http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...ly-to-ever-see

Bell's AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter, a very close cousin to the iconic UH-1
Huey, has always been a sinister looking machine whose slender physique and
venomous bite does justice to its serpent namesake. Over the last fifty years
the helicopter has evolved dramatically in some ways, but its basic
configuration remains the same. Still, the earlier single turbine models, and
especially those with flat ballistic glass canopies, have a certain athletic
appearance compared to their ever-bulkier twin-engine Cobra successors. And I
have never seen one captured more brilliantly than by my Twitter contact and
aviation photographer extraordinaire @munbo327EJ.

The series of photos below were taken during the Helicopter and Disaster
Prevention Festival held in Oyabe, Japan on August 25th, 2018. Our photographer
positioned himself in a building on the hillside above the festival to capture
the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force AH-1S demo in absolutely spectacular
fashion.

We talked just recently about how an elevated perspective can make for the
ultimate air show pictures, and once again this rule is proven true:

Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries built 89 AH-S Cobras under license between 1984
and 2000, about 60 of which remain in service. Following the Cobra's production
run in Japan, JGSDFs procured a dozen AH-64D Longbow Apaches. At times it seemed
that Japan would procure addition Longbows, but those orders never materialized
and now Japan is look at options for replacing its Cobra fleet to augment the
higher-end but tiny Apache force.

Japan also has ordered over a hundred indigenously developed Kawasaki OH-1 light
scout and armed reconnaissance helicopters, but they are not seen as a
replacement for the Cobras. Instead they will replace Japan's fleet of aging
OH-6 Little Birds that serve in a similar role.

Now known as the AH-X tender, the favorites to replace the single-engine Cobras
are the AH-1Z Viper, the latest and most capable of the long-serving Cobra
lineage, and the AH-64E Apache Guardian which has a roadmap to quickly add new
capabilities and to better excel in the maritime combat environment.

The AH-1Z was developed for the U.S. Marine Corps out of the AH-1W Super Cobra,
which itself was derived from the AH-1J Sea Cobra, an aircraft that was built
specifically to be at home operating from vessels out at sea. The Apache on the
other hand was never realized in a dedicated manner, but operators do fly them
from ships—most notably the British Army Army Air Corps.

As we mentioned a moment ago, the Apache Guardian is going to be get some
enhancement to make it better suited for maritime warfare, although the somewhat
simpler AH-1Z Viper really has a pedigree for such operations.


more at
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...ly-to-ever-see




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