Bell UH-1Y Venom
| UH-1Y Venom | |
|---|---|
| A UH-1Y in flight | |
| General information | |
| Type | Utility helicopter |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Bell Helicopter |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users | United States Marine Corps |
| Number built | 160 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 2001–present |
| Introduction date | 8 August 2008 |
| First flight | 20 December 2001 |
| Developed from | Bell UH-1N Twin Huey |
The Bell UH-1Y Venom (also called Super Huey) is a twin-engine, 4-blade, medium-sized utility helicopter built by Bell Helicopter under the H-1 upgrade program of the United States Marine Corps. One of the latest members of the numerous Huey family, the UH-1Y is also called "Yankee" for the NATO phonetic alphabet 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 light utility helicopters, introduced in the early 1970s. The helicopter (and related Bell AH-1Z Viper) 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.