It’s been nearly 50 years since the Hughes YAH-64 prototype lifted off for the first time in September 1975 from a test site in Palomar, California.
That rotorcraft, known earlier as the Hughes Model 77, went on to win the US Army’s Advanced Attack Helicopter competition in 1976 and entered service as the AH-64 Apache in 1984.
Since then, the type has racked up more than 5 million flight hours, of which some 1.3 million were logged in combat.
After a few mergers and acquisitions Boeing became the AH-64’s prime manufacturer, and the airframer is now preparing the venerable attack helicopter for another 50 years of service.
New weapons, air-launched drones, and assisted automation features are all in the works for the US Army, which plans to fly the Apache into the 2060s.
Major customers overseas are also coming online with new and remanufactured aircraft. The UK took delivery of its 50th-and-final AH-64E in March. Australia is set to receive an initial tranche of four Apaches later this year, while Poland has finalised plans for a massive buy of 94 aircraft.
“Our platforms are in high demand,” says Kathleen Jolivette, vice-president of Boeing’s vertical lift division. “We’re excited about that.”
When it comes to the Apache specifically, Boeing is developing the latest AH-64E configuration known as Version 6.5, which the company says will offer improved lethality, survivability, connectivity and navigation capabilities.
These include the Active Parallel Actuation System (APAS), which helps automate some cockpit tasks and prevent operator errors. New software and touchscreen displays will allow for the integration of what the US Army calls “launched effects” – small uncrewed aerial systems that will provide long-range strike and reconnaissance options.
These will allow attack platforms like the Apache to survive the increasingly hazardous “air littoral” above modern battlefields.
“We’re seeing the Apache really go back to its core mission of attack,” says Christina Upah, Boeing’s vice-president of attack helicopter programmes.
The US Army notably announced earlier this year that it will retire its older model AH-64Ds and operate only the newer E-model Apaches under a plan dubbed the Army Transformation Initiative.
Although specific plans are in flux, the goal is to replace aircraft the Pentagon describes as “outdated” with modern platforms supplemented by “inexpensive drone swarms capable of overwhelming adversaries”.
“Our army must transform now to a leaner, more lethal force by infusing technology, cutting obsolete systems, and reducing overhead to defeat any adversary on an ever-changing battlefield,” army chief of staff General Randy George and army secretary Daniel Driscoll said in a May joint memo.
Boeing is optimistic about the prospects for a modernised Apache, noting the rotorcraft was originally designed for the type of large-scale combat operations the army is now focusing on.
“Transformation isn’t something new, nor is it unexpected,” Upah says.
Only around 90 of the USA’s Apaches are the older D-models, meaning the bulk of the current 839-aircraft fleet will continue to serve.
What becomes of the retiring AH-64Ds remains a matter of discussion.
Some could be offered to lease through the Pentagon’s Foreign Military Sales process, as was done with Poland earlier this year. Warsaw signed a lease with the US Army in February for eight AH-64Ds, while it awaits delivery of its new E-model Apaches later this decade.
“There are international countries that would like to have them,” says Mark Ballew, director of business development for Boeing vertical lift.
The Pentagon could also upgrade the older aircraft through a Boeing remanufacturing process that would bring them up to the latest AH-64E standard – an option Upah says represents a “tremendous value proposition” for customers.
“There’s an opportunity to remanufacture those,” Upah says of the AH-64Ds targeted for retirement.
Boeing has been delivering remanufactured AH-64Es to the US Army since 2011. The process involves stripping thousands of components from each aircraft, which are then refurbished by suppliers. The parts are later installed on a new AH-64E fuselage to begin their service life anew.
“We’ve seen parts that were designed, as well as produced in the ’80s, that are coming back onto the aircraft and being reused,” Upah says.
According to a 2023 Pentagon review, the E-model Apaches offer “significant” tactical advantages over the older D-version, particularly the mast-mounted Longbow fire control radar, an improved main rotor system, and network-centric digital communications.
Boeing is currently under its second multi-year contract with the Pentagon to deliver remanufactured AH-64Es for the US Army and allies. That 2023 deal was valued at just some $3.7 billion and will sustain Boeing’s Apache production line in Mesa, Arizona until 2027 or 2028.
While it is unclear for the moment what the USA’s plans will be, Upah says the company sees robust international demand for the AH-64E that will likely extend production at least into the early 2030s.
“There’s a tremendous demand for the Apache,” she says, noting that gives the US Army some flexibility in its decision making.
“If the army decides that they would like additional remanufactured aircraft, then we would work with them on those contracts,” she adds.
Ballew says Boeing is ultimately looking to secure another multi-year production contract with the Pentagon to support international demand, although such a deal is still aspirational at this point.
In the nearer term, Boeing plans to begin testing launched effects for integration with the AH-64E, with a test shot planned for 2026. Other capabilities being tested include directed energy weapons and long-range munitions such as the Lockheed Martin-Rafael Spike NLOS missile.
