Bell AH - 1 Cobra The Bell AH - 1 Cobra ( company designation : Model 209 ) is a two - blade , single engine attack helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter . It was developed using the engine , transmission and rotor system of the Bell ' s UH - 1 Iroquois . The AH - 1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake . The AH - 1 was the backbone of the United States Army ' s attack helicopter fleet , but has been replaced by the AH - 64 Apache in Army service . Upgraded versions continue to fly with the militaries of several other nations . The AH - 1 twin engine versions remain in service with United States Marine Corps ( USMC ) as the service ' s primary attack helicopter . Surplus AH - 1 helicopters have been converted for fighting forest fires . The United States Forest Service refers to their program as the " Firewatch Cobra " . Garlick Helicopters also converts surplus AH - 1s for forest firefighting under the name , " FireSnake " . Development . Background . Closely related with the development of the Bell AH - 1 is the story of the Bell UH - 1 Iroquois — predecessor of the modern helicopter , icon of the Vietnam War and one of the most numerous helicopter types built . The UH - 1 made the theory of air cavalry practical , as the new tactics called for US forces to be highly mobile across a wide area . Unlike before , they would not stand and fight long battle s , and they would not stay and hold positions . Instead , the plan was that the troops carried by fleets of UH - 1 " Hueys " would range across the country , to fight the enemy at times and places of their own choice . It soon became clear that the unarmed troop helicopters were vulnerable against ground fire from Việt Cộng and North Vietnamese troops , particularly as they came down to drop their troops in a landing zone . Without friendly support from artillery or ground forces , the only way to pacify a landing zone was from the air , preferably with an aircraft that could closely escort the transport helicopters , and loiter over the landing zone as the battle progressed . By 1962 a small number of armed UH - 1As were used as escorts , armed with multiple machine guns and rocket mounts . The massive expansion of American military presence in Vietnam opened a new era of war from the air . The linchpin of US Army tactics were the helicopters , and the protection of those helicopters became a vital role . Iroquois Warrior , Sioux Scout and AAFSS . Bell had been investigating helicopter gunships since the late 1950s , and had created a mockup of its D - 255 helicopter gunship concept , named " Iroquois Warrior " . In June 1962 , Bell displayed the mockup to Army officials , hoping to solicit funding for further development . The Iroquois Warrior was planned to be a purpose - built attack aircraft based on the UH - 1B components with a new , slender airframe and a two - seat , tandem cockpit . It featured a grenade launcher in a ball turret on the nose , a 20 mm belly - mounted gun pod , and stub wings for mounting rockets or SS . 10 anti - tank missiles . The Army was interested and awarded Bell a proof of concept contract in December 1962 . Bell modified a Model 47 into the sleek Model 207 Sioux Scout which first flew in July 1963 . The Sioux Scout had all the key features of a modern attack helicopter : a tandem cockpit , stub wings for weapons , and a chin - mounted gun turret . After evaluating the Sioux Scout in early 1964 , the Army was impressed , but also felt the Sioux Scout was undersized , underpowered , and generally not suited for practical use . Army ' s solution to the shortcomings of the Sioux Scout was to launch the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System ( AAFSS ) competition . The AAFSS requirement gave birth to the Lockheed AH - 56 Cheyenne , a heavy attack helicopter with high speed capability . It proved to be too sophisticated , and was canceled after 10 years of development in 1972 . The Army sought greater survivability in a conventional attack helicopter . Model 209 . At the same time , despite the Army ' s preference for the AAFSS – for which Bell Helicopter was not selected to compete – Bell stuck with their own idea of a smaller and lighter gunship . In January 1965 Bell invested $ 1 million to proceed with a new design . Mating the proven transmission , the " 540 " rotor system of the UH - 1C augmented by a Stability Control Augmentation System ( SCAS ) , and the T53 turboshaft engine of the UH - 1 with the design philosophy of the Sioux Scout , Bell produced the Model 209 . Bell ' s Model 209 largely resembled the " Iroquois Warrior " mockup . In Vietnam , events were also advancing in favor of the Model 209 . Attacks on US forces were increasing , and by the end of June 1965 there were already 50 , 000 US ground troops in Vietnam . 1965 was also the deadline for AAFSS selection , but the program would become stuck in technical difficulties and political bickering . The U . S . Army needed an interim gunship for Vietnam and it asked five companies to provide a quick solution . Submissions came in for armed variants of the Boeing - Vertol ACH - 47A , Kaman HH - 2C Tomahawk , Piasecki 16H Pathfinder , Sikorsky S - 61 , and the Bell 209 . On 3 September 1965 Bell rolled out its Model 209 prototype , and four days later it made its maiden flight , only eight months after the go - ahead . In April 1966 , the model won an evaluation against the other rival helicopters . Then the Army signed the first production contract for 110 aircraft . Bell added Cobra to the UH - 1 ' s Huey nickname to produce its " HueyCobra " name for the 209 . The Army applied the " Cobra " name to its AH - 1G designation for the helicopter . The Bell 209 demonstrator was used for the next six years to test weapons and fit of equipment . It had been modified to the match AH - 1 production standard by the early 1970s . The demonstrator was retired to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox , Kentucky and converted to approximately its original appearance . Into production . The Bell 209 design was modified for production . The retractable skids were replaced by simpler fixed skids . A new wide - blade rotor was featured . For production , a plexiglass canopy replaced the 209 ' s armored glass canopy which was heavy enough to harm performance . Other changes were incorporated after entering service . The main one of these was moving the tail rotor from the helicopter ' s left side to the right for improved effectiveness of the rotor . The U . S . Marine Corps was interested in the Cobra and ordered an improved twin - engined version in 1968 under the designation AH - 1J . This would lead to more twin - engine variants . In 1972 , the Army sought improved anti - armor capability . Under the Improved Cobra Armament Program ( ICAP ) , trials of eight AH - 1s fitted with TOW missiles were conducted in October 1973 . After passing qualification tests the following year , Bell was contracted with upgrading 101 AH - 1Gs to the TOW - capable AH - 1Q configuration . Following AH - 1Q operational tests , a more powerful T53 engine and transmission were added from 1976 resulting in the AH - 1S version . The AH - 1S was upgraded in three steps , culminating with the AH - 1F . Operational history . United States . By June 1967 , the first AH - 1G HueyCobras had been delivered . Originally designated as UH - 1H , the " A " for attack designation was soon adopted and when the improved UH - 1D became the UH - 1H , the HueyCobra became the AH - 1G . The AH - 1 was initially considered a variant of the H - 1 line , resulting in the G series letter . AH - 1 Cobras were in use by the Army during the Tet offensive in 1968 and through the end of the Vietnam War . Huey Cobras provided fire support for ground forces , escorted transport helicopters and other roles , including aerial rocket artillery ( ARA ) battalions in the two Airmobile divisions . They also formed " hunter killer " teams by pairing with OH - 6A scout helicopters . A team featured one OH - 6 flying slow and low to find enemy forces . If the OH - 6 drew fire , the Cobra could strike at the then revealed enemy . Bell built 1 , 116 AH - 1Gs for the U . S . Army between 1967 and 1973 , and the Cobras chalked up over a million operational hours in Vietnam . Out of nearly 1 , 110 AH - 1s delivered from 1967 to 1973 approximately 300 were lost to combat and accidents during the war . The U . S . Marine Corps used AH - 1G Cobras in Vietnam for a short time before acquiring twin - engine AH - 1J Cobras . AH - 1 Cobras were deployed for Operation Urgent Fury , the invasion of Grenada in 1983 , flying close - support and helicopter escort missions . Army Cobras participated in Operation Just Cause , the U . S . invasion of Panama in 1989 . During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the Gulf War ( 1990 – 91 ) , the Cobras and SuperCobras deployed in a support role . The USMC deployed 91 AH - 1W SuperCobras and the US Army 140 AH - 1 Cobras ; these were operated from forward , dispersed desert bases . Three AH - 1s were lost in accidents during fighting and afterward . Cobras destroyed many Iraqi armored vehicles and various targets in the fighting . Army Cobras provided support for the US humanitarian intervention during Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1993 . They were also employed during the US invasion of Haiti in 1994 . US Cobras were also used in operations later in the 1990s . The US Army phased out the AH - 1 during the 1990s and retired the AH - 1 from active service in March 1999 , offering them to NATO allies . The Army retired the AH - 1 from reserves in September 2001 . The retired AH - 1s have been passed to other nations and to the USDA Forest Service . The AH - 1 continues to be in service with the US military , by the US Marine Corps , which operate the twin - engine AH - 1W SuperCobra and AH - 1Z Viper . Israel . The Israeli Air Force named its Cobras as the " Tzefa " ( , for Viper ) . Since the mid - 1970s Lebanon has been Israel ' s most active front ; IAF Cobras have been fighting there for more than 20 years . Cobra helicopters were also used widely by the Israeli Air Force in the 1982 Lebanon War to destroy Syrian armor and fortification . IAF Cobras destroyed dozens of Syrian armored fighting vehicle s , including many modern Soviet T - 72 tanks . As part of their service in southern Lebanon the Cobras were active in Israel ' s major operations against Hezbollah in operations " Accountability " and " Grapes of Wrath " . Japan . Japan manufactured 89 AH - 1S Cobras which were licensed by Fuji Heavy Industries from 1984 to 2000 . The type is used by the Japan Ground Self - Defense Force , and are Step 3 models , which are roughly the equivalent to the United States Army ' s AH - 1Fs . The engine is the T53 - K - 703 turboshaft , which Kawasaki Heavy Industries produced under license . Pakistan . Pakistan was supplied with 20 AH - 1S gunships by the U . S . between 1984 and 1986 , these were later upgraded with the C - NITE thermal imaging package . AH - 1s were used as Pakistan ' s main gunship helicopters against insurgents during the Balochistan conflict . The ongoing War in North - West Pakistan has seen Pakistani AH - 1s in action against Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters as well as their tribal allies . Pakistani AH - 1s have also been used in operations against tribal uprisings in the Balochistan province , supporting the Pakistan Army against well armed Baloch separatist - militants . The U . S . delivered 12 AH - 1Fs to Pakistan in 2007 , with 14 more AH - 1F Cobras supplied in 2010 . Pakistan has 35 AH - 1F helicopters in use . Maintaining these aircraft has been difficult , but possible through commercial channels . Additionally , the U . S . Government has given $ 750 , 000 to update a portion of Pakistan Army Aviation ' s existing AH - 1F / S Cobra fleet . Turkey has also supplied spare parts of Cobra helicopters to Pakistan free of cost . Pakistan has repeatedly sought Bell AH - 1 SuperCobra attack helicopters from the U . S . to supplement and replace its current AH - 1 Cobras . The U . S . has assured Pakistan that it would receive the latest AH - 1Z variant in phases by 2015 . Pakistan has lost 3 aircraft in recent years , U . S . Forest Service . In 2003 , the U . S . Forest Service acquired 25 retired AH - 1Fs from the U . S . Army . These have been designated Bell 209 and are being converted into Firewatch Cobras with infrared and low light sensors and systems for real time fire monitoring . The Florida Division of Forestry has also acquired 3 AH - 1Ps from the U . S . Army . These are called Bell 209 " Firesnakes " and are equipped to carry a water / fire retardant system . Operators . " For operators of AH - 1J , AH - 1T , AH - 1W , and other AH - 1 twin - engine variants , see AH - 1 SuperCobra " A small number of former military helicopters are operated by civil organisations for display and demonstration , for example by Red Bull