9 AH-1Z Viper helicopters are going to be sold to Pakistan by US. These are worth of USD 170 million. This has been done weeks after Obama administration decided to provide eight F-16 fighter jets to the country despite strong opposition from some Congressmen and India.
Bell Helicopter has got a contract from the pentagon to manufacture and deliver choppers to Pakistan. This will be done under its foreign military sales funds. This work will be performed in Texas (Fort Worth and Amarillo) and this will be completed till September 2018.
"Foreign military sales funds in the amount of USD 170,173,188 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year," the statement said.
Congress during last April got notified that the contract also includes nine fuel kits that should be delivered to Pakistan and its worth of USD 952 million. Congress also got notified by the state department to sale military hardware worth of USD 950 million to Pakistan. As per the notification Pakistan has requested a possible sale of 15 AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopters, 32 T-700 GE 401C Engines (30 installed and 2 spares), and 1000 AGM-114 R Hellfire II Missiles in containers. This also include 36 H-1 Technical Refresh Mission computers, 17 AN/AAQ-30 Target Sight Systems, 30 629F-23 Ultra High Frequency/Very High Frequency Communication Systems, and 19 H-764 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems. Some other military hardware were 32 Helmet Mounted Display/Optimised Top Owl, 17 APX-117A Identification Friend or Foe, 17 AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning Systems, 17 AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispenser Sets, 18 AN/APR-39C(V)2 Radar Warning Receivers, 15 Joint Mission Planning Systems and 17 M197 20mm Gun Systems.
The total estimated cost is USD 952 million.
"This proposed sale of helicopters and weapon systems will provide Pakistan with military capabilities in support of its counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in South Asia," the Defence Security Cooperation Agency had said last year.
Bell AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine attack helicopter based on the AH-1W SuperCobra, that was developed for the US Marine Corps.