Israel has reportedly agreed to upgrade Greek AH-64 Apache attack helicopters besides ratifying a tripartite deal with Greece and Cyprus on the Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline project. On his first trip overseas after the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will have private meetings on Tuesday in Israel with three of the country’s largest business and investment groups, namely the Jerusalem Venture Partners, AMPA Capital and ELBIT Systems at the iconic Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem Hotel.
The Apache contract valued $34 million covers 19 helicopters. Elbit Systems will provide new Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor System (M-TADS/PNVS) systems and Integrated Helmet and Display Sighting System (IHADSS) to be equipped on the rotorcraft. The AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter will also be equipped with Rafael-manufactured Spike NLOS fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missiles. In addition to the AH-64 Apache, the Spike NLOS integration has also been brought to the S-70B-6 Aegean Hawk helicopters in the Hellenic Navy inventory.
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 (1.18 in) 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. The AH-64 has significant systems redundancy to improve combat survivability.
S-70B-6 Aegean Hawk is a Greek military variant which is a blend of the SH-60B and F models, based on Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy’s S-70C(M)1/2. SH-60B Seahawk is an anti-submarine warfare helicopter, equipped with an APS-124 search radar and an ALQ-142 ESM system under the nose, also fitted with a 25-tube sonobuoy launcher on the left side and modified landing gear; 181 built for the US Navy. The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family.
