Despite the fact the US has already authorized the sale of 12 AH-1Z Viper light attack helicopters to Slovakia, Bratislava is now showing no particular interest in acquiring these helicopters, as it is more interested in the possibility of acquiring additional F-16 fighter aircraft.
If Slovakia does refuse these helicopters, Ukraine would like to receive them. Especially since Kyiv has been requesting the AH-1Z Viper specifically since 2022, Defense News reports citing Ukrainian MP Vadym Ivchenko.
Read more: How the American Black Hawk Helicopter Serves the Ukrainian Military
According to him, two years ago, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces submitted a purchase request for these attack helicopters to the United States, under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
"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 said.
An industry official also told journalists that such a shift of priorities on the part of Slovakia, suddenly declining the deal-in-the-making and even trying to claim the same discount to the purchase of fighter jets and air defense systems instead of attack helicopters, "has left officials in Washington miffed."
All the more so because this is not the first time the U.S. is seeking a customer for these Vipers. They were initially supposed to go to Pakistan, however, the agreement had fallen through.
Besides, the decision to turn down the helicopters was met with discord in Slovakia, too, Defense Express adds. The pivot was made shortly after the cabinet reshuffle following parliamentary elections. The newly appointed Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák initiated the talks on F-16s instead of Vipers saying the previous offer was unfavorable, whereas his predecessor in office, Jaroslav Nad, criticized the change in policies appealing to the relevant needs of the military.
As for Ukraine, updating the old Soviet-era fleet of attack helicopters has been a pressing issue for a long time. In December 2023, Ukraine requested AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters from the U.S. but no progress on that matter is known to the public. AH-1Z Viper is another potential candidate but here we explained why both attack helicopters are not quite realistic for Ukraine to obtain, and it might be better to consider the Bell 407M light attack helicopter instead.
There's a simple yet important reason to pounce on every opportunity to obtain Western helicopters: the Soviet-era fleet is aging, and the maintenance capabilities are very limited. The service centers in russia are no option, and those in Ukraine often become targets of russian missile attacks.
Worth noting, Ukraine already operates several types of Western military rotorcraft, namely the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King and UH-60 Black Hawk.
That's why, being a Member of Ukraine's parliamentary committee on National Defense, Vadym Ivchenko wrote a letter to U.S. lawmakers to convince the Biden administration to give the AH-1Z Vipers to Kyiv if Slovakia turns them down.
Read more: Ukraine is Offered Pragmatic Bell 407M Light Attack Helicopter, and It's Better Than Pipe Dreams of Apache
