U.S. State Department Clears Possible AH-1Z Viper Sale to Pakistan

LONDON—The U.S. State Departmenthas given the green light to a possible foreign military sale (FMS) of the Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter to Pakistan.

The $925 million deal, revealed by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on April 6, covers 15 AH-1Zs and also includes the purchase of 1,000 Hellfire missiles to arm them.

If the deal proceeds, Pakistan will become the first foreign operator of the new-generation Cobra, which was developed along with the utility UH-1Y Venom for the U.S. Marine Corps.

The deal also includes some software-development work, support equipment, spares, personnel training and some contractor engineering, as well as technical and logistic-support services.

The DSCA says the deal would give Pakistan a “precision strike, enhanced survivability aircraft that it can operate at high altitudes.”
The agency says the Pakistan armed forces will be able to conduct attack helicopter operations in North Waziristan Agency (NWA), the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and other remote and mountainous areas.

“Pakistan will have no difficulty absorbing these helicopters into its armed forces,” the agency states.

Pakistan has been a longtime user of the Cobra, having been provided with early-model AH-1S during the 1980s, and later, ex-U.S. Army AH-1Fs during the late 1990s. But Pakistan has been looking for more modern equipment and was given approval by Russia in late 2014 to purchase the Mil Mi-35, however no order has been forthcoming.

However images have appeared online in the last few days suggesting Pakistan may have taken delivery of a trio of Chinese Z-10 attack helicopters. The photos, yet to be verified, show the three aircraft in a hangar apparently at the Dhamial army airfield near Islamabad.

The last FMS request for the AH-1Z was from South Korea, as that country examined options for its new attack helicopter. However, the AH-1Z lost to the Boeing AH-64E Apache.