Slovakia approved for US$600 million AH-1Z helicopter order
Slovakia currently has no attack helicopters so the arrival AH-1Zs would be a major capability boost. (Photo: USMC)
The US State Department has approved the sale of 12 Bell Textron AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters to Slovakia under a US$600 million deal which includes missiles, guns and launchers.
Slovakia will join the neighbouring Czech Republic if the order goes ahead along with Pakistan, the US and Bahrain. Nigeria has also been cleared to purchase the platform and a contract placed but deliveries have yet to begin.
As well as the helicopters, the deal includes 26 T-700 GE 401C engines (24 installed, 2 spares), 1,680 WGU-59/B Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) and 14 Honeywell embedded global positioning systems/inertial navigation systems (12 installed, 2 spares).
Other systems include Helmet Mounted Display System/Optimized TopOwl, Target Sight Systems and containers, ANVIS-9 night-vision cueing displays, AN/ARC-210 Generation 6 receiver-transmitter 2036 radio equipment and AN/APX-123A identification friend or foe (IFF) Mode 5 systems.
Kinetic weapons approved under the deal include WTU-1B warheads, M-197 20mm armament pod gun assemblies, 20 mm PGU-27A/B target practice rounds and 20 mm PGU-28A/B semi armour piercing high explosive incendiary rounds.
Protection systems include AN/ALE-47 chaff and flare countermeasures systems, MJU-32A/B and MJU-49B decoy flares, SMB875B/ALE flare simulators, AN/AAR-47 missile warning system and AN/APR-39C radar warning receiver and conversion kits.
The AH-1Z Viper is an upgrade to AH-1W and replaces the existing cockpit and drive system with an integrated digital/glass cockpit, four-bladed, all-composite, hingeless, bearingless rotor system, drivetrain, engine, transmission, hydraulics, electrical systems and tail boom.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
Update: India’s Rafale-M deal postponed
New Delhi had been gearing up to sign a Navy Rafale deal as talks swirled around a potential assembly line in Nagpur.
-
Turkey’s Eurofighter process going to plan despite German block, says minister
The comment, made by Turkish defence minister Yasar Guler, also noted that the 40-strong sale of Eurofighter Typhoons was primarily managed by the UK, not Germany.
-
Belgium considers additional F-35 order to boost fleet
The statement from Prime Minister Bart De Wever during a parliamentary session follows the country’s Easter Agreement which would see it increase defence spending to 2% of GDP by the end of 2025.
-
Northrop Grumman notes $477 million loss as it manages higher B-21 programme costs
In its Q1 earnings call, the company disclosed a US$477 million pretax loss related to the programme as it works to scale up.
-
Lockheed Martin wants to “supercharge” F-35 after NGAD loss
The investment in technologies developed for Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft bid will now be applied to its F-35 and F-22 aircraft, according to Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet.