AH-I Cobra

Bell's AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter needs little introduction. It fulfilled the US Army's requirement for a weapons platform to protect troop transport helicopters during the Vietnam War, since the Bell UH-1C Iroquois 4Huey' gunship was unable to escort the faster transport helicopters. Bell Helicopter wisely anticipated this need and began its own research and devel­opment of a faster, more powerful, and more heavily armed gunship in 1965. The sleek and lethal AH-1G Cobra satisfied the Army's urgent requirement for a pure gunship in the inten­sifying war. Shortly after its arrival in Vietnam during mid-1967, the Cobra quickly earned the respect of its fixed-wing contemporaries. Its combat roles were expanded to include anti-armor missions using the Hughes BGM-71 TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided) anti-armor missile. This foreshadowed the conversion of half of the Army's Cobras to anti-armor platforms during the mid-1970s to counter the Warsaw Pact armor threat in Europe. The Army continually upgraded its Cobras - through the AH-1Q, AH-1S (in four sub-variants), and AH-1F models - before they were replaced in favor of McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AH-64 Apaches during the late 1980s. The US Marine Corps (USMC) closely watched the Army's success with Cobras and oper­ated a small number of AH-IGs in Vietnam. The Marines then ordered a slightly larger and more heavily armed twin-engine version, the AH-1J SeaCobra, which entered service in 1969. The USMC prefers twin-engine helicopters for greater overwater safety. In 1976, pow-erplant improvements led to the AH-1T, which carried more than twice the AH-lJ's payload. Further refinement of the Tango' resulted in the AH-1W (formerly AH-1T+) SuperCobra of 1986. The 'Whiskey' Cobra remains the only attack helicopter with dual anti-armor capabili­ty. It can use either the TOW or Rockwell AGM-114 Hellfire (HELicopter Launched FIRE and forget) missiles against armored vehicles. A major upgrade of the 'Whiskey' to meet expand­ing mission requirements will extend the Marine Cobra's service life until 2025. The new gen­eration AH-1Z incorporates the latest technology to form a totally integrated weapons plat­form. Since the Vietnam War, the battle-proven family of Cobra helicopters has served in many global trouble spots, a trend that will continue with the new fcZulu' SuperCobra. This work pre­sents the Cobra's lineage through successive models.