have not escaped the notice of the Ukrainians, who, as acknowledged in a statement to Defense News by Vadym Ivchenko, a Ukrainian MP from the Batkivshchyna party, have been trying to acquire these helicopters from the USA since 2022.
Additionally, as a member of the parliamentary National Security, Defence, and Intelligence Committee, Vadym Ivchenko was reported to have written a letter to U.S. lawmakers to persuade the Biden administration to redirect the Vipers to Kyiv as soon as possible (if Slovakia rejects them). Ukraine is also making efforts to locate a Bell company factory within Ukraine.
AH-1Z Viper - the latest iteration of the legendary Cobra
Designed by Bell and introduced into service in 2010 with the Marines, the AH-1Z Viper is a very extensive development of the AH-1 SuperCobra helicopter, which is an evolution of the famous AH-1 Cobra. This helicopter became the template for nearly all current assault helicopters, characterised by a narrow fuselage and tandem seating for pilots (one above the other).
The AH-1Z Viper can carry as much anti-tank armament as the AH-64E Apache Guardian while being faster and cheaper to operate. According to American data from 2021, an hour's flight of the AH-1Z Viper cost £3,725, while the competing Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian cost £5,249.
The armament of the AH-1Z Viper includes a three-barrel 20-mm (0.8-inch) M197 cannon located under the fuselage with an effective range of up to 2 kilometres (1 mile) and four pylons for launching unguided Hydra rockets or their guided APKWS variants and anti-tank AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
AH-1Z Viper - the only helicopter that can hunt jet fighters
Additionally, the AH-1Z Viper has the capability to use air-to-air missiles, making it the only assault helicopter currently in service that can independently shoot down jet fighters such as the Su-30 or Su-35.
Standardly, helicopters can carry missiles used in MANPADS sets such as the FIM-92 Stinger with a range of up to 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) for targets at altitudes up to about 3.8 kilometres (2 miles). Meanwhile, the AH-1Z Viper can carry a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles on the wingtips, including the AIM-9X version with a range estimated at slightly over 20 kilometres (12 miles) (when launched at low altitude).
During the MSPO 2022 fair, we learned that, in practice, the AH-1Z Viper can shoot down, for instance, a Ka-52 Alligator before it detects the Viper with its onboard radar. Moreover, the pilots of these helicopters undergo training that includes air-to-air combat scenarios.
For this reason, the AH-1Z Viper helicopters (ideally equipped with self-defence systems that blind incoming missiles with a laser beam, known as DIRCM, and electronic warfare pods like the AN/ALQ-231 Intrepid Tiger II or similar) could be an ideal design for the Ukrainian battlefield, where the Russians currently have significant air superiority.
