Kevin O'Toole/LONDON
The UK attack helicopter competition is being viewed as a crucial test of how the three main airframe manufacturers competing for the contract will fare in future battles to dominate world export markets, says Fred Hubbard, senior vice-president at Bell Helicopter Textron.
At a conservative estimate, Hubbard believes that there is a potential market for around 300 advanced attack helicopters outside the USA and UK, including major requirements from Turkey and Japan.
The UK competition, which includes the Bell AH-1W Cobra, the McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache and Eurocopter Tiger airframes, will set a pattern for these decisions, says Hubbard.
He admits that the US Army's "endorsement" of the Apache has given the airframe a strong international advantage, underlined by its success earlier this year in the Dutch army competition.
If the UK gives its "stamp of approval", the Apache would gain a "formidable" position in other competitions, he says.
Victory in the UK for the Cobra airframe, together with GEC's Venom avionics, would allow Bell to "...run away with the market", however.
Bell believes that the Cobra Venom bid is gaining late ground in the run-up to the UK decision in July. "I don't think we started out as a contender, but now we are being viewed as a real competitor," he says, adding that the Cobra appears to be "tied for second place" with the Tiger, although still behind the Apache - the British Army's clear favourite.
Hubbard believes that strong US Marine Corps support for the Cobra may help counter US Army backing for the Apache. "The USMC could buy the Apache, but they don't because they want something that works every day and doesn't cost them a fortune," he says. "Tomorrow's wars are going to be fought more like the way in which the USMC fights wars," he maintains, adding that the Apache is not even "maritimised" - that could cost $25-50 million.
Bell is also emphasising the UK industrial potential of the Cobra Venom offering, now underscored by US Navy proposals to use Venom avionics in the planned cockpit upgrade for a 220-strong USMC AH-1W fleet. The upgrade may be conducted as a joint programme with the UK Ministry of Defence (Flight International 24-30 May).
Source: Flight International
