The Bell UH-1Y VenomDoD 4120-15L, ''Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles''
. US DoD, 12 May 2004. (also called Super Huey) is a twin-engine, medium-sized

utility helicopter A utility helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter capable of fulfilling many different roles. Civil Many civilian helicopters are made for utility work such as agricultural aircraft. Many police and fire departments maintain and operate utili ...

built by

Bell Helicopter Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in M ...

under the

H-1 upgrade program The H-1 upgrade program is the United States Marine Corps's program to develop the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom military helicopters to replace its aging fleets of AH-1W SuperCobras and UH-1N Twin Hueys. The contract was awarded in 1996 to Bel ...

of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

. One of the latest members of the numerous

Huey family The Bell Huey family of helicopters includes a wide range of civil and military aircraft produced since 1956 by Bell Helicopter. This H-1 family of aircraft includes the utility UH-1 Iroquois and the derivative AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter series ...

, the UH-1Y is also called "Yankee", based on the

NATO phonetic alphabet The (International) Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear code words for communicating the letters of the Roman alphabet, technically a ''radiotelephonic spellin ...

pronunciation of its variant letter. The UH-1Y was to have been remanufactured from UH-1Ns, but in 2005, it was approved for the aircraft to be built as new. After entering service in 2008, the UH-1Y replaced the USMC's aging fleet of

UH-1N Twin Huey The Bell UH-1N Twin Huey is a medium military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. It is a member of the extensive Huey family, the initial version was the CUH-1N Twin Huey (later CH-135 Twi ...

light utility helicopters, first introduced in the early 1970s. In 2008 it entered full-rate production,"UH-1Ys to be built new starting in 06"
. US Navy, 22 April 2005. with deliveries to the Marines completed in 2018.

Development

Over the years, new avionics and radios, modern door guns, and safety upgrades have greatly increased the UH-1N's empty weight. With a maximum speed around and an inability to lift much more than its own crew, fuel, and ammunition, the UH-1N had limited capabilities as a transport. In 1996, the United States Marine Corps launched the H-1 upgrade program. A contract was signed with Bell Helicopter for upgrading 100 UH-1Ns into UH-1Ys and upgrading 180 AH-1Ws into

AH-1Z The Bell AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine attack helicopter, based on the AH-1W SuperCobra, designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. Being one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family, it is also ca ...

s.Donald, David. ''Modern Battlefield Warplanes''. AIRTime Publishing, 2004. .Bishop, Chris. ''Huey Cobra Gunships''. Osprey Publishing, 2006. . The H-1 program modernized utility and

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

s with considerable design commonality to reduce operating costs. The UH-1Y and AH-1Z share a common tail boom, engines, rotor system, drivetrain, avionics architecture, software, controls, and displays for over 84% identical components.''Rotorbreeze Magazine''
Bell, October 2006. UH-1Y

Originally, the UH-1Y was to have been remanufactured from UH-1N airframes, but in April 2005, approval was granted to build them as new helicopters. Bell delivered two UH-1Ys to the U.S. Marine Corps in February 2008,"Bell H-1 upgrade program delivers two UH-1Y and one AH-1Z in February"
, Bell Helicopter, 3 March 2008. and full-rate production was begun in September 2009. The Marine Corps purchased 160 Y-models to replace their inventory of N-models.Butler, Amy
"U.S. Marines Propose AH-1Z Production Boost"
. ''Aviation Week'', 13 October 2010. Retrieved: 17 August 2017.

Design

The UH-1Y variant modernizes the UH-1 design. The Y-model upgrades pilot avionics to a glass cockpit, adds further safety modifications, and provides the UH-1 with a modern

forward-looking infrared Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other therma ...

system. Engine power was increased. Its most noticeable upgrade over previous variants is a four-blade, all-composite rotor system designed to withstand up to 23 mm rounds. By replacing the engines and the two-bladed rotor system with four composite blades, the Y-model returns the Huey to the utility role for which it was designed. A fuselage extension just forward of the main door was added for more capacity. The UH-1Y features upgraded transmissions and a digital cockpit with flat-panel multifunctional displays. Compared to the UH-1N, the Y-model has an increased payload, almost 50% greater range, a reduction in

vibration Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. The word comes from Latin ''vibrationem'' ("shaking, brandishing"). The oscillations may be periodic, such as the motion of a pendulum—or random, su ...

, and higher cruising speed.

Operational history

The UH-1Y and AH-1Z completed their developmental testing in early 2006. During the first quarter of 2006 the UH-1Ys were transferred to the Operational Test Unit at

NAS Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Sys ...

, where they began operational evaluation testing. In February 2008, the UH-1Y and AH-1Z began the second and final portion of testing. On 8 August 2008, the Marine Corps certified the UH-1Y as operationally capable, and it was deployed for the first time in January 2009 as part of the aviation combat element of the

13th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 p ...

. The UH-1N Twin Huey was retired by the Marines in August 2014, making the UH-1Y the Marine Corps' standard utility helicopter. On 11 October 2017, the

Defense Security Cooperation Agency The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), as part of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), provides financial and technical assistance, transfer of defense matériel, training and services to allies, and promotes military-to-milita ...

notified the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

of the potential sale of 12 UH-1Ys and related systems and support to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

for a cost of US$575 million. In December 2019, an order for eight UH-1Y helicopters was approved.

Operators

AH-1W UH-1Y take off from Bastion Afghanistan 2009

; *

Czech Air Force "The air is our sea" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , websi ...

(8 on order) Additional 2 to be transferred at no cost via the Excess Defense Articles programme. ; *

HMLA-167 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167 (HMLA-167) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. Known as the "''Warriors''", they are based at Marin ...

HMLA-169 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 (HMLA-169) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and UH-1Y Huey utility helicopters. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pe ...

HMLA-267 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267 (HMLA-267) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and Bell UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. Nicknamed the "Stingers", the squadron is based ...

HMLA-269 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269 (HMLA-269) was a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. Also known as "The Gunrunners", the squadron was based a ...

HMLA-367 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 (HMLA-367) was a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. Originally commissioned during World War II, the squadro ...

** HMLA-369 **

HMLA-469 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 (HMLA-469) was a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1 SuperCobra and AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. The squadron was headquartered a ...

HMLA-773 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 (HMLA-773) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and Bell UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. The squadron is based at Joint Base McGuire–Di ...

** HMLAT-303

Specifications

References

External links

UH-1Y Venom page on BellHelicopter.com

UH-1Y Venom page on US Navy RDA site

Flight International, 22 August 2008. {{US helicopters H-001Y, U 2000s United States military utility aircraft United States military helicopters 2000s United States helicopters Twin-turbine helicopters Aircraft first flown in 2001