Helicopter cockpit6/29/2023 ![]() The AH-1Z Viper for the USMC can be armed with 16 Hellfire missiles, six AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, 70mm rocket pods (7- and 19-shot), and a 20mm gun. Either crew member can slave the turret to the helmet-mounted sight and aim the gun by looking at the target. With the gun in a fixed forward position, the pilot can aim by manoeuvring the helicopter. ![]() The Super Cobra carries a three-barrel, 20mm Gatling gun for close range (up to 2km) engagement and 750 rounds of ammunition. A $96.1m contract was awarded to BAE systems by the US Army for design and development of APKWS II laser guided rockets. The US Army reopened the competition for the APKWS in September 2005 and BAE Systems was selected as the prime contractor on 27 April 2006. Since 2008, all units are armed with the advanced precision kill weapon system (APKWS), a guided version of the Hydra. The Super Cobra can fire the Hydra family of unguided 70mm rockets or the larger 127mm Zuni rocket bombs. AIM-9L Sidewinder is an all-aspect, short-range, air-to-air missile produced by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Both missiles can use the same LAU-7 rail launcher. The Super Cobra was the first attack helicopter to qualify both the Sidewinder air-to-air missile and the Sidearm anti-radiation missile. The Super Cobra has fire-and-forget capability when firing the Hellfire missile in co-operative mode with laser target illumination. It is equipped with a semi-active laser seeker and has a range of 7km. The AGM-114 Hellfire missile is manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The Raytheon BGM-71 TOW missile has a range of more than 3km and semi-automatic command-to-line-of-sight guidance. The Super Cobra can carry both TOW and Hellfire anti-armour missiles and is qualified to carry the Maverick missile. TopOwl, also fitted on Tiger, NH90 and Rooivalk helicopters, has integrated Gen IV image intensifier and FLIR capability and provides transition from day to night use at the push of a button. The first system was delivered in January 2003. Thales Avionics’ TopOwl helmet-mounted display system was chosen for the USMC AH-1Z in June 2002. The navigation suite includes an embedded GPS inertial (EGI), a low-airspeed air data subsystem, which allows weapons delivery when hovering and a digital map. The communications suite combines the US Navy RT-1824 integrated radio, UHF/VHF, COMSEC and modem in a single unit. Smiths Aerospace supplied the weapon stores control and data transfer system. The displays were supplied by L-3 Ruggedised Command and Control Solutions. Each crew station has two 8in×6in multifunction displays and one 4.2in×4.2in dual function display, based on active-matrix liquid crystal colour technology. The systems include two mission computers and an automatic flight control system with four-axis stability control augmentation system. Northrop Grumman developed the integrated avionics systems for the AH-1Z. The AH-1Z Viper is deployed to provide close air support, armed escort/reconnaissance, anti-air warfare, and anti-armour operations. The maximum take-off weight of the helicopter is approximately 18,500lb (8,390kg). It has an overall length of 58ft 3in (17.75m), overall height of 14ft 4in (4.37m), and rotor diameter of 48ft (14.6m). The helicopter features an epoxy primer layer on the exposed surfaces. No two dissimilar metals of the structure are in contact. The fuselage and other sub-assembly elements are all made of corrosion-resistant material. Initial operating capability of the AH-1Z Viper was attained in February 2011. In November 2010, the AH-1Z was approved for the full-rate production. Phase II of OPEVAL began in February 2008, and the OPEVAL was completed in October 2010. The first production AH-1Z helicopter was delivered to the USMC in January 2007. Sea trials in May 2005 included the first shipboard landing on USS Bataan, Wasp Class amphibious assault ship.ĭevelopmental testing was completed in February 2006 and two test aircraft began operational evaluation (OPEVAL) with the USMC in May 2006. Five AH-1W helicopters were remanufactured to AH-1Z standard and took part in flight testing at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The AH-1W entered low-rate initial production (LRIP) in October 2003 with deliveries to be carried out until 2018. AH-1Z Viper first flight and developmentįirst flight of the AH-1Z took place in December 2000. Four additional helicopters were ordered in September 2008. The USMC subsequently decided on new-build rather than remanufactured UH-1Y helicopters and, in February 2008, awarded Bell a contract for the new build of 40 of the proposed 189 AH-1Z helicopters. The improvement in flight characteristics provided by the four-bladed configuration led to an increase in flight envelope, maximum speed, vertical rate-of-climb, payload, and rotor vibration level. The original two-bladed semi-rigid, teetering rotor system was replaced with a four-bladed, hingeless, bearingless rotor system.
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