Back in March 2023, it was revealed that Slovakia, which agreed to transfer its MiG-29 aircraft and "Kub" surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine, could receive attractive "bonuses" in return for the supplied weapons. These primarily included a significant discount on 12 AH-1Z Viper helicopters and priority in the delivery of these machines to Bratislava.
Ultimately, by July of this year, the U.S. State Department finally approved the sale of these helicopters to Slovakia. However, the situation took an interesting turn when earlier that same month, the head of the country's defense ministry, Robert Kalinák, stated that they were considering purchasing additional F-16 fighters instead of helicopters, especially since the plans for the AH-1Z Viper had been proposed by the previous government.
In September, Western media reported that if Slovakia ultimately decided to forgo the 12 AH-1Z Viper helicopters, Ukraine would be interested in acquiring these machines, given that they had already been "reserved" for Bratislava.
As Defense News now reports, Slovakia has decided to completely abandon the AH-1Z Viper, as recently announced by Defense Minister Robert Kalinák. Instead, the country opted to procure 12 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for its military.
It is clear that 12 units of the UH-60 Black Hawk will cost Slovakia significantly less compared to the AH-1Z Viper—Bratislava is expected to pay around 158 million euros for the Black Hawks, while the Viper deal approved by the U.S. State Department amounted to as much as 600 million (including a list of weapons, spare parts, and associated services).
According to sources cited by the publication, close to these negotiations, considering that Ukraine submitted a request for the Viper helicopters about 20 months ago, and given that the machines have now become "available," this may increase interest in acquiring these helicopters.
At the same time, the question arises about how exactly we can obtain these machines—whether through defense assistance or by purchasing them at our own expense. In both scenarios, it currently seems that for the cost of the helicopters—600 million dollars—we could actually procure more critically important weaponry for our military.