According to the latest information provided by the Czech Ministry of Defence, the first AH-1Z Viper will be delivered to the customer in June.
Skids up! The Czech Republic’s AH-1Z completed first flight operations at the Bell Amarillo Assembly Center in April. First delivery is expected later this spring.
Read more here: https://t.co/458hUM8tFe pic.twitter.com/nKsWkF9kvo
— NAVAIR (@NAVAIRNews) May 10, 2023
In total, Prague has ordered four Vipers through the FMS procedure. Additionally, six more will be provided through an EDA (Excess Defense Articles) grant from the United States Department of Defense (as compensation for the transfer of Mi-35 helicopters to Ukraine).
The Czech Republic will be the first European operator of the Bell H-1 family of helicopters.
Moreover, Slovakia has recently received an offer to purchase twelve AH-1Z Vipers on favourable financial terms (30% of the value).
As Defence Industry Europe reported, the first Czech AH-1Z Viper was formally delivered to the customer in April 2023.