The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the Czech Republic of Hellfire Missiles and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and related elements of logistics and program support for an estimated cost of $138.26 million. The Government of the Czech Republic has requested to buy 200 Hellfire Air-to-Ground Missiles, AGM-114R; 4 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM); and 600 WGU-59A/B Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II (single variant). The following non-MDE is also included: support equipment; dummy cartridge rounds; containers; training material; inert components; publications; repair of repairables; and training and technical support. The proposed sale will improve the Czech Republic’s capability to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats. The Czech Republic will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces. The principal contractors will be Lockheed Martin, located in Orlando, FL, and BAE Systems, Inc., located in Nashua, NH.
The Bell AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine attack helicopter, based on the AH-1W SuperCobra, designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. It is one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family. It is often called “Zulu Cobra”, based on the military phonetic alphabet pronunciation of its variant letter. The AH-1Z is equipped with a pair of redesigned stub wings, these being substantially longer than those of the preceding SuperCobra. Each one has an additional wingtip station for a missile such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder. Each stub wing has two other stations for 2.75-inch (70 mm) Hydra 70 rocket pods, or AGM-114 Hellfire quad missile launchers. In 2016, Bell was also interested in selling the AH-1Z to the Czech Republic, which sought to retire its Soviet-era Mil Mi-24 gunships. In December 2019, the Czech Republic finalized the sale with the U.S. of four AH-1Zs for the Czech Air Force. In July 2023, the Czech Republic started taking deliveries of Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters along with APKWS-II rockets.
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an American missile developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name “Heliborne laser, fire-and-forget missile”, which led to the colloquial name “Hellfire” ultimately becoming the missile’s formal name. Hellfire weighs 104 pounds (47 kg), including the 20-pound (9 kg) warhead, and has a range of 4.4–6.8 miles (7.1–11 km) depending on trajectory. The Hellfire has a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of less than 3 feet (0.91 m). It has also been fielded on surface platforms in the surface-to-surface and surface-to-air roles. The AGM-114R “Romeo” Hellfire II entered service in late 2012. It uses a semi-active laser homing guidance system and a K-charge multipurpose warhead to engage targets that formerly needed multiple Hellfire variants. It has a multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike ability and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The AH-1Z Viper helicopter gunship, which can carry up to 16 of them.
The AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) is a design conversion of Hydra 70 unguided rockets with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). The Hydra 70 rocket is a 2.75-inch (70 mm) diameter fin-stabilized unguided rocket used primarily in the air-to-ground role. It can be equipped with a variety of warheads, and in more recent versions, guidance systems for point attacks. APKWS is approximately one-third the cost and one-third the weight of the current inventory of laser-guided weapons, has a lower yield more suitable for avoiding collateral damage, and takes one quarter of the time for ordnance personnel to load and unload. Firing ranges are 1,100-5,000 meters, the former of which can be hit less than 5 seconds after firing. Maximum range is constrained by use of the existing Hydra 70 motor, but since the seeker can see as far as 14 km (8.7 mi). The new APKWS II uses the Distributed Aperture Semi-Active Laser Seeker (DASALS) technology. This system allows a laser seeker to be located in the leading edge of each of the forward control canards, working in unison as if they were a single seeker.
