Eight Bell AH-1Z Vipers have already been delivered to the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma in Okinawa, Japan. The Bell AH-1Z Viper is a modern version of the first ever attack helicopter, the AH-1 Cobra. It is also called Zulu Cobra in reference to its variant letter. Since its introduction in the mid 1960s the original Cobra has been constantly improved and upgraded. The latest AH-1Z Viper is a result of H-1 helicopter upgrade program for the US Marine Corps. It was launched by the US Government in 1996 and has been won the Bell helicopter company. Armament of the Viper is very flexible. It is enhanced by helmet-mounted sight and display system. The AH-1Z carries about 2 t of various weapons on stub-wings. Typically it carries AGM-114A/B/C Hellfire anti-tank missiles (up to 16) and pods with 70-mm unguided rockets. The Viper can be also fitted with AGM-114F Hellfire anti-ship missiles, free-fall bombs, including the Mk.77 incendiary bombs. It can also carry two fire-and-forget AIM-9 Sidewinder supersonic air-to-air missiles with infrared target detection. It is worth noting that the Viper was developed alongside the UH-1Y Venom transport helicopter under the same program.
