Boeing has delivered the first AH-64E Version 6, or v6, Apache helicopter featuring improved performance, sensors and software to the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). As part of a Foreign Military Sale through the U.S. Department of Defense, Boeing received a contract in 2019 to remanufacture 28 RNLAF AH-64 D-model Apaches to the advanced AH-64E v6. The AH-64E v6 is the most modern configuration of the Apache attack helicopter. Delivery for the final E-model Apache to the country is targeted for 2025. The Dutch have operated D-model Apaches since 1998. Deliveries of remanufactured E-model Apaches represents the next step in the long-term partnership between Boeing and the country. Apaches continue to be an important element of European defense, and are currently operated by several European allied nations.
“It is an honor to receive the first remanufactured Apache Echo. This updated attack helicopter is a great improvement and gives the Royal Netherlands Air Force more combat power and situational awareness. This first delivery is an important step in modernizing our entire Apache fleet,” said Vice Admiral Arie Jan de Waard, the Director of the Defence Materiel Organisation.
“The Apache is the most advanced and proven attack helicopter, and demand for it continues to increase worldwide. By upgrading from the D-model to the E-model Apache, the Royal Netherlands Air Force will gain a significant increase in attack power, versatility and situational awareness for decades to come,” said Kathleen Jolivette, vice president of Attack Helicopter Programs and Senior Mesa Site Executive at Boeing.
The AH-64E V6 (Version 6) is the most modern configuration of the Apache attack helicopter and is ready for the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) battlefield. Designed for interoperability within the ecosystem of Joint All Domain Operations (JADO), the AH-64E v6 is a lethal, survivable and agile system providing the range, maneuverability and performance needed by ground forces and contributes to current and future joint mission success. They include:
• An improved cockpit map display that will allow pilots to use digital map images
• Multiple upgrades to the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision System (MTADS/PNVS)
• A GEN3 Day Sensor Assembly (GEN3 DSA)
• Link 16 communications
• Manned-Unmanned Teaming E\eXpanded (MUMT-X) software designed to allow Apache pilots to directly control other Army unmanned aerial systems
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. The AH-64 Apache has a four-blade main rotor and a four-blade tail rotor. The crew sits in tandem, with the pilot sitting behind and above the co-pilot/gunner. 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. Since 1984, over 2,600 Apaches have been delivered to the U.S. Army and 17 international customers. Currently, there are more than 1,260 Apaches operating worldwide with more than 665 representing the E-model.
