Bahrain’s military fleet renewal could be set to advance further, with a potential acquisition of ex-US Marine Corps (USMC) Bell AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters still in the mix. 

An existing operator of legacy E/F-model Cobras, the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) has already significantly enhanced its capabilities via the introduction of 12 AH-1Z rotorcraft. Now fully operational, the last of the new assets were received last year.

In March 2023, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency outlined a request from Manama to field 24 retired AH-1Ws, valuing a deal at an estimated $350 million.

“The government of Bahrain has requested to buy equipment and services to refurbish 24 excess defense article AH-1W helicopters,” it said at the time. The process is expected to involve using 31 stored aircraft.

The RBAF’s current inventory includes 22 AH-1E/Fs, plus eight P-model trainers. While the fleet has been the subject of an upgrade activity performed by Turkish industry, replacing them with the W variant would represent a significant increase in capability.

“It is a testament to how these aircraft were built, with them being able to continue flying and maintaining them for as long as they have,” Bell H-1 programme director Scott Sims says of the legacy model’s longevity in RBAF service.

The USMC retired its final AH-1Ws in 2020, having replaced them with more capable AH-1Zs.

“Getting these aircraft back up to a flying capability is something that Bell absolutely can do as the OEM, and we’d be more than interested to partner with the BDF [Bahrain Defence Force] and the United States government,” Sims told FlightGlobal at the Bahrain International Airshow near Manama on 13 November.