AH-1Z
Contents
| This page is about the American attack helicopter AH-1Z. For other uses, see AH-1 (Family). |
Description
The AH-1Z is a rank VII American attack helicopter
with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB), 12.0 (RB), and 10.0 (SB). This helicopter was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries".
General info
Flight Performance
| Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | |||
| Max Speed (km/h at ?,000 m) |
Max altitude (meters) | ||
| AB | RB | ||
| ? | ? | 6000 | |
| Upgraded | |||
| Max Speed (km/h at ?,000 m) |
Max altitude (meters) | ||
| AB | RB | ||
| ? | ? | 6000 | |
Survivability and armour
Examine the survivability of the helicopter. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, how many engines the vehicle has. Describe the armour, if there is any, also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.
Armaments
Offensive armament
Describe the offensive armament of the helicopter, if any. Describe how effective the cannons and machine guns are in battle, also what ammunition belts or drums are better to use. If there is no offensive weaponry, delete this subsection.
Suspended armament
Describe the helicopter's suspended armament: additional cannons under the winglets, any type of bombs, and rockets. Since any helicopter is essentially only a platform for suspended weaponry, this section is extremely important and deserves your special attention. If there is no suspended weaponry remove this subsection.
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the helicopter, the features of using vehicles in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Modules
| Tier | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Compressor | Flak jacket | Offensive 20 mm | TOW | Flares | |
| II | Helicopter frame | New 20 mm cannons | TOW-2 | AIM-9 | M261 | |
| III | Engine | Gun pod XM-18 | TOW 4 | TOW-2 4 | AGM-114 | |
| IV | Replacing helicopter blades | Cover | New 7 mm MGs | TOW 8 | TOW-2 8 | AGM-114 2 |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Can carry up to 16 TOW ATGMs (TOW-2 with modification)
- Flares
- One of the fastest helicopters in the game
- Can carry air-to-air missiles to take down aircraft
- Excellent ground attack capabilities.
Cons:
- Weak airframe can be taken down even by roof-mounted MGs from enemy tanks.
- Cannon fodder for dedicated SPAAGs
- Very slow, easy target for SPAAs and aircraft
- Priority target for the enemy team as you are extremely dangerous
- No armor whatsoever.
History
In 1996, the USMC launched the H-1 program in cooperation with the Bell company. The H-1 program was a plan to upgrade and modernize the Navy’s existing fleets of AH-1 and UH-1 helicopters, in order to extend their service life and lower future operating costs. This was achieved by developing a new version of each helicopter model respectively. The new AH-1Z Viper, also known as “ZuluCobra”, received upgraded avionics, fire control systems, engines and an improved four-blade rotor system, among other improvements. Furthermore, both the new Viper and UH-1Y were designed in a way to use mostly identical parts, achieving the desired reduction in operating costs and ease of maintenance as a result. The AH-1Z Viper conducted its maiden flight in December 2000, with three prototypes being built for testing in 2002. Small-scale production began in 2003 before the Viper was approved for full-scale production in November 2010. The USMC has ordered for 189 Vipers to be delivered to the fleet by 2021, with only a few dozen machines being in service today.
- From Devblog
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| USA helicopters | |
|---|---|
| Attack | |
| Black Hawk | MH-60L DAP |
| Choctaw | H-34 |
| Cobra | AH-1F · AH-1G · AH-1Z |
| SuperCobra | AH-1W |
| Kiowa | OH-58D |
| Little Bird | AH-6M |
| Apache | YAH-64 · AH-64A · ▃AH-64A Peten · AH-64A (GR) · AH-64D |
| Utility | |
| Huey | UH-1B · UH-1C · UH-1C XM-30 |
