The US State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale of AH-1Z ‘Viper’ attack helicopters to Bahrain for an estimated cost of US$911.4 million.
Bahrain has requested 12 AH-1Z attack helicopters, 26 T-700 GE 401C engines (24 installed and two spares), 14 Hellfire Missiles, and 56 Advance Precision Kill Weapon System IIs.
The request also includes 15 Honeywell Embedded GPS Inertial Navigation Systems, including support equipment, spare and repair parts, tools and test equipment, technical data and publications, training, and other related elements of logistics and program support.
The principal contractors will be Bell Helicopter, Textron, and General Electric.
The AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter is being marketed in Australia by Bell and BAE Systems as a replacement for Army’s Tigers under Land 9000 Phase 3. Under the teaming agreement, BAE Systems will oversee helicopter maintenance, sustainment, and support training with Bell as the OEM.
The Tigers have been the subject of concerns including fumes in the cockpit, a rocket launcher pod falling-off the aircraft, and communications systems compatibility issues.
The other contender to replace the Tigers is Boeing’s Apache.
As with all US FMS notices, the notice of the Viper sale to Bahrain is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.