Ukraine wants 12 Viper attack helicopters spurned by Slovakia
As Slovakia’s government wobbles over the previous Cabinet’s plan to buy 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters from the United States, Ukrainian officials are intensifying their lobbying in Washington to secure the aircraft for their defense against Russia.
The U.S. State Department in July approved a tentative foreign military sale of 12 Vipers, made by Bell, to Slovakia for an estimated $600 million, a hefty increase compared to the initial offer of $340 million extended to the previous Slovak government. The discount was in part due to the fact that a deal with the initially envisioned recipient of the U.S. equipment, Pakistan, had fallen through.
A senior industry official close to the talks said Bratislava’s efforts have since aimed at decoupling the discount from the Vipers and instead apply it to other prospective purchases like F-16 warplanes and air-defense systems. That has left officials in Washington miffed, the industry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations.
Meanwhile, Vadym Ivchenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker for the Batkivshchyna party, told Defense News that Ukraine has shown interest in the 12 Vipers since 2022. At that time, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces filed a letter of request to the U.S. to obtain the aircraft through a foreign military sale.
“We need these helicopters for our soldiers who are fighting on the frontline in the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and other regions but also leading an operation in the Kursk region,” Ivchenko told Defense News.
As a member of the parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Ivchenko said he has written letter to U.S. lawmakers to convince the Biden administration to reroute the Vipers to Kyiv if Slovakia turns them down.
“Slovakia should decide what kind of weapons and equipment they require for their military, and if they don’t need these helicopters, then their delivery to Ukraine should take place as soon as possible,” he said.
Ivchenko said that officials in Kyiv are also making efforts to host the production of Bell helicopters at a designated Ukraine-based facility.
“We wish to deepen our industrial cooperation with the United States to produce such helicopters in Ukraine,” according to the lawmaker. “This foreign investment would be guaranteed by the Ukrainian government.”
theoderich hat geschrieben: ↑Mi 22. Mär 2023, 14:33Die USA liefern zwölf Kampfhubschrauber AH-1Z, Zubehör, Ausbildungsleistungen für Piloten und Techniker und Panzerabwehrlenkwaffen AGM-114 Hellfire II. Damit wird die Lieferung von 13 slowakischen Kampfflugzeugen MiG-29 und von Fliegerabwehrsystemen KUB an die Ukraine teilweise kompensiert.
Industry officials have noted that the latest U.S. offer for the Vipers no longer includes Hellfire missiles, attributing the change in scope to growing discontent in Washington.
US offers Viper, Black Hawk helicopters to Slovakia in revised pitch
As Slovak officials ponder the purchase of new attack helicopters, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák has announced Bratislava has received two new offers from the United States, allowing the nation to choose between 12 AH-1Z Viper helos and 12 upgraded UH-60 Black Hawk copters.
“Now it is important to make a decision in an efficient and quick manner. I think that we will have the results of these analyses in the coming days,” Kaliňák said, as quoted by the state-run news agency TASR.
Kaliňák said there is a significant difference between the original $340 million Viper offer and the current price of the helicopters, which exceeds €550 million ($582 million).
Der slowakische Verteidigungsminister hat heute in einer Pressekonferenz die Beschaffung weiterer zwölf "Black Hawk" angekündigt. Es liegt ein Angebot über ca. 150 Mio. EUR für modernisierte gebrauchte Transporthubschrauber UH-60L vor - ohne Bewaffnung. Die UH-60L erhalten eventuell leichte bzw. schwere Maschinengewehre, Panzerabwehrlenkwaffen "Hellfire" oder ungelenkte Raketen. Die ursprünglich geplanten zwölf AH-1Z, die inklusive Waffen und Munition ca. 550 Mio. EUR gekostet hätten, werden nicht gekauft:
Ministerstvo obrany nakúpi vrtuľníky Blackhawk, oznámil minister R. Kaliňák
Slovakia buys Black Hawk helicopters, leaving Vipers up for grabs
The Black Hawk offer, comprising second-hand modernized copters, was submitted by Ace Aeronautics which is part of the Helicopter Alliance group, local daily Denník N reported. The group is controlled by Czech entrepreneur Jaroslav Strnad, the founder and former owner of local defense group Czechoslovak Group.
k návrhu na určenie investičného projektu „Doplnenie počtu viacúčelových vrtuľníkov Vzdušných síl Ozbrojených síl Slovenskej republiky na zabezpečenie transportných a bojových spôsobilostí“ za strategickú investíciu
Die ab 2025 verfügbare Anzahl von elf UH-60M wird als nicht ausreichend zur Erfüllung der geforderten Aufgaben beurteilt. Die 2017 - 2020 gelieferten UH-60M sollen mit einem Selbstschutzsystem und einem Waffensystem (gelenkte und ungelenkte Raketen) nachgerüstet werden. Das im November 2024 eingangene US-Angebot für Kampfhubschrauber AH-1Z würde den Aufbau einer völlig neuen Kapazität und die Etablierung eines neuen Systems zur Ausbildung und Zertifizierung des Bodenpersonals erfordern. Deshalb wird die Erhöhung der Anzahl von Mehrzweckhubschraubern der UH-60-Reihe bzw. gleichwertiger Modifikationen der bereits gelieferten UH-60M als vorteilhafter angesehen.
Alle UH-60M sollen künftig über die gleiche Ausrüstung verfügen. Die Beschaffung zusätzlicher UH-60 mit Bewaffnung und Selbstschutzsystemen wird die Luftnahunterstützung von Bodentruppen ermöglichen. Darüber hinaus auch Personen- und Materialtransport, CASEVAC/MEDEVAC, Luftaufklärung, Transport von Anhängelasten, Luftlandungen, SAR und Katastrophenhilfe.
Die Luftwaffe empfiehlt die Ergänzung der bestehenden elf UH-60M um 13 weitere UH-60 mit modernisierter Avionik. Damit wächst die Flotte auf 24 Stück (2 Staffeln).
Zverejnenie štúdie uskutočniteľnosti na doplnenie spôsobilostí vrtuľníkového letectva OS SR(Machbarkeitsstudie wegen vertraulicher Informationen nicht veröffentlicht.)
