AH- 1 derivative model of cobra attack helicopter.

After decades of development, AH- 1 has developed several main types. The picture on the right is a simple comparison of the main models. The first mass production model of Cobra is AH- 1G, so the two pre-production models of Model 209 are also called YAH-1g.. The first flight took place in June/KOOC-0/966, June/KOOC-0/5, and the second flight took place in March/KOOC-0/967.

Compared with model 209, AH- 1G has some slight changes. The machine is equipped with T53-L-1045 kW (1400 HP) engine, and the telescopic skid is replaced by the fixed skid. Because the benefits of the retractable sled are few, there are potential reliability problems, and it is not strong enough to support a hard landing. The new fixed slide rail is equipped with organic wheel mounting points, and the cobra with wheels can be flexibly dragged on the ground. In order to enhance the directional stability, the model 209 installed a small ventral fin under the vertical tail, but the flight test showed that the cobra was stable enough, so AH- 1G cancelled the ventral fin.

AH- 1G established the basic configuration of the following models of cobra family. The highly streamlined fuselage is made of honeycomb aluminum, with a large number of covers open for easy maintenance. A 936-liter self-sealing fuel tank is installed in the fuselage, and the engine area, fuel system and hydraulic system are protected by armor. Two passengers are equipped with armored seats, whose side armor plates can be pulled up to provide better protection, and the gunner is also equipped with organic nose armor in front. Although Model 209 verifier is equipped with bullet-proof glass, it was cancelled in production because of its heavy weight.

At the end of 1966, the US Army added 2 10 AH- 1G orders. By 1968, the cumulative order of AH- 1G has exceeded 800; During the tense period from 1972 to 73 in Vietnam War, the total number of AH- 1G has accumulated to about 1 100. Because AH- 1G and UH- 1 communicate with each other in equipment and parts, not only are there fewer failures on the battlefield than other new weapons, but also the logistics maintenance is convenient.

AH- 1G initially installed an Emerson TAT- 102A turret, in which 1 GE GAU-2B/ a "mini-gun" with 8000 rounds of ammunition was installed, but this was only the transitional configuration of TAT- 14 1 turret before mass production. TAT- 14 1 is equipped with two "mini guns" with 4000 rounds each, or a "mini gun" and an M 129 40mm Grenade launcher with 300 rounds each (23 1 round). In theory, TAT- 14 1 can also be equipped with two Grenade launchers, but this configuration is very rare. The firing rate of "mini gun" can be 2000 or 4000 rounds per minute, and the firing rate of Grenade launcher is 450 rounds per minute. The shooting boundary of the turret is 25 degrees up and 60 degrees down, and it can rotate 230 degrees. Under normal circumstances, the gunner controls the turret, and in an emergency, the pilot can also fix the turret in the forward direction to shoot. The AH- 1G machine gunner is equipped with a simple control system and can fly the plane as a last resort.

Cobra's main external weapon is a 70 mm rocket nest with 7 tubes or 19 tubes. Rockets can be selected from high explosives, anti-personnel arrows ("nails"), white phosphorus burning and smoke-labeled warheads. The aircraft can also mount four 127mm "Zuni" rocket nests, but it is rarely used in actual combat.

In August, 1967, AH- 1G began to be deployed in south Vietnam and the air base, and immediately put into fierce fighting. Cobra provides escort for transport helicopters, fire support for ground troops, and also forms an extremely effective "hunt-kill" or "pink" team with the fast Hughes OH-6A reconnaissance helicopter formation (in American slang, the reconnaissance helicopter formation is called "white team", the Wuzhi formation is "red team" and the transport helicopter formation is "blue team"). Cobra can also perform other tasks, including armed reconnaissance, target impact observation, and even search and rescue missions. By the end of 1968, 337 cobras had arrived in Vietnam.

Early single turret cobras sometimes mounted 1~2 SUU-1/a "mini gun" pods to strengthen their firepower, and each pod was equipped with 1500 rounds. The "mini gun" has limited range and lethality. Although the 70 mm rocket launcher has a longer range and greater power, its accuracy is poor, so it can only cover the target with volley. In order to provide stronger attack firepower, many AH- 1969 have installed M-35 gun systems. The core of the system is the General Electric M6 1A 1 Vulcan 20mm cannon fixed under the short wing pylon, and the ammunition is stored in the streamlined fairing above the skid on the left side of the fuselage. In order to resist the shock wave of the machine gun, Cobra initially installed protective plates on both sides of the cockpit, and passengers needed to pull the protective plates when the machine gun fired. Later, armor plates were installed on both sides of the cockpit instead. Although M-35 is powerful, the recoil and vibration are equally amazing, which makes the fuselage side of AH- 1G have to be reinforced with sheet metal, thus delaying the progress of reassembly. When the M-35 gun fires, the instrument of AH- 1G will be interrupted for several minutes before it returns to normal.

The Vietnam War not only provided a stage for Cobra to display its talents, but also pointed out that its design needs to be improved, such as the need for large-caliber machine guns, better search/aiming instruments, and the installation of BGM-7 1 ceramic anti-tank missiles that served in the early 1970s.

AH- 1G cobra can basically only fight in the daytime, but it can also fight at night with flares and searchlights as a last resort. For this reason, the army has carried out two experimental projects to develop cobras for night combat.

The first is Huey Cobra Southeast Asia Multi-sensor Weapon Subsystem Project. SMASH installed the An /AAQ-5 infrared passive aiming system (SSPI) turret of Aerojet Electronic Systems Company on the nose of AH- 1G, and built-in forward-looking infrared imager. Emerson electric's an /APQ- 137B moving target indicator (MIT) radar pod is installed under the right wing. By the way, the crushing experiment was carried out under the non-standard equipment support project. At that time, the military liked this artificial abbreviation.

The second is "Cobra" night fire control system (CONFIGS) project, in which an LLTV imager is installed on the nose of AH-1G. Low-light-level TV components are U-shaped, which makes Cobra look like a moustache. The CONFIGS imager can track the turntable. During the Vietnam War, the above sensor technology was not mature, and SMASH and CONFIGS were not successful, but the concept of "cobra" in the night battle was realized in subsequent models.

Finally, Bell manufactured1116 ah-1g, and the last one was delivered in February, 1973. About 300 aircraft were lost in Vietnam, of which about 1/3 were non-combat losses. The exact loss of AH- 1G is difficult to count, because enterprising military maintenance personnel recovered and repaired some "cobras" damaged by the war, and even made some usable planes out of the wreckage. The US Marine Corps is also very interested in Cobra, but they prefer the dual-engine configuration to ensure the safety of sea flight, and also hope to have stronger turret weapons. At first, the Ministry of National Defense refused to provide the Marine Corps with the "Cobra" double hairstyle, because the double hairstyle reduced its universality with AH- 1G, but it was compromised at the insistence of the Marine Corps. 1968 In May, Bell Company obtained an order for 49 double-engine AH- 1J "Cobra at Sea", and at the same time, as a transition, the US Army handed over 38 AH- 1G to the Marine Corps in 1969.

1969165438+10/j made its first flight in October. The most prominent feature of this machine is the installation of Pratt & Whitney Canada T400-CP-400 "double contract" engine, and the installation of GE M 197 20mm cannon in the jaw general turret.

At that time, the dual-engine system had just been successfully developed. Originally, it was a joint project between the United States and Canada to develop a twin-engine engine for Bell Model 2 12 "Double Huey", so "double contracting" naturally became the first choice for Cobra. The T400-CP-400 engine system basically consists of two Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboshaft engines and a gearbox, also known as PT6T-4. The total output power of "double contracting" is1140 kw (1530 axle horsepower), which is greater than Lycoming T53-L-1045 kw (1400 axle horsepower). When a single engine fails, the "double contract" system can also provide enough power to maintain normal flight. The "double contract" can actually provide the maximum output power of 1340 kW (1800 shaft horsepower), but the transmission system can't bear such a large power. In this way, both engines of T400-CP-400 run in the extreme power mode during normal operation, and when a single engine fails, the other engine will automatically output the maximum power.

M 197 is basically a three-tube Vulcan gun, which eventually became the standard turret weapon of Cobra in the Marine Corps and the Army. The firing rate of M 197 is 750 rounds per minute, but only 16 rounds can be fired continuously. AH- 1J has 750 rounds of ammunition, and the range of the machine gun is 20.5 degrees above, 50 degrees below and 240 degrees rotating. AH- 1J slightly increased the fuselage fuel tank from 936 liters of AH- 1023 liters, and added some special equipment of the Marine Corps.

The delivery of AH- 1J began in June 1969, and the service evaluation began in July 1970. 1971February, four AH- 1J came to Vietnam for a two-month operational evaluation. These four planes participated in the invasion of Laos by South Vietnam until they left Vietnam in April. In the North Vietnam offensive of 1972, the Marine Corps deployed AH- 1J in Okinawa.

The Marine Corps then ordered the second batch of AH- 1J, bringing the total number of aircraft to 69, and the last one 1 was delivered in February 1975. AH- 1J and later "cobra" with double hair style are sometimes called "double cobra". The model 309 King Cobra, which can mount Tao anti-tank missiles, led to the birth of the second generation AH- 1 Cobra. The US Marine Corps went further, and their "Cobra at Sea" was equipped with a more powerful "Hellfire" anti-tank missile in the later period. The second generation cobra widely appeared in dirty small-scale wars during the Cold War and served in many foreign armies. The latest AH- 1Z of the Marine Corps has kept cobra active in the front line for 2 1 century.

197 1 12, Bell Company received an order from Iran worth 708 million US dollars to buy 287 2 14 Huey utility helicopters and 202 improved AH- 1J Cobra Wuzhi. This improved Cobra, also known internationally as AH- 1J, is equipped with a higher power T400-WV-402, which strengthens the transmission system and enables the engine to continuously output 1250 kW (1675 axle horsepower). The turret of the 20 mm machine gun has added a rear seat buffer device. The gunner is equipped with an image stabilization sight and even a stable seat.

Of the international AH- 1J in Wang Jun, 62 are capable of launching Tao missiles and equipped with the missile launching system of King cobra, while the rest are not. 1978, Bell also delivered eight international AH- 1J capable of launching pottery to South Korea.

In the Iran-Iraq war in 1980s, Iranian cobra participated extensively in the war, and often met its mortal enemy-Mi -24 "Doe" in Iraq. The "Doe" is more powerful and faster than the "Cobra", but the latter is more agile, and the two helicopters are basically equal in the dogfight. Iran announced that Cobra shot down six female deer, including the record of shooting down with ceramic missiles. Iran even claimed that Cobra shot down three Iraqi MIG-2/KLOC-0 fighters! In response, Iraq claimed that the "Doe" shot down 10 cobras. Although the US Army has chosen AH-64 to deal with the swarming Red Armor, it will take some time for Apache's equipment, and Cobra has once again become a transitional solution.

1in March, 1972, the army asked Bell Company to start the Cobra Weapon Improvement Project (ICAP) to increase the launching capability of the existing AH- 1G missile. To this end, Bell refitted eight AH- 1G, installed Bell Hughes XM26 telescopic sight (TSU) on the nose, and installed two M56 "Tao" 4 combined launchers under the wing. The M56 launcher is installed on the external pylon of the short wing, and the internal pylon can be used to mount rocket nests or other weapons. The aircraft can also be mounted with double "Tao" launchers, but it is rarely used. The serial number of these eight cobras was changed to YAH- 1Q, and the protracted launch test of "Tao" was started from 1973 to 1975.

The Army believes that YAH- 1Q can meet their short-term needs, and has signed a contract to convert 10 1 AH- 1G into AH- 1Q "Ceramic Cobra", which also includes the purchase of XM26 "Ceramic" launcher and M65TSU (. At the beginning of 1975, the first AH- 1Q was delivered to the troops. When serving in AH- 1Q, everyone realized that the power of the aircraft was insufficient and it was impossible to fly to the ground after mounting eight heavy-duty "Tao" missiles. In 1975, the Army launched the Cobra Agility and Mobility Improvement Project (ICAM) to solve this problem. Bell Company installed an increased power Lycoming T53-L-703 turboshaft engine and a new transmission mechanism on an AH- 1G, which can output the maximum power 1340 kW (1800 shaft horsepower). The serial number of this machine was changed to YAH-1R. In addition, an AH- 1Q was also modified in the same way, numbered YAH-1S.

The new engines were satisfactory, so the Army issued an order to refit 92 AH- 1Q and 198 AH- 1G into AH- 1. Compared with the prototype, the officially modified AH- 1S is slightly modified, such as the "sugar bowl" tail nozzle, so it is also called the improved AH- 1S or the modified AH- 1S (abbreviated as AH- 1S(MOD)), but in/KLOC-0.

1979, delivered to ah-1s. In the mid-1980s, 15 AH- 1S Cobra was converted into a special TH- 1S trainer by Northrop Corporation. The nose turret was replaced by a prosthesis, and the passive night vision system (PNVS) of AH-64 Apache and the sunshade of the pilot's cockpit were installed. These planes are used for Apache pilots' night landing training. After the AH- 1S project, the US Army ordered a batch of brand-new "ceramic cobras", which is the so-called phased improvement. Originally called production AH- 1S (abbreviated as AH- 1S(PROD)), the serial number 1988 was changed to ah-1p.

Bell manufactured 100 AH- 1P "Ceramic Cobra" and delivered it to the army in 1977~ 1978. The engine power of AH- 1P is further increased, and a brand-new flat cockpit cover is replaced, which makes AH- 1P look like a flying tank, and the flat glass greatly reduces the reflection, which is beneficial to battlefield concealment. But AH- 1P is also not equipped with bulletproof glass.

AH- 1P also improved the instruments, radar altimeter and radio needed for ground flight, and added AN/APR-39 radar warning receiver. The Kaman K-747 trapezoidal wingtip composite rotor was installed from the 67th frame, and later the early Cobra also changed the rotor. In the mid-1980s, the tip of the K-747 composite rotor fell off due to adhesion problems, and some cobras were temporarily replaced with metal rotors, but the problem was quickly solved. Next, the Army launched the second-stage improvement project, which was called the AH-/KOOC-0/S artillery upgrade or the AH-/KOOC-0/S cobra weapon enhancement system (abbreviated as AH-/KOOC-0/S (ECAS)), and the number of/KOOC-0/988 was changed to AH-/KOOC-0/E. At that time, various types of army cobras were still using the old TAT- 14 1 turret, which made it impossible to install powerful machine guns, so they replaced AH- 1E with the universal turret of Marine Corps AH- 1J and the 20mm M 197 machine gun. In addition, AH- 1E has the following improvements:

M 128 Helmet Aiming System (HSS), the crew can control the weapon aiming only by turning their heads to the target.

External store management system of 70 mm rocket. Surprisingly, AH- 1S/P does not have the ability to launch rockets.

In order to support the new store management system, a more powerful generator was replaced. The third stage is called modern AH- 1S or AH- 1S modern cobra (abbreviated as AH- 1S(MC)), and the number 1988 is changed to ah-1f. This is also the last Cobra equipped by the US Army.

AH- 1F inherits all the features of AH- 1P/E except the following improvements:

A new fire control system is equipped with a laser rangefinder, and a bulge is added in front of the rotor transmission fairing to accommodate the laser spot tracker, but the equipment is not installed at last.

Secure voice communication equipment and new computer.

The improved M 136 helmet sight improves the cockpit layout, and the cockpit lighting is compatible with night vision goggles.

An /ALQ- 144 IRCM is installed at the top of the engine compartment, and the tail nozzle is lengthened to reduce the infrared signal.

Cable scissors are added up and down the cockpit to ensure the safety when flying close to the ground.

Bell converted two AH- 1p into AH- 1F prototypes, and produced 99 AH- 1F for the US Army and 50 AH-1F for the National Guard during the period of 1979 ~ 1986. This is the last batch of brand-new single-engine cobras made in America. By 1986, the number of American cobras was 1 100, and between 1979 and 1982, 378 AH- 1G were upgraded to ah-1f.

After service, AH- 1F continued to improve, such as new engine air filter, improved rotor swashplate, laser early warning sensor, launching capability of stinger air-to-air missile, and most importantly, cobra night attack system, which enabled the aircraft to launch all-weather pottery day and night.

But even so, Cobra was eliminated. In the late 1980s, AH-64 Apache began to replace AH- 1F of the first-line troops, and the National Guard was equipped with more and more obsolete cobras. 1999 The army completely eliminated cobra, and completely retired from the National Guard in 200 1 year. The U.S. Army has reserved a small number of cobras for special purposes, such as converting them into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to test their effectiveness and using them as target aircraft.

Some outdated AH- 1F are equipped with foreign troops, and even the US Forestry Administration has obtained 25 aircraft for forest fire prevention. These "fire cobras" installed forward-looking infrared turrets under the nose, added data links, and painted red and white fire-fighting colors. At the end of 2003, the first "Fire Cobra" entered the US Forest Service and began to perform the task of fire detection and guiding firefighters on the ground, but it could not directly put water or flame retardant. Florida Forestry Bureau also equipped three old AH- 1P to perform this task, but did not install the forward-looking infrared turret, and removed the turret and installed artificial limbs. After purchasing 69 AH- 1J "Cobra at Sea", the US Marine Corps hopes to acquire more weapons, bringing the total number to 124. However, the Marine Corps hopes that the second batch of helicopters can launch Tao missiles to increase their power. Therefore, Bell transferred two AH- 1J from the production line for the modification of the new "Cobra at Sea" -AH- 1T prototype. 1976 On May 29th, the prototype AH- 1T made its first flight, and the test flight results were satisfactory.

AH- 1T is equipped with T400-WV-402 dual-engine system, and the output power is increased to 1470 kW (1970 axle horsepower). With the transmission system of Bell 2 14, the diameter of the new rotor is increased to14.6m, the wing surface is wider and the tip is swept back. The tail rotor also increases. In order to match the new rotor AH- 1T, the tail beam is lengthened, and there is obvious gradient transition at the joint between the fuselage and the tail beam. In order to balance the increased weight of the tail beam, the front fuselage is also slightly lengthened, and the increased space brings more internal oil. The aircraft also cut off the top of the vertical tail to reduce the area, and added a small tail below the vertical tail.

Bell * * * made 59 mass-produced AH- 1T, but due to financial problems, the first 33 did not have the ability to launch pottery, and the last 24 were equipped with nose sights and sperry -UNIVAC helmet sights, which could launch pottery. The first 33 aircraft were eventually upgraded to standard type, and later AH- 1T was further upgraded to launch Hellfire missiles.

In the late 1970s, Bell designed a new cobra based on AH-1T. The main improvement is to replace the T700-GE-700 twin engines of General Electric Company, with the maximum power of 940 kW (1258 shaft horsepower), which can launch Hellfire numbered AH-65438. However, with the collapse of Pahlavi dynasty, Iranian follow-up orders were placed in Shui Piao. However, Bell did not stop the development of AH- 1T+, and the test flight of the aircraft verification machine began in April of 1980. At this time, Bell did not have great expectations for the project, because after losing its major foreign customers, the remaining domestic customers, the Marine Corps, also wanted to equip the AH-64 Apache very much. This time, however, Bell gambled on the treasure. 198 1 year, Congress refused to provide Apache procurement funds for the Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps was forced to review the cobra leftovers. In order to make the Marine Corps feel the value for money, Bell further improved AH- 1T+ into "Super Cobra" and replaced it with T700-GE-40 1 twin-turboshaft engine system with a total power of 2520kW (3380 shaft horsepower), and made some improvements. 1983165438+1October16th, the prototype of "super cobra" made its first flight, and the golden cobra pattern was painted on both sides of the fuselage from beginning to end. The production number of this machine is ah-1w. The Marine Corps ordered 44 AH- 1W and 1W trainers, and later added 34 more. The other 39 AH- 1T were upgraded to ah-1w.

In addition to the new engine system, this "Whiskey Cobra" ("Whiskey" means W) has the following improvements:

A new night aiming system (NTS) includes a CCD TV camera, a forward-looking infrared imager and a laser target indicator with automatic target tracking capability. Brand new gunner control panel to match NTS. A jaw correcting protrusion for accommodating electronic equipment.

ECP- 1674 integrated self-defense kit includes AN/AAR-47 missile early warning system, which is an optical system, can detect the missile tail flame, and can automatically start AN/ALE-39 chaff/infrared jamming bomb dispenser installed above the wing tip when the missile approaches; AN/APR-39A(V)2 radar warning receiver: When the helicopter is irradiated by laser, AN/AVR-2 laser warning receiver can give an alarm.

AN/ALE- 144 IRCM jammer, brand-new hood, tail nozzle with infrared suppressor.

AH- 1W can mount a variety of external weapons, including "Tao", "Hellfire", AIM-9L "Sidewinder" air-to-air missile, AGM- 122 "Pistol" anti-radiation missile (AIM-9C modified anti-radiation guide head), 290-liter auxiliary fuel tank and even aviation bomb. The Marine Corps also prepared armor-piercing bullets for the M 197 machine gun to enhance the lethality of armored vehicles.

Hellfire with increased range and lethality is a great progress compared with old pottery, which makes AH- 1W a deadly can opener. In service, AH- 1W rarely mounts rattlesnakes and pistols, which is still too heavy for super cobra. Although AH- 1W is also qualified to launch stinger, this air-to-air missile is rarely used. "Zulu Cobra" ("Zulu" refers to Z), also known as "Viper", is equipped with a brand-new and quieter four-leaf rotor system, and the rotor also has an automatic folding system, which is convenient for storage on the attack ship. The service life of the rotor is as long as 10000 hours, which can withstand the shooting of 23 mm anti-aircraft guns, and the tail rotor has also been changed to four blades. Zulu Cobra kept the T700-GE-4 10 engine system of Whisky Cobra, but upgraded the gearbox and transmission system with higher power, thus changing the shape of the rotor transmission system fairing.

"Zulu Cobra" added Hamilton's standard auxiliary power unit (APU), and Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk also used this model. The internal oil quantity is increased to 758 liters, and the short wing is a "wet" wing with an oil tank filled with inert gas to reduce the fire risk.

The number of pylons under the wing of AH- 1Z is increased to six, two of which are wingtip pylons, which can mount rattlesnakes, and the pylons under the wing can mount rocket nests or four Hellfire launchers, so that AH- 1Z can mount 16 Hellfire missiles at most. AH- 1Z can also install "longbow" millimeter-wave radar at the right wing tip to launch all-weather AGM- 1 14L Hellfire missiles. In addition, advanced APKWS 70 mm laser-guided rockets can be launched.

The avionics and cockpit of AH- 1Z have also been significantly upgraded. The cockpit has been completely redesigned, the switch buttons are arranged in an orderly way, and the joystick and the total distance lever are used. Passengers in the front and rear rows are equipped with 15X20 multifunctional flat panel display, which can display digital maps. Cabin avionics also include safety radio communication system, tactical digital data system and inertial navigation system with GPS receiver. The layout of the front and rear cabins is basically the same, and passengers can fly planes or launch weapons. When the AC power supply system fails, each passenger can use the battery-powered backup flight control panel to pilot the helicopter for emergency return.

AH- 1Z has installed /AAQ-30 Hawkeye Target Aiming System (TSS) on the nose, which includes forward-looking infrared imager, low-light-level color TV, laser rangefinder and laser target indicator for human eye safety. Early cobra's forward-looking infrared can only identify targets within a few kilometers, while TSS's third-generation infrared imager can enable the crew to identify targets outside the range of Hellfire missiles and attack them outside the range of ground anti-aircraft guns.

The crew of Zulu Cobra wore a "TopOwl" flying helmet developed by French company Terez, which is also one of the cores of the aircraft flight system. The helmet has a built-in high-definition projection TV system, which can provide flight data, target images and data to the occupants in a superimposed way. Night vision goggles can also be installed to provide a highly integrated night vision capability. The helmet with night vision goggles weighs only 2.2 kilograms. ..

Other new avionics include a new self-defense kit, an airborne target handover system, an airborne system monitor, two mission computers and a mission data loading module. The self-defense kit contains four AN/ALE-47 chaff/IR jammer throwers instead of two AN/ALE-39s on the whisky cobra. AN/ALE-47 can work in manual, semi-automatic and full-automatic modes; An improved AN/APR-39B(V)2 radar warning receiver: an improved AN/AAR-47(V)2 missile warning unit, which also replaces the AN/AVR-2 laser irradiation warning device. AN/ALQ- 144 IRCM is not installed in AH- 1Z, because this jammer can only deal with the old uncooled infrared guided Sam missile, AN/ALE-47 can provide more modern jamming means, and Zulu Cobra's new infrared suppression system can greatly reduce the exhaust temperature.

The fuselage of AH- 1Z is further elongated to accommodate new hardware and maintain the center of balance. The upgraded fuselage of AH- 1W can reach "zero time" flight time. Zulu Cobra's mounting capacity is 450kg higher than that of AH- 1W, and its cruising speed is 290km/h, 40km faster than that of AH- 1W. The operational radius of AH-1Z is 200km, while that of AH-1W is only 70km. The maximum takeoff weight of AH- 1Z is 8390kg, and the maximum takeoff weight of AH- 1W is 6690kg.

Cobra pilots in the Marine Corps believe that the advanced cockpit is one of the most important improvements of Zulu Cobra. The cockpit of whisky cobra is an ergonomic nightmare, which brings a lot of trouble to the crew in flight and battle. In addition, the advanced forward-looking infrared system is also considered as a great progress, and finally the transmission system of the aircraft. The transmission system of Whisky Cobra can't give full play to the engine power, and the pilot needs to control the throttle carefully, but driving Zulu Cobra is not so worried.