Army Air Corps
Apache AH. 2
The AH-64 Apache was originally developed by Hughes Helicopters for the US Army as an anti-tank attack helicopter. The original AH-64A entered US Army service in 1986 and featured advanced targeting systems including sensors that were slaved to the crews’ line of sight via their helmets, as was the helicopter’ s 30mm cannon. The Apache’ s main weapon is the laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire missile which is designed to defeat main battle tanks and came to the forefront during the Gulf War where AH-64As were the first coalition aircraft to enter Iraq to attack early warning radar sites. Further developments of the AH-64 resulted in the new-build AH-64D Apache Longbow which included the AN / APG-78 mast-mounted Longbow Radar which allowed the Apache to track up to 128 targets and engage the 16 highest threats at once from behind cover using a new radar-guided version of the Hellfire. The most recent version is the AH-64E Guardian, renamed from the AH-64D Block III. The Guardian uses more powerful engines and has the ability to directly control drones, the radar has also seen a significant upgrade and the fuselage / rotors are now capable of being used aboard ships. In 1995, the United Kingdom selected the AH- 64D Apache Longbow as the Army’ s new attackhelicopter. The Apache was to be licence-built by Westland and would ultimately be known as the AgustaWestland Apache AH1. The British Apache differs from US Apaches by utilising more powerful Rolls-Royce RTM322 engines and UK-specific avionics. British Apaches were also capable of being deployed aboard naval vessels, a capability which was used to operate over Libya in 2011 from HMS Ocean. The Apache AH1 saw substantial service in Afghanistan where Prince Harry also operated the type as a gunner. In 2015 the UK confirmed that it would remanufacture 50 of its Apaches to AH-64E standard including new engines, to be known as the Apache AH2.
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