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he final 40 of 180 upgraded
attack helicopters for the
are to be built new rather than remanufactured as originally planned - a decision that could improve the design's export prospects. Under a $20 million contract, Bell will design and proof tooling to build new AH-1Z airframes beginning with Lot 7 procurement in fiscal year 2012. The company has already transitioned to building new
utility helicopters under the USMC's H-1 upgrade programme.
Bell's contract also covers integration and qualification of the uprated General Electric T700-401C turboshaft in the new-build AH-1Z. The -401C is already installed in new-build UH-1Ys, while remanufactured AH-1Zs retain their original T700-401 engines. The helicopters also share dynamic systems and avionics.
The H-1 upgrade programme was originally based on remanufacturing AH-1Ws and UH-1Ns, but the USMC switched to new-build UH-1Ys after a handful of helicopters because of issues with airframe condition and downtime. The decision to build new AH-1Zs was prompted by concerns that the aircraft would be too worn-out to remanufacture cost-effectively given their heavy use during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Bell says the AH-1Z and UH-1Y are not yet being actively promoted for export, but it expects the availability of new-build airframes to improve prospects on the international market.
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U.S. Marines Propose AH-1Z Production Boost
Oct 13, 2010
Following a successful operational evaluation, the U.S. Marine Corps plans to request approval for full-rate production of the new AH-1Z attack helicopter.
A Defense Acquisition Board meeting is set to review the project early in November, says Col. Harry Hewson, who manages the Huey and Cobra upgrade programs for Naval Air Systems Command.
The Navy declared the AH-1Z Viper operationally effective and suitable following the final evaluation. Lt. Gen. George Trautman, deputy Marine commandant for aviation, says testers earlier expressed some concern about the Zulu’s supportability, but that issue has since been resolved.
The service is buying 189 Zulus, 58 of which are newly built helicopters while the remainder are upgrades to the AH-1Ws now in the fleet. Bell Helicopter Textron is the prime contractor for both the UH-1Y Yankee and AH-1Z Zulu upgrade efforts. The Navy is buying 160 UH-1Y upgrades to the UH-1N armed utility helos. The total Huey/Cobra upgrade cost is $12.1 billion.
Navy officials had planned to buy 226 Zulus but decreased the number to account for restructuring within Marine light-attack helicopter squadrons. The Yankee has undergone two full deployments, and it has “reclaimed the utility mission” for the corps, says Col. Scott McGowan, Marine headquarters branch head for aviation plans, programs and budget. Previously, the squadron mix was to be 18 Zulus and nine Yankees per unit, but that was rebalanced earlier this year to 15 Zulus and 12 Yankees. “Cobra is optimized for precision weapons. Yankee will never do that as well,” McGowan says. “But when you add it all up across the full spectrum of combat operations . . . it looks like a better mix for us.”
To date, Bell is on contract to deliver 70 Yankees and 28 Zulus; 31 UH-1Ys and 11 AH-1Zs have been delivered, Hewson says. Two of each type were used for developmental testing and will be retained as test assets.
Despite two cost overruns, Hewson says Bell is now “meeting budget dead-on” for the upgrades, and the company is operating under firm, fixed-price contracts.
Reliability problems with parts on the Zulu cropped up earlier, but Hewson says most of those issues were related to software. An earlier attempt at a Zulu operational evaluation was botched in part because the Navy used developmental targeting sight systems, not production versions, due to budget constraints. The most recent operational evaluation included production versions of the Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-30.
The Marines decided to prioritize fielding of the Yankees to reduce the number of AH-1Ws pulled out of service for upgrades and to work through these issues. The service continues to suffer a shortfall in attack helicopter capacity, McGowan says.
Full-rate production began on the Yankee last year and the first two newly manufactured AH-1Zs. Also last year, the Navy conducted a “full shakedown” before operational evaluation of the Zulu to ensure the problems were ironed out before the formal testing phase.
The Zulu has been cleared to use all Hellfire variants, 2.75-in. rockets, the 20-mm. gun and the AIM-9 series. It is a threshold platform for the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile, which is in competition and is expected to enter service in 2016. Testing recently wrapped up for use of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System on the AH-1W, and it will be integrated onto the Yankee by the end of 2011 in preparation for insertion onto the Zulu in 2012.
Photo: US Navy
Photo: US Marine Corp
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