U.S. Defense and Aerospace Boeing said on Thursday that they and the U.S. Army had got finalized orders from three nations to provide their armed forces with the new, more capable AH-64E Apache model. The contracts are for the remanufacture of 47 existing AH-64D Apache attack helicopter. The total combined value of the orders is more than $560 million. The remanufactured aircraft will be delivered in the early 2020s. Sixteen countries currently field the Apache. AH-64 Apaches have flown 4.6 million flight hours, including more than one million flight hours in combat.
“More allied defense forces worldwide are selecting the AH-64E Apache because they know it provides the most advanced technology and capability to keep their nations safe and secure today and well into the future,” said Kathleen Jolivette, vice president of Attack Helicopter Programs. “The Apache continues to be the most proven and reliable attack helicopter on the battlefield today.”
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft’s forward fuselage, and four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons for carrying armament and stores, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. Production has been continued by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, with over 2,000 AH-64s being produced by 2013.
