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" Here&amp;#039;s a video that takes you right into the cockpit of the Marine Corps&amp;#039; latest attack helicopter, the AH-1Z &amp;quot;Viper.&amp;quot; A Marine aircrew placed a 360-degree camera between the pilot (up top) and gunner (bottom), allowing you to watch both as they put the Viper through its paces in the Arizona desert.  The AH-1Z is the latest in a long line of helicopters descended from the UH-1 &amp;quot;Huey&amp;quot; helicopter. During the Vietnam War, a dedicated attack helicopter variant\u2014the AH-1 &amp;quot;Cobra&amp;quot;\u2014was developed for use by the U.S. Army. Towards the end of the war, the Marine Corps ordered their own version, SeaCobra, which added a second engine, just in case one engine malfunctioned or was damaged over water.  The AH-1Z is the third generation SeaCobra. It retains the deadly, snake-like appearance of the original Cobra. It has a crew of two and is powered by the same General Electric T700 turboshaft engines that power the Army&amp;#039;s Apache helicopter.   Vipers are used to provide close air support to Marine forces on the ground and are plenty capable of getting in close to deliver their payloads. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, 46 out of 58 SeaCobras got in close enough that they were damaged by ground fire, including machine guns and rocket propelled grenades.   Each Viper is equipped with a three barrel M197 20-millimeter gatling gun in the nose and has two stubby wings with weapons pylons that can carry Hellfire anti-tank missiles, unguided Hydra 70 rockets Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System II laser-guided rockets, and even Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.  It&amp;#039;s a heck of a copter to (sort of) hitch a ride in.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a23408/marine-corps-viper-360-degree-video/>