AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is the United States’ premier attack helicopter — a twin-engine, tandem-seat anti-armor and close-air-support platform that has anchored U.S. Army rotary-wing combat power since Desert Storm.
The United States’ primary dedicated attack helicopter — a twin-engine, tandem-seat platform that delivers precision anti-armor and close air support under all-weather conditions, and the most widely operated heavy attack rotorcraft in the Western world.
Overview
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a heavy attack helicopter operated by the U.S. Army and fourteen other nations. In its current AH-64E “Guardian” configuration it combines a nose-mounted 30 mm chain gun, wing-stub hardpoints for up to 16 Hellfire or JAGM missiles, and the AN/APG-78 Longbow millimetre-wave fire-control radar. The airframe is built around a two-seat tandem cockpit, a four-blade main rotor and twin General Electric T700 turboshafts. The type has seen continuous combat service since Operation Desert Storm and remains in full-rate production with an active manned-unmanned teaming and counter-UAS capability being integrated.
Development
The Apache traces its roots to the U.S. Army’s Advanced Attack Helicopter program of the early 1970s. Hughes Helicopters (later McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing) won the competition with the YAH-64, which first flew on 30 September 1975. After a series of tests against the Bell YAH-63, the Army selected the YAH-64 in 1976 and the first production AH-64A was delivered in 1984, with the type entering operational service in 1986. The AH-64D “Longbow” followed in 1997, introducing the mast-mounted radar; the current AH-64E Guardian reached units in 2011 with upgraded engines, composite-main-rotor blades, and full digital connectivity. More than 2,875 Apaches of all variants have been built to date, according to Boeing and open-source production totals.
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