Boeing has been awarded a $1.9 billion contract to produce 184 AH-64E Apache multirole combat helicopters for the U.S. Army and international customers. The contract covers 115 remanufactured Apaches with options for 15 additional aircraft for the Army and 54 aircraft for the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Boeing noted that the order will include the first Apaches to go to Australia.
“We are enhancing the U.S. Army’s attack fleet, while supporting additional partner nations and welcoming our newest Apache customer, the Australian Army,” said Christina Upah, Boeing vice president of Attack Helicopter Programs and senior Boeing Mesa site executive. “This contract highlights the need for Apaches worldwide.”
Boeing reports that there are currently more than 1,275 AH-64 Apaches in operation worldwide. Alongside the U.S., the model is flown by countries including Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. As previously reported by AVweb, the U.S. Army’s AH-64 fleet passed the 5 million flight hour milestone earlier this month.
