AMARILLO, Texas, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marine Corps has received the first production models of their Huey and Cobra helicopters.
The UH-1Y utility and the AH-1Z Super Cobra attack copters were turned over to the Corps late last month at the Bell Helicopter plant in Amarillo, Texas for the start of a testing program that will lead to deployment at ground bases and aboard ship.
The choppers that were born during the Vietnam War have 21st Century capabilities in terms of avionics, weapons systems and survivability. Many of the systems, in fact, are common to both aircraft, which will make the aircraft more economical and easier to maintain in a shipboard setting with limited space for parts and supplies.
Northrop Grumman said Tuesday that the Integrated Avionics System, or IAS, used in both aircraft provided a single system that was capable of rapid technology upgrades.
"The IAS will offer a single common set of avionics for the AH-1Z Super Cobra and the UH-1Y Huey," said Northrop Vice President Gorik Hossepian. "It provides a common upgrade path and hardware and software commonality for all Marine Corps rotary wing aircraft.''
The IAS specifically provides a "glass cockpit" that puts critical flight data in front of the pilot on a single screen, offers increased redundancy and eliminates a number of failure points.
Northrop said it had an agreement to supply glass-cockpit instruments for 180 Super Cobras and 100 UH-1Ys.
