In various materials, we can indeed observe assessments from Western military sources indicating that attack helicopters remain relevant even in the current combat conditions, particularly evident in France's experiments combining helicopters and UAVs.
However, such declarations often end there, and as a result, the global arms market is, to put it mildly, not witnessing a "boom in orders" for new attack helicopters. A notable exception to this trend is Poland, which has ordered as many as 96 AH-64 Apache helicopters under a contract worth a staggering 9 billion euros.
In this context, Romania serves as a good illustration, where the military also emphasizes the importance of helicopters but is not in a hurry to update or expand its fleet of such equipment.
According to a publication by the portal Defense Romania, the Romanian army currently has 23 IAR-330 SOCAT Puma helicopters, which are said to be "only approximately considered attack helicopters," and which are "larger than a bus."
It is even noted that the difference between the Romanian IAR-330 SOCAT and modern Western combat helicopters is as striking as that between an East German "Trabant" and a contemporary "Mercedes."
However, as this publication suggests, the situation is currently limited to merely documenting the state of affairs, and the Romanian military does not seem to be in a rush to seek replacements for their (as they consider) morally outdated helicopters.
If we delve into the specifics of the AR-330 SOCAT, the picture appears quite particular – the helicopters can indeed be labeled as morally outdated, but their armament does not warrant such a characterization.
The IAR-330 is a licensed copy of the French AS 330 Puma, which Romania produced from 1975 to 2008, with the Romanian armed forces being the main customer for these helicopters.
Romania manufactured the upgraded IAR-330 SOCAT helicopters in collaboration with Israel, a process that took place in the first half of the 2000s, with a total of 25 such units delivered. Evidently, the armament compensates for the moral obsolescence of the IAR-330 SOCAT for the Romanian military, as each of these helicopters can carry up to eight Spike-ER anti-tank missiles from Rafael, which have a launch range of up to 8-10 kilometers (depending on the version) and can penetrate up to 1000 meters of armor.