DOPPELADLER.COM

Bell has confirmed new discussions with Ukrainian government agencies over a potential Foreign Military Sale of AH-1Z and UH-1Y attack and utility helicopters.

The Textron subsidiary’s executives signed agreements with two nonmilitary Ukrainian government agencies last week to assess industrial cooperation options if an AH-1Z and UH-1Y sale is approved. UkraineInvest and the Ministry of Economy, Ecology and Agriculture signed the agreements for Ukraine.

“This initiative has been in development for some time, and we look forward to bringing it to completion,” said Jeffrey Schloesser, Bell’s senior vice president for Strategic Pursuits.

A Ukrainian military official, whose identity was withheld, said at the Special Air Warfare Symposium in 2023 that the supply of AH-1Zs had risen to the top of Ukraine’s priority list. Around the same time, the Ukrainian Army hosted a media event near the front lines, showing off the continued operational missions of a small, surviving fleet of Mi-8s and Mi-24 helicopters, but pleading for the West to supply new rotorcraft.

Talks appeared to stall in public, but Bell’s comments reveal that discussions continued quietly since 2023.

“We are confident that H-1s can play a pivotal role in further building defense capabilities in Ukraine, providing a much-needed upgrade while strengthening current Ukrainian air support,” continued Schloesser.

A potential Foreign Military Sale could be complicated by the status of the AH-1Z and UH-1Y program. The U.S. Navy has funded Bell to close down the assembly line this year. Twelve AH-1Zs sold to Pakistan—but withheld from delivery due to bilateral policy disputes—may remain available, but a transfer to Ukraine may require the U.S. government to compensate Pakistan. Dozens of retired U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft are also stored at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, Arizona.