Australia will receive the first of its new Boeing AH-64E attack helicopters before the end of this year.
Speaking at the Army Aviation Association of America conference in Nashville, Tennessee on 15 May, Boeing’s head of attack helicopter programmes confirmed four Apaches destined for Australia are progressing through the company’s production line in Mesa, Arizona.
“Later this year [we are] delivering the first four of 29 Apaches to Australia,” says Christina Upah.
That confirms expectations shared by Canberra in March at the Avalon international air show near Melbourne, Victoria. There, Australian Army Brigadier General Andrew Thomas told FlightGlobal he expects to receive four AH-64Es in 2025 and four more in 2026.
As it builds out the Apache fleet, Australia plans to retire its 22 Airbus Helicopters Tiger attack rotorcraft, which have been plagued by significant sustainment challenges.
Thomas noted that Canberra is open to options for the sun-setting Tiger fleet, including potentially “gifting” the aircraft to an overseas operator.
The pending launch of Australia’s AH-64E fleet comes as Boeing earlier this year delivered the UK’s 50th Apache, completing the British Army’s inventory. Elsewhere in Europe, Poland is in negotiations with Boeing for a massive 96-aircraft order for the attack helicopter.
In North America, the US Army recently announced plans to sunset its 91 older D-model Apaches and operate only the latest AH-64E. Boeing is currently working through its second multi-year contract with the US Army covering the re-manufacturing of older Apaches, upgrading them to the latest AH-64E standard.
Unlike the USA’s AH-64 fleet, which primarily operate from land bases, Canberra envisages also operating its AH-64Es from Australia’s two amphibious assault ships – the HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide.
US Army Apaches have already performed some initial trial work for such shipboard operations.
