© Ricardo de Vries
On 12 March 2024, Bell Textron, Inc., based in Fort Worth (TX), was awarded a USD 455 million firm-fixed-price, undefinitised contract for the production and delivery of twelve Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters to the government of Nigeria.
The contract includes associated engineering, programme management, logistics support, and non-recurring engineering for obsolescence. Work will be performed in Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas, and is expected to be completed by July 2028.
In July 2021, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed clearing a proposed sale of twelve Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopters to the Nigerian military, pausing a deal worth approximately USD 875 million.
In addition to the helicopters, the proposed sale included 28 engines, fourteen aircraft navigation systems, and 2,000 advanced precision kill weapon systems. It was unclear in 2021 whether the requested sale was for new-built AH-1Z Vipers or second-hand AH-1W Super Cobras. Related news items only mentioned the Bell AH-1 Cobra.
The new-built Vipers will join the six TAI T129 ATAK attack helicopters, the first two of which were noted in October of the previous year, with all expected to be delivered by the first quarter of 2024. Scramble Magazine assesses that the Vipers will also be operated by the 115th Special Operations Group (SOG) at Port Harcourt.
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