The Bell UH-1Y Venom
(also called Super Huey)
is a twin-engine, 4-blade, medium-sized
utility helicopter
A utility helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter capable of pursuing a wide array of tasks. They have proven useful in both civilian and military operations, with versatility being their defining trait.
Civilian
Helicopters play a crucial ...
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, United States as well as commercial heli ...
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 Bell Hel ...
of the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
. 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 serie ...
, the UH-1Y is also called "Yankee" for the
NATO phonetic alphabet
The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet or simply the 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 Latin/Roman ...
pronunciation of its variant letter.
Bell was originally to produce UH-1Ys by rebuilding UH-1Ns, but ultimately used new built airframes.
In 2008, the UH-1Y entered service with the Marine Corps and also began full-rate production.
The new UH-1 variant replaced the USMC's
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, introduced in the early 1970s. The helicopter (and related
Bell AH-1Z Viper
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. It is one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family. It is ofte ...
) were ordered by the Czech Republic and the helicopter is in production in the early 2020s. Visually, some features that differentiate the Y model are a slightly longer cabin and larger twin engine exhaust vents compared to the earlier N model.
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-1W
The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J ...
s 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. It is one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family. It is oft ...
s.
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 (military), offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their ...
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''](_blank)
Bell, October 2006.
Production
Originally, the UH-1Y was to be 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,
and full-rate production was begun in September 2009. The Marine Corps purchased 160 Y-models to replace their inventory of N-models.
The final UH-1Y for the U.S. Marine Corps was delivered in January 2019. In 2021, the production line restarted to produce the UH-1Ys for the Czech Republic's order.
160 have been produced with 8 more being made for the aforementioned Czech order as of 2022.
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. Vibration may be deterministic if the oscillations can be characterised precisely (e.g. the periodic motion of a pendulum), or random if the os ...
, and higher cruising speed.
The weapons used on the UH-1Y includes a variety of rocket and machine guns. This includes 2.75-inch (70 mm) rockets on the external hardpoints, and LAU-68, LAU-61, M260, and M261 launchers with Mk 66 rockets (
Hydra 70
The Hydra 70 rocket (weapon), rocket is an American made diameter fin-stabilized unguided rocket used primarily in the air-to-ground role. It can be equipped with a variety of warheads, and in more recent versions, guidance systems for point att ...
). Machine guns include
M240D,
GAU-16
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...
,
GAU-21
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...
, and
GAU-17A.

The UH-1Y can also be fitted with the AN/ALQ-231(V)3 Intrepid Tiger II (IT II), an advanced
electronic warfare pod designed to provide precise, on-demand electronic attack and support capabilities. It features an
open architecture
Open architecture is a type of computer architecture or software architecture intended to make adding, upgrading, and swapping components with other computers easy. For example, the IBM PC, Amiga 2000 and Apple IIe have an open architecture supp ...
and rapid reprogrammability, allowing it to adapt to evolving threats. The IT II can be controlled from the cockpit or by a ground operator, enabling flexible deployment in various combat scenarios. It gives the UH-1Y the ability to jam enemy communications, gather signals intelligence, and disrupt adversary networks, making it a crucial asset for electronic warfare operations.
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 in St. Mary’s County, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River.
It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Comma ...
, 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
In the United States Marine Corps, the aviation combat element or air combat element (ACE) is the aviation component of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The ACE is task organized to perform the six functions of Marine Corps aviation in ...
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 pe ...
. The UH-1N Twin Huey was retired by the Marines in August 2014, making the UH-1Y the Marine Corps' standard utility helicopter.

The first UH-1Ys arrived in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
in 2009. During the
Taliban raid on Camp Bastion, USMC UH-1Ys and
AH-1W SuperCobras provided air support while under fire from
Taliban
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
, leader1_name = {{indented plainlist,
* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
insurgents.
On 1 August, 2016, the
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU) is one of seven Marine expeditionary unit, such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. It is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. They are ...
used UH-1Ys and AH-1Ws in strikes against
ISIL in Libya during
the American intervention in Libya and the
Battle of Sirte.
On 11 October 2017, the
Defense Security Cooperation Agency
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) is an agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) which provides financial and technical assistance, transfer of defense materiel, training and services to allies, and promotes militar ...
notified the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
of the potential sale of 12 UH-1Ys and related systems and support to the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
for a cost of US$575 million. In December 2019, an order for eight UH-1Y helicopters was approved.
The first Czech UH-1Y was delivered in 2023.
Operators

;
*
Czech Air Force
The Czech Air Force () is the air force branch of the Army of the Czech Republic, Army of Czechia. Along with the Czech Land Forces, Land Forces, the Air Force is the major Czech military force. With traditions of military aviation dating back to ...
(1 delivered, 7 remaining on order)
Another two to be transferred at no cost via the Excess Defense Articles program.
;
*
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
**
HMLA-167
**
HMLA-169
**
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 ba ...
**
HMLA-269
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269 (HMLA-269) is 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 is base ...
**
HMLA-367
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 (HMLA-367) is 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 squa ...
**
HMLA-369
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 (HMLA-369) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. The squadron, also known as the "Gunfighters", is base ...
**
HMLA-469
**
HMLA-773
**
HMLAT-303
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303 (HMLAT-303), is a United States Marine Corps helicopter training squadron stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, California. Known as "Atlas", HMLAT-303 trains newly commission ...
Specifications
See also
References
External links
UH-1Y Venom page on BellHelicopter.comUH-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
Single-rotor helicopters
Aircraft with skid landing gear