Bell, the producer of the AH-1Z AH-1Z Viper assault helicopter at the moment deployed by the U.S. Marine Corps despatched its provide to the South Korean Protection Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) on Thursday, based on the Korea JoongAng Daily. The state arms procurement company acquired an official provide of know-how switch from the producer of a overseas assault helicopter most popular by the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC), based on a conservative Folks Energy Social gathering (PPP) lawmaker on Monday. This isn’t the primary time that Bell has made a suggestion of know-how switch to DAPA.
The proposal entails technological collaboration with Korean Air for home manufacturing of the Viper underneath license, much like the KF-16 multirole fighter, which is a licensed Korean model of American aerospace and protection company Common Dyanmics’ F-16 produced by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the nation’s sole plane producer. Bell’s third try and get DAPA’s consideration represents a possible plot twist to the company’s much-criticized choice final yr to equip the Marine Corps with 24 home assault helicopters.
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The company introduced in April 2021 that it chosen the assault variant of KAI’s Marineon because the Korean Marine Corps’ future assault helicopter. The deal is anticipated to value 1.6 trillion gained ($1.16 billion) and is an element of a bigger acquisition plan to create the Republic of Korea Marine Corps’ first-ever air wing, composed of a squadron of assault helicopters and two squadrons of standard Marineon transport utility helicopters. The air wing will function from the Navy’s Dokdo-class amphibious assault ships. All the Marine Corps’ Marineon helicopters have been grounded in late 2018, following a crash that led to 5 deaths.
Retired Lieutenant Common Lee Seung-do, who instructed the Nationwide Meeting’s protection committee in October 2020 that the Marines Corps “doesn’t need an armed variant of the Marineon, however an assault helicopter that’s maneuverable and survivable. Critics concern that the armed variant of the Marineon falls brief in comparison with different devoted assault helicopters. Initially designed as a transport helicopter, the Marineon’s airframe is wider than its opponents, making it extra susceptible to enemy fireplace, whereas its most pace of 279 kilometers (173 miles) per hour is considerably slower than the 300 kilometer-per-hour pace of the Viper.
The Bell AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine assault helicopter, based mostly on the AH-1W SuperCobra, designed and produced by the American aerospace producer Bell Helicopter. Being one of many newest members of the prolific Bell Huey household, it’s also referred to as “Zulu Cobra”, based mostly on the navy phonetic alphabet pronunciation of its variant letter. The airframe was extensively redesigned to maximise crashworthiness; measures embody energy-absorbing touchdown gear, gas vapor inerting methods, self-sealing gas tanks, energy-attenuating crashworthy seating, and a mass retention design method utilized to many main elements.
The AH-1Z is supplied with a pair of redesigned stub wings, these being considerably longer than these of the previous SuperCobra. Every one has a further wingtip station for a missile such because the AIM-9 Sidewinder. Every stub wing has two different stations for two.75-inch (70 mm) Hydra 70 rocket pods, or AGM-114 Hellfire quad missile launchers. The AN/APG-78 Longbow fireplace management radar may also be mounted on a wingtip station. Beneath the nostril of the AH-1Z is an A/A49E-7 turret fitted with a 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 three-barreled rotary cannon and likewise appropriate with M50-series air-to-air rounds.
