Boeing [BA] said on Oct. 25 that it has delivered the first AH-64E Version 6 (V6) Apache attack helicopter 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 company said. “Delivery for the final E-model Apache to the country is targeted for 2025.”
Boeing said last month that it is not developing an Apache F-model, but focusing on the AH-64E’s future ‘Version 6X’ update (Defense Daily
, Sept. 14).
Maj. Gen. David Francis, commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, has said that he does not envision an F-model and that the Army is still working through fielding the AH-64E Version 6, which he called “the most modern attack helicopter that we have.”
The current V6 update for the AH-64 includes fire control radar and data-link improvements and integrating an upgraded AN/APR-48B Modernized Radar Frequency Interferometer.
Boeing said that the Dutch have operated the AH-64D since 1998 and that “deliveries of remanufactured E-model Apaches represents the next step in the long-term partnership between Boeing and the [Netherlands].”
“Since 1984, over 2,600 Apaches have been delivered to the U.S. Army and 17 international customers,” Boeing said. “Currently, there are more than 1,260 Apaches operating worldwide with more than 665 representing the E-model.”