We got inside an AH-1W Super Cobra, the world's first attack helicopter
Manufactured by Bell, the AH-1W Super Cobra was introduced to the Corps in 1986.
And 58 feet long.
Powered by two General Electric T700-GE-401 engines, the Super Cobra has a maximum speed of about 169 mph and a maximum altitude of 18,700 feet.
Source: US Marine Corps
Here's a close up of the exhaust.
It's also heavily armed.
It has two external wing stations on each side, which carry 2.75-inch to 5-inch rockets and a variety of precision-guided missiles, such as TOWs, Hellfires, Sidewinders, or Sidearms.
Source: US Marine Corps
It's also armed with a 20 mm turreted cannon, seen below.
Here's a shot from the side.
We then jumped in the back cockpit, seen below. The Super Cobra is rather old and doesn't have digital displays.
The Super Cobra is operated by two pilots in two separate cockpits, much like the Army's Apache. While both cockpits can fly the helicopter and fire the weapons, the back one is suited more for flying while the front is gear toward weapons control.
But kids visiting the helicopter seemed rather jealous when they saw us get into the back cockpit, as no one else was actually allowed to get in. So we asked one of the pilots to jump in the front and take a picture for us.
As you can see, the front cockpit is a little different than the back — especially the binocular sight.
The pilot uses the binocular sight to operate the Night Targeting System, seen below, which detects and tracks targets, designating them and determining ranges.
Source: Globalsecurity.org
The Corps currently has 87 Super Cobras, but they're expected to be completely replaced by the Viper by 2020.
Source: US Naval Air Systems Command
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