Photo: Bell
As per their job description, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) soldiers have to conduct expeditionary and amphibious operations using any and every piece of hardware the U.S. military has at its disposal at any given time. These days, that also includes the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters.
The two have been designed to fulfill different roles, but the USMC takes the combined flight hours of the two (they called this mixed fleet H1) into account when coming up with statistics. And the latest such numbers show the two helos, both manufactured by Bell, have reached a combined 400,000 hours of flight time in about ten years. The milestone was reached back in April but was only announced this month by the USMC.
The most spectacular chopper of the two, the AH-1Z Viper, is an attack machine introduced back in 2000. It seats a crew of two and can fly for as much as 357 miles (575 km) at speeds of up to 230 mph (370 kph). Used as an attack, aerial reconnaissance and escort helicopter, the Viper is equipped with anti-armor and air-to-air missiles.
Although they don’t look the same, the Viper shares most of its components, some 85 percent of them, with the UH-1Y Venom. This one was not specifically designed for attack, as it's mostly a utility helicopter, being used for all the roles the Viper was designed for, but also search and rescue or command and control.
Introduced in 2001, the Venom, also known as the Super Huey, can seat a crew of four and an additional eight soldiers in the back. Its top speed is 196 mph (315 kph), and it can keep flying for 374 miles (602 km).
Now in the process of being modernized, the USMC helicopter fleet will continue to serve the needs of the military branch well into the 2040s.
The most spectacular chopper of the two, the AH-1Z Viper, is an attack machine introduced back in 2000. It seats a crew of two and can fly for as much as 357 miles (575 km) at speeds of up to 230 mph (370 kph). Used as an attack, aerial reconnaissance and escort helicopter, the Viper is equipped with anti-armor and air-to-air missiles.
Although they don’t look the same, the Viper shares most of its components, some 85 percent of them, with the UH-1Y Venom. This one was not specifically designed for attack, as it's mostly a utility helicopter, being used for all the roles the Viper was designed for, but also search and rescue or command and control.
Introduced in 2001, the Venom, also known as the Super Huey, can seat a crew of four and an additional eight soldiers in the back. Its top speed is 196 mph (315 kph), and it can keep flying for 374 miles (602 km).
Now in the process of being modernized, the USMC helicopter fleet will continue to serve the needs of the military branch well into the 2040s.
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