By Mortz C. Ortigoza
A Filipino pilot based in Australia said the ideal procurement of an attack helicopter for the Philippine military is to buy the Bell AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopter (AH) than the Bell AH-1 Super Cobra or Boeing AH-64 Apache.
Denmark Suede told this writer that with a limited budget of P13.8 billion for a purchase of a squadron of these combat choppers, the offer of Bell to buy five of its Vipers and the remaining seven funded by soft loan was the best gesture.
“Plus magbibigay ang U.S ng Whiskey (Super Cobra) na one squadron (10 to 12 helicopters). The U.S offer is the best offer,” he said in Filipino.
He cited that Turkey Aerospace Industry (TAI), the maker of T-129 attack chopper, offers loan too to the Philippines to buy their product.
A pilot and a pilot-gunner operate each of the attack helicopters.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Technical Working Group of the Philippines Air Force (PAF) recommended in 2018 to purchase the T-129.
“But they could only get “less than 10” units with their budget,” he said.
Last December 2019, Boeing offered to sell a squadron of AH-64 Apache to the Philippines.
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| ATTACK CHOPPERS FOR PH. Clockwise above: U.S Bell AH-1 Z Viper Attack Helicopter (AH), U.S Boeing Apache AH, Turkey Aerospace Industry’s T-129 ATAK, and U.S Bell AH-W Super Cobra. |
The country has a budget of P13.8 billions for a squadron of attack choppers as mandated by the Horizon-I of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Modernization Act (RAFPMA) or what is known as Republic Act 10349, that covered years 2013 to 2017..
According to a military website, Super Cobra AH W or Whiskey, AH-1Z Viper, Apache, and T-129 have price tags of US$10.7 million (2007)/ P535 million (AH-W), US$27 million/P1.350 billion (refurbished Viper) or US$31 million/ P1.55 billion (newly built Viper), $40 million/P2 billion (Apache), $50 million/PP2.5 billion (T-129), respectively.
DefenseTurkey.com cited that the $50, 000 or P2.5 billion price tag apiece of T-129 includes the comprehensive packages of logistics, munitions, spare parts, ground support equipment and training.
The publication about the other choppers did not provide if their prices included as those packages on T-129.
SUPER COBRA
The Bell AH-1 Super Cobra, according to Wikipidea, is a twin-engine attack helicopter based on the United States Army's single-engine AH-1 Cobra. The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J Sea Cobra, the AH-1T Improved Sea Cobra, and the AH-1W Super Cobra. The AH-1W, the backbone of the United States Marine Corps' attack helicopter fleet for decades, is being replaced by the next generation Bell AH-1Z Viper.
VIPER
The Bell AH-1Z Viper is an American twin-engine attack helicopter, based on the AH-1W Super Cobra, that was developed for the United States Marine Corps as part of the H-1 upgrade program, according to Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles by the US. The AH-1Z features a four-blade, bearing less, composite main rotor system, uprated transmission, and a new target sighting system. The AH-1Z, one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family, is also called "Zulu Cobra", based on the military phonetic alphabet pronunciation of its variant letter.
T-129 ATAK
The TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK, according to airforce- technology.com, is a twin-engine, tandem seat, multi-role, all-weather attack helicopter based on the Agusta A129 Mangusta platform. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) developed the T129 with partner AgustaWestland. The helicopter is designed for advanced attack and reconnaissance missions in hot and high environments and rough geography in both day and night conditions.
AH-64 APACHE
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage, and four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons for carrying armament and stores, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The AH-64 has significant systems redundancy to improve combat survivability.
The United States has lifted out recently its sanction on Turkey thus the supply of U.S made engines LHTEC T800, made by a consortium of British’s Rolls Royce and U.S Honeywell, for T-129 have returned to business with foreign buyers.
The two pilots’ capable helicopter is heavily armored plated especially on its belly and rotors that could sustain blast against 12.7mm armor-piercing rounds projectiles while it carries its three-barrel rotary cannon (500 rounds) and hard points.
SUPER COBRA
The performances of the AH-1W Super Cobra, according to the International Directory of Military Aircraft, are maximum speed: 190 knots (218 mph, 352 km/h), Range: 317 nmi (365 mi, 587 km); Service ceiling: 12,200 ft (3,720 m), and; Rate of climb: 1,620 ft/min (8.2 m/s).
Its armaments are: M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in the A/A49E-7 turret (750 rounds ammo capacity); 2.75 in (70 mm) Hydra 70 or APKWS II[55] rockets – Mounted in LAU-68C/A (7 shot) or LAU-61D/A (19 shot) launchers; 5 in (127 mm) Zuni rockets – 8 rockets in two 4-round LAU-10D/A launchers; TOW missiles – Up to 8 missiles mounted in two 4-round XM65 missile launchers, one on each outboard hardpoint; AGM-114 Hellfire missiles – Up to 8 missiles mounted in two 4-round M272 missile launchers, one on each outboard hardpoint, and; AIM-9 Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles – 1 mounted on each outboard hardpoint (total of 2).
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| Australia based pilot Denmark Suede and author at the latter Talk Radio 101. |
VIPER
The performances of the Viper, according to Wikipidea, are never exceeded speed of 222 knots (255 mph, 411 km/h) in a dive; Cruise speed: 160 kt (184 mph, 296 km/h); Range: 370 nmi (426 mi, 685 km; Combat radius: 125 nmi (144 mi, 231 km) with 2,500 lb (1,130 kg) payload; Service ceiling: 20,000+ ft (6,000+ m); Rate of climb: 2,790 ft/min (14.2 m/s).
In terms of armaments. It has the following: Guns: 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 three-barreled rotary cannon in the A/A49E-7 turret (750 round ammo capacity); Hardpoints: Up to 6 pylon stations on stub wing; Rockets: 2.75 in (70 mm) Hydra 70 or APKWS II[52] rockets – Mounted in LAU-68C/A (7 shot) or LAU-61D/A (19 shot) launchers (up to 76 unguided or 28 guided rockets total); Missiles: AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles – 1 mounted on each wing tip station (total of 2), AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles – Up to 16 missiles mounted in four 4-round M272 missile launchers, two on each wing.
T-129 ATAK
Its performances are maximum speed: 278 km/h (151 knots, 174 mph); Cruise speed: 269 km/h (145 knots, 167 mph); Range: 561 km (303 nmi, 341 mi); Ferry range: 1,000 km (540 nmi, 620 mi)
• Service ceiling: 6,096 m (20,000 ft), and; Rate of climb: 14.0 m/s (2,750 ft/min).
The T-129 armaments are: Guns: 1× M197 20x102 mm (0.787 in) three-barrel rotary cannon (500 rounds), Hardpoints: Provisions to carry combinations of: Rockets: maximum 4 pods with 38× 81 mm (3.19 in) unguided rockets or 76× 70 mm (2.75 in) unguided rockets or 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine gun pod, Missiles: 8× AGM-114 Hellfire, BGM-71 TOW, Hydra 70, Spike-ER, UMTAS, OMTAS, anti-tank and anti-armor missiles and Sura D/Snora; 12x Roketsan Cirit, and; 2× AIM-92 Stinger or Mistral or AIM-9 Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles.
APACHE
The AH-64 Apache performances are never exceeded speed of 197 knots (227 mph, 365 km/h); Maximum speed: 158 knots (182 mph, 293 km/h); Cruise speed: 143 knots (165 mph, 265 km/h); Range: 257 nmi (295 mi, 476 km) with Longbow radar mast; Combat radius: 260 nmi (300 mi, 480 km); Ferry range: 1,024 nmi (1,180 mi, 1,900 km); Service ceiling: 21,000 ft (6,400 m) minimum loaded; Rate of climb: 2,500 ft/min (12.7 m/s); Disc loading: 9.80 lb/ft2 (47.9 kg/m2), and ; Power/mass: 0.18 hp/lb (0.31 kW/kg)
It has armaments of Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 Chain Gun with 1,200 rounds as part of the Area Weapon Subsystem; Hardpoints: Four pylon stations on the stub wings. Longbows also have a station on each wingtip for an AIM-92 Stinger twin missile pack; Rockets: Hydra 70 70 mm, CRV7 70 mm, and APKWS 70 mm[71] air-to-ground rockets; Missiles: Typically AGM-114 Hellfire variants; AIM-92 Stinger and Spike missiles may also be carried.
READ MY OTHER BLOG/COLUMN:
Why PH dawdles on her defense versus China
(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)
