Ukraine and USA Negotiating About Sale of H-1 Series Helicopters

Negotiations are underway between the governments of Ukraine and the United States regarding the sale of AH-1Z or UH-1Y helicopters under the Foreign Military Sales program.

Phil Fikes, director of Bell Textron Ukraine, spoke about this in an interview with Militarnyi.

According to him, in 2023, Bell was invited to a defense summit in Kyiv. Since then, company delegations have visited Ukraine several times and held preliminary negotiations, laying the groundwork for the program.

“There was a series of negotiations that convinced us that Ukraine is serious about cooperation—and that the US is also interested,” he emphasized.

In addition, he stated that Bell Textron is ready to support the adaptation of the helicopters to Ukrainian requirements, including the integration of European and Ukrainian weapons, communication systems, and more. However, this requires US approval.

“Yes, and this is carried out through the Foreign Military Sales mechanism. Ukraine could approach the US with a request to manage this integration, and Bell Textron has a long history of supporting such programs. We would definitely support this if both governments reached a mutual agreement. It’s a simple mechanism, and it’s entirely possible,” he explained.

It is known that Ukraine has been interested in Bell Helicopter’s AH-1Z Viper combat helicopters since 2022.

In 2022, the Ukrainian military leadership approached the US with a request to acquire Viper helicopters through the Foreign Military Sales program.

In July 2024, Bell Textron officially offered Ukraine a combat variant of the Bell 407M multi-purpose helicopter during the Farnborough International Airshow 2024.

A year later, in July 2025, it became known that the American company had plans to invest in Ukrainian industry and launch helicopter production in Ukraine. This was announced at the time by the Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Oleksii Sobolev. According to him, the government is ready to support the initiative using effective tools to attract investors.

At the AUSA 2025 international exhibition in October 2025, the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine and Bell Textron signed a memorandum of understanding that established the framework for creating production and service facilities in Ukraine.

And in early June 2026, it was reported that Bell views Ukraine as a potential key hub for the assembly, maintenance, and repair of H-1 family helicopters in Europe.