Officially Licensed USMC AH-1Z Shoulder Patch

Officially Licensed USMC AH-1Z Shoulder Patch — The Marine Corps' Venomous Strike From Above

Sixty years of Cobra lineage, refined into the deadliest attack helicopter ever to launch from a ship's flight deck.

The Bell AH-1Z Viper — known throughout the Marine Corps simply as the "Zulu" — is the USMC's primary rotary-wing attack platform, and the latest and most lethal evolution of the legendary AH-1 Cobra lineage that dates back to the Vietnam War. Developed under the H-1 Upgrade Program in the late 1990s, the Viper was built to replace the aging AH-1W SuperCobra with a completely modernized airframe featuring a four-blade composite rotor system, upgraded avionics, a fully integrated glass cockpit, third-generation FLIR targeting, and the Thales Top Owl helmet-mounted display. It first flew in December 2000, achieved initial operational capability in February 2011, and the 189th and final USMC Viper was delivered by Bell in November 2022. The AH-1Z is the only marinized attack helicopter in the world built from the factory to operate from amphibious assault ships and naval vessels, and the only attack helicopter with fully integrated air-to-air missile capability — carrying AIM-9 Sidewinders alongside AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, Hydra 70mm rockets, and a nose-mounted 20mm M197 three-barreled Gatling cannon. It shares 85 percent parts commonality with its stablemate, the UH-1Y Venom, giving Marine Light Attack Helicopter squadrons unmatched logistical efficiency in expeditionary operations. Vipers have deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS, provided close air support in Afghanistan and Iraq, and continue to serve as the Marine Air-Ground Task Force's premier aerial strike asset worldwide.

Perfect For: AH-1Z Viper pilots and crew chiefs, HMLA squadron Marines, Cobra community veterans, Marine Light Attack helicopter maintainers, and anyone who carries the legacy of the original Cobra gunship.