Bell AH-1Z

Bahrain has been approved to receive second-hand Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, on top of recent deliveries of new-model AH-1Z Vipers.

The offer serves as “indirect compensation” for donating 13 Mikoyan MiG-29s and parts of an SA-6 battery to Ukraine.

Bahrain’s air force has joined a growing list of armed forces adopting Bell’s 505 single-engine turbine helicopter for rotary wing training.

Although fighters and long-range missiles have topped Ukraine’s urgent cries for more weapons from the West, attack helicopters also are on the list.

The Czech Republic has committed to increasing defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product.

The proposed Foreign Military Sales revealed by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency reveal two radically different packages for the Bell AH-1Z or Boeing AH-64E Apache.

“We are looking at other options from China in the form of the Z-10ME,” Maj. Gen. Syed Najeeb Ahmed, commander of Pakistani Army Aviation, told the International Military Helicopter conference here in London.