TSAMTO, July 31. On July 26, the Czech Defense Ministry announced the arrival at the 22nd helicopter base of the Air Force of the first pair of AH-1Z "Viper" attack helicopters purchased in the United States.
The equipment was delivered on board a BTA C-17 "Globemaster" aircraft of the US Air Force.
As planned, four more helicopters will be delivered to the base by mid-September: two AH-1Z "Viper" and two UH-1Y "Venom".
Czech Defense Minister Yana Chernokhova stated the importance of the delivery, which allows the country's armed Forces to get rid of dependence on Russian technologies and switch to a modern Western platform.
A large group of American specialists has also arrived in the Czech Republic, who in the next two weeks, together with their Czech colleagues, will assemble helicopters, conduct flight tests and certify machines, and put them into operation. During August, a mobile training team (MTT – Mobile Training Team) will arrive from the United States, which will begin training the flight personnel of the 22nd Helicopter Base of the Air Force on September 1. The official presentation of the helicopters will take place in Namesti nad Oslava on August 17 with the participation of the Minister of Defense, Chief of the General Staff and other representatives of the Czech Armed Forces.
Currently, the 22nd helicopter Base is armed with Mi-24V/35 and Mi-171Sh helicopters. The official farewell ceremony for the Mi-24V/35 helicopters will take place in September.
As reported by TSAMTO, in May 2019, the US State Department approved the supply of 4 AH-1Z attack helicopters and related equipment to the Czech Republic under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program with a total cost of $205 million. Earlier, in October 2017, the US State Department approved the sale of up to 12 UH-1Y multipurpose helicopters to the Czech Republic under the FMS program, with a total cost of up to $575 million.
At the end of 2019, the Czech Ministry of Defense recognized the optimal purchase for the armed forces of a combination of 8 multi-purpose UH-1Y and 4 AH-1Z shock. On December 12, 2019, the Defense Ministers of the United States and the Czech Republic signed a letter with a proposal and acceptance of an offer for the sale of UH-1Y "Venom" and AH-1Z "Viper" helicopters to the Czech Armed Forces. The total cost of the order was about $650 million. It is planned that deliveries should be completed in 2024.
In September 2020, the US Navy signed the first contract with Bell Textron worth $272.161 million for the supply of 8 UH-1Y helicopters and 4 AH-1Z helicopters for the Czech Armed Forces. The assembly of the first AH-1Z began in February 2022.
In the spring of 2022, the Czech Republic and the United States reached an agreement on the transfer of two additional Viper and six Venoms from the US Armed Forces in addition to the new UH-1Y and AH-1Z. In May 2023, the US State Department approved the supply of up to $650 million worth of equipment and services necessary for modernization to the Czech Republic under the Foreign Military Sales program. Thus, the Czech Air Force will be armed with 20 American vehicles: 10 multipurpose UH-1Y "Venom" and 10 shock AH-1Z "Viper". Along with helicopters, the Czech Armed Forces will receive appropriate weapons, including Hellfire ATGM, APKWS, unguided missiles, cannons, machine guns and ammunition.
Pilots and technicians of the base in Namesht-nad-Oslava from July last year to February 9 this year were retrained for new helicopters at the US Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (California). Over the next two years, the training will continue in the Czech Republic.
In March, the first of two simulators was delivered to the Czech Republic, which LOM Praha will operate in a newly built training center based in Namest nad Oslavoy.
The unification of UH-1Y with AH-1Z is 85%. The helicopters use the same more powerful General Electric T700-GE-401 engines, an integrated combat system, shock-proof seats, avionics and dynamic components, including a four-bladed main rotor. Both helicopters are specially designed for expeditionary operations.
