Aircraft manufacturer Bell Textron recently announced the delivery of the 189th AH-1Z Viper helicopter to the Marine Corps, which completes the Program of Record (POR) for the latest H-1 platform.
“The first production lot of US Marine Corps H-1s was ordered in 1962, and they changed the way Marines fight today,” Bell H-1 Vice President and Program Director Mike Deslatte said. “Completing the AH-1Z and UH-1Y deliveries to the US Marine Corps adds one more chapter to the legacy of the H-1 platform.”
Per Bell Textron, the current generation AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom are the most agile, mobile, and survivable combination of aircraft used by the Department of Defense, adding the 85 percent common platforms are the only two aircraft that share so much commonality, providing logistical agility and reduced operating costs.
“H-1s are key to the 2022 Marine Corps Aviation Plan,” Col. Vasillios Pappas, Light/Attack Helicopters program manager (PMA-276), said. “With the US program of record now complete, the Marines have the flexibility to manage and deploy the helicopters based on current and future mission requirements as established at the start of the program.”
Officials indicated since the initial delivery of the AH-1Zs and UH-1Ys to the Marine Corps, the H-1 mixed fleet has accumulated over 450,000 flight hours via a full spectrum of military operations.