Sayeret
01-01-2005, 02:20 PM
Lethal, smart and, according to one combat aviator, "more durable than concrete," the AH-64 Apache has proven invaluable in combat against less sophisticated, less conventional, but still deadly and determined enemy forces. U.S. Army Apaches helped overwhelm guerillas in Afghanistan and Iraq. Israeli Apaches, backed by excellent intelligence, target terrorists in a bitter urban struggle.
Heavily armed and ballistically tolerant, the AH-64 was designed for deep attacks against powerful Soviet armor formations on a linear battlefield with defined enemy lines. It was devastating against Soviet-model Iraqi armor in 1991. But while the world has changed since the end of the Soviet threat, the Apache is already proving itself on non-linear battlefields with no definable forward battle lines. Despite bad press after the bloody fights in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the Apache has distinguished itself in today’s combat environments and continues to win export orders.
The AH-64D has expanded the capability and trimmed the high ownership costs of the heavy attack helicopter. It may provide the foundation for yet another block of improvements to help the U.S. Army’s agile, versatile Objective Force of 2010 being created to handle the spectrum of conflicts from peacekeeping to high-intensity warfare.
In 2001, AH-64As went to war in Afghanistan with the 101st Aviation Regiment. They escorted Chinooks and Black Hawks and supported U.S. troops in contact with the enemy, operating from Baghram air base and forward arming and refueling points around the tortured country.
Seven AH-64As provided life-saving firepower for Americans in the fierce firefight around the Shah-e-Kot valley during Operation Anaconda last year. Four of the helicopters received heavy battle damage, including hits from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). The damaged aircraft still completed their missions and brought their crews home, and most were repaired quickly to return to the fight. When combat flared again in 2003, Apaches flew close air support on Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants. One AH-64 was shot down in June but the crew escaped. Apaches provided fire support for combat operations in August and continue to be frontline assets in the war on terrorism.
Likewise, AH-64As and Longbow AH-64Ds were powerful assets in the fast moving "major combat" phase of Iraqi Freedom, with an estimated 140 Apaches in the theater of operations. Combat units were pleased with the Longbow’s operational effectiveness and survivability in an environment noted for sandstorms, brownouts, and ground fire. Boeing reports the AH-64Ds in Iraqi Freedom maintained a 95 percent operational readiness rate.
The Apaches committed to Operation Enduring Freedom had more powerful T700-GE-701C engines to match the performance challenges of the mountainous terrain. These engines provided sufficient power for the mission profiles flown by the Longbow Apache in Iraqi Freedom. The integral inlet air particle separator of the T700 engine proved effective in the dense dust, and the Army quickly fielded a successful Tactical Engine Wash System (TEWS).
AH-64Ds of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Infantry Div. used the radar-guided AGM-114L Hellfire missile for the first time in combat in attacking an Iraqi observation post on the Kuwaiti border. At the night mission’s outset, an AH-64D flew into a sand dune dodging ground fire, but later lifted itself off and returned to base.
A Different Kind of Battle
The 1st of the 3rd also made the first tank kill with the radar-guided Hellfire. As they did in Desert Storm, Apaches in Iraqi Freedom devastated massed armor. When asked why he surrendered his unit, an Iraqi Republican Guard general reportedly responded simply, "Apaches."
AH-64s in Operation Iraqi Freedom nevertheless fought a different kind of battle than they did in Desert Storm. Rather than mass in Soviet-style armored formations in open desert, Iraqi tanks in 2003 generally dispersed, with air defenses hidden in cities or amid civilians. During the battle for Baghdad, three Apache squadrons destroyed 40—50 vehicles and artillery pieces.
With tanks as bait, air defenders set ambushes with RPGs, mortars and other infantry weapons. The much-publicized deep strike near Karbala in March left 31 Apaches damaged by RPGs and gunfire and gave Iraq a very public victory. Two Americans were captured and a sophisticated U.S. Army helicopter in Iraqi hands had to be chased down and ultimately bombed by a U.S. Air Force fighter. With the Army slow to quantify Apache successes, the press seized on the loss. One British newspaper quickly claimed that the fragmentary reports of the action totally discredited the British Army’s purchase of the RTM-322 powered Apache AH Mk.1 (WAH 64 Apache Longbow).
The headlines ignored the repeated message that the Apache could take punishment and return to the fight. One AH-64A from the 2nd Sqdn., 6th Cavalry Regiment took multiple hits during the push for the Iraqi capital. The pilot withdrew to an aid station to get his wounded co-pilot/gunner bandaged, patched up the aircraft with tape and epoxy and rejoined the battle.
Apache crews adapted to use more flexible tactics in the changing fight. The 1st of the 3rd transitioned from massed deep strike tactics to continuous close combat, launching teams of Apaches. While lead crews attacked targets from standoff ranges, wingmen protected the shooters from close-in threats. Shoot-on-the-move tactics also got the Apache out of its vulnerable tank-killing hover. Battalion commanders also provided added security for attack companies in combat.
According to the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, the Army is still gathering observations from Iraq to revise its attack helicopter field manuals and training. The service is taking a hard look at how to use the AH-64 in close combat while maintaining the lethality and shock effects it needs for deep attacks. But whatever the scenario, the Apache continues to evolve for the Objective Force.
When the AH-64A first joined U.S. Army field units in 1986, it introduced new battlefield capabilities for deep strikes at night in the face of integrated air defenses. Night visionics and the laser-designated Hellfire missile gave the big attack helicopter standoff precision. The modernized AH-64D fielded in 1997 dramatically enhanced those capabilities with its mast-mounted Longbow fire control radar, radio frequency interferometer, fire-and-forget radar Hellfire, and an integrated glass cockpit. It is expected to serve the Objective Force alongside the RAH-66 Comanche scout and unmanned aerial vehicles and, on the ground, the Future Combat System.
Boeing Mesa delivered the last of 937 AH-64As built for the U.S. Army, Israel, Egypt, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates in November 1996. The U.S. Army is "recapitalizing" its helicopters to reduce total ownership costs and field new technology. Apache production today is a mix of A models remanufactured to the D configuration for the U.S. Army and new-build AH-64Ds for foreign customers. U.S. Army production runs at about six a month, with international Apaches injected into the line to suit contract delivery schedules.
Boeing said its current facilities can produce 12 AH-64Ds per month.
The Apache is the product of a long list of subcontractors. New AH-64 airframes, once made by Ryan in San Diego and Boeing in Philadelphia, are now produced by Korean Aerospace Industries, but Purdy Corp. in Connecticut still supplies transmissions and General Electric’s T700s continue to power all Apaches except the UK’s AH Mk.1. (No other export customer picked the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322-powered Apache.) Lockheed Martin provides the optronics for old and new Apaches. Team Apache Systems was formed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin to integrate and support the Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight (M-TADS). Lockheed Martin andNorthrop Grumman’s Longbow partnership supplies the AH-64D’s radar.
BCF Designs, Ltd. has demonstrated its new fuel system test set at Fort Rucker. The microprocessor-based set offers improved accuracy and increased fault finding capabilities, according to the company. The company has a four-year contract to supply 300 fuel system test sets to the U.K. Ministry of Defence. The unit will replace about 17 different test sets currently used to support 27 different platforms, the company said.
As of the summer of 2003, the Arizona production line had delivered 318 AH-64Ds out of 501 under contract for the U.S. Army. The Netherlands took the last of its 30 new D-models in mid-2002 and the British Army has accepted the last of 67 AH Mk.1s assembled by AgustaWestland.
The Egyptian army is under contract to upgrade 35 Apaches and should get its first AH-64D in late 2003. The first of nine Longbow Apaches for Israel (one new and eight remanufactured from a fleet of 41 AH-64As) is also due for delivery this year. Singapore has the first eight of its AH-64Ds, and a follow-on lot of 12 Apaches is in process. Kuwait has signed a Letter of Agreement for 16 AH-64Ds to be delivered in 2005 or 2006. Japan has a long-term plan to acquire the AH-64D and will follow U.S.-built Apaches around 2005 with in-country production by Fuji Heavy Industries. In September, Greece signed a contract to add 12 new radar-equipped AH-64Ds to its fleet of 20 As. Its army also has an option on four more Longbows.
Though beaten by Eurocopter industrial offsets in Australia and Spain, and by the Bell KingCobra package in Turkey, the Apache continues to compete with the lighter, less capable helicopters for international orders. AH-64D deliveries to the U.S. Army now stretch through 2006, and export business remains important for Boeing to keep the Apache line open for another round of block improvements.
The U.S. Army started Apache recapitalization with 729 AH-64As, but budgets ultimately trimmed remanufacturing plans to 501 AH-64Ds. Around 200 AH-64As upgraded by reliability and safety enhancements will remain in the Army National Guard. However, the active Army has already lost about 10 AH-64D’s in accidents and combat and projects attrition of 10—15 in routine operations over the next 20 years. An "attrition buy" under discussion could restore the fleet and protect the D-model fielding plan.
The first 284 Apaches remanufactured for the U.S. Army were Block I AH-64Ds with integrated cockpits, provisions for Longbow radar, an Improved Data Modem (IDM) and extensive reliability and supportability enhancements. The next 217 AH-64Ds are Block II aircraft with color cockpit displays and an on-going chain of improvements in successive production lots. International Apaches generally follow the U.S. Army configuration to control cost.
Modernized or new-build Apaches with -701C engines have superior performance at high-density altitudes and hot temperatures, but any of the glass-cockpit AH-64Ds can use Longbow radar. By this summer the Northrop Grumman/Lockheed Martin Longbow partnership had delivered 193 radars to the U.S. Army and foreign customers. Export radars are identical to those used by the U.S. Army except for some software features. The radio frequency interferometer beneath the radar locates and identifies signal emitters.
The U.S. Army has long planned to buy 227 fire control radar kits to outfit AH-64Ds in mixed formations. The seven modernized Apache battalions already declared combat-ready routinely mix non-radar AH-64Ds with radar-equipped aircraft in a two-to-one ratio. Longbow Apaches with and without radar can share the same radar plot automatically annotated with tracked, wheeled, air defense, fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unknown targets. Eventually, IDM will exchange situation reports, intelligence and sensor imagery between the attack helicopters and other members of the Army combined arms team and the multi-service, multi-national Joint Force.
The Block II, production Lot VII Apaches now on the line are the first AH-64Ds to incorporate M-TADS (formerly Arrowhead) and the Modernized Pilot Night Visions System (M-PNVS). M-TADS/PNVS exploits second-generation forward-looking infrared (flir) technology developed for the armed reconnaissance version of the Comanche.
M-TADS is scheduled to achieve initial operational capability in 2005 and promises to enhance the lethality, survivability and reliability of the AH-64D. The first-generation TADS thermal imagers used in Iraq enabled crews to identify ground vehicles with confidence only out to less than 2 mi. (about 3 km.). Lockheed Martin has long estimated second-generation flirs will see about 40 percent farther and provide twice the image quality. The clearer imagery and greater range of M-TADS can help exploit the full 6 i. (8 km.) standoff range of the Hellfire missile and prevent fratricide on jumbled, non-linear battlefields. At the same time, the new M-PNVS infrared sensor will be better able to see hazardous obstructions at night, and an integrated image intensifier will help the Apache pilot fly safely in conditions of low thermal contrast.
According to the Institute for Defense Analyses, the original TADS/PNVS accounts for about 30 percent of overall Apache operating and support costs. M-TADS/PNVS introduces modern electronics that should hike the reliability of the Apache visionics 150 percent and reduce maintenance actions around 60 percent. The new electro-optical sensors can be installed in D- and A-model Apaches in the field and works with the existing Honeywell Integrated Helmet And Display Sighting System (IHADSS). M-TADS upgrade also updates the D- or A-model Apache cockpit with a new TADS Electronic Display and Control (TEDAC) that lifts the co-pilot gunner out of the clumsy direct view optical sight.
The current Block II AH-64D also benefits from advanced mission display processors and a new optical fiber channel bus 1,000 times faster than the Mil Std 1553B databus of the original Apache. To play its part on the digital battlefield, the new AH-64D has a digital map, the Rockwell Collins ARC-210 over-the-horizon, high-frequency radio and an upgraded Improved Data Modem compatible with Joint Variable Message Formats of the tactical internet. Block II Lot VIII aircraft also introduce the first pieces of an open-systems avionics architecture readily upgraded with new processors and other technology enhancements.
Beyond the Block II Longbow Apaches on order for the U.S. Army are plans to upgrade Block I AH-64Ds to a Block III configuration that meets Objective Force requirements.
With startup funding in 2005—09, Block III improvements could include a truly open avionics architecture, the Joint Tactical Radio System, video transmission capability and the ability to control UAVs. Powerful new commercial processors may host Assisted Target Recognition algorithms like those used by the Comanche, and some of the cognitive decision aids demonstrated by the Rotorcraft Pilots Associate program. A mid-wave IR sensor effective in humid environments and the bi-ocular Helmet Integrated Display System of the Comanche are also candidates for the follow-on modernization.
Wanted: Better Climb Rate
Block III could also improve the Apache rotor system and transmission to cut operating and support costs and restore performance with or without radar. The basic AH-64A with full fuel, eight Hellfires, 38 unguided rockets, and 1,200 rounds of 300 mm cannon ammunition has a vertical rate of climb (Vroc) of 2,530 fpm at sea level on a standard day. Even with -701C engines, a Longbow-carrying AH-64D with the same load has a Vroc of just 1,350 fpm. Restoring Vroc is important to an Objective Force helicopter expected to operate in the full range of combat environments.
The U.S. Army was embarrassed by the settling-with-power crashes that cost it two AH-64As in Albania’s mountainous terrain during the Kosovo crisis. Though the -701C proved adequate for operations in Iraq, Block III modernization provides the opportunity to exploit the -701D used in the recapitalized UH-60M Black Hawk. The -701D promises a four percent performance improvement over the -701C engine, and could ultimately give way to the 3,000-shp.-class Common Technology Engine.
A new transmission would enable the Block III AH-64D to use its maximum available power, while potentially doubling the time between dynamic component removals. In addition, a high-thrust, all-composite rotor system would enhance Apache performance anywhere in the world and possibly double the life of main rotor blades.
The Institute for Defense Analyses notes the Apache remains the Army’s most expensive system to operate and support. The AH-64D eliminated about 35 percent of the wiring in the AH-64A and introduced a range of reliability, availability and maintainability improvements. Despite the reliability and supportability advantages of M-TADS, and the enhanced diagnostics built into the AH-64D, the Apache still requires a three-level maintenance system. Repairs are performed by field-level maintainers in attack companies or cavalry troops, Aviation Intermediate Maintenance (AVIM) facilities attached to attack battalions and cavalry squadrons, and depots such as in Corpus Christi, Texas and Anniston, Alabama. Block I AH-64Ds introduced an Improved Electronic Technical Manual to speed maintenance actions. Block III might introduce advanced health and usage monitoring systems.
The Army Aviation Restructure Initiative made attack units "pure" in part to improve availability. When the AH-64A was fielded, each attack battalion received 24 aircraft. With the AH-64D, divisional attack battalions received 18 helicopters for three companies and corps attack battalions 21 aircraft in three companies. By keeping the maintenance assets in those units the same, the Army hopes to hike mission-capable rates from 75 to 90 percent.
The effectiveness of the Apache nevertheless depends on the quality of its crews. At around $3,400 per flight hour, training pilots and co-pilot gunners on the real aircraft is expensive. Simulators can qualify crews in the sophisticated helicopter and maintain critical combat skills for a few hundred dollars per "flight" hour.
Training Advances
AH-64A crews train on 10 AH-64A Combat Mission Simulators (CMSs) at U.S. Army installations in the United States, Germany, and South Korea (Egypt is the only Apache export customer to buy the CMS). The sheer size of the simulators and their elaborate support requirements tie them to fixed locations and deny deployed units an important training tool.
CAE is upgrading the A-model CMSs, incorporating in them its Medallion visual system, new computer systems and instructor operating systems.
Crews flying the AH-64D will ultimately prepare for combat on the first production simulators able to deploy in-theater with aviation battalions. The Boeing Longbow Crew Trainer enables AH-64D crews to fly accurate, representative cockpits in a detailed visual environment filled with interactive threats. Plans call for 23 in both deployable and fixed versions. The first went into service at Fort Rucker; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The Army may deploy one to support of units in Iraq.
In addition to the crew trainers, the deployable Boeing Longbow Collective Training System lets six AH-64D crews train as a fighting company. The first LCTS is used by the 21st Cavalry Brigade at Hood to train Longbow battalions going through unit fielding training. Ultimately, the crew and collective trainers will be networked with other forces.
The size and composition of units of action in the Objective Force is unresolved. Whatever their strength, the Apache is expected to remain in the U.S. Army to 2024 or beyond. Military threats have indeed changed. Fortunately, the U.S. Army has an attack helicopter tough enough for the full spectrum of conflicts.
http://www.aviationtoday.com/cgi/rw/show_mag.cgi?pub=rw&mon=0104&file=0104apache.htm
Heavily armed and ballistically tolerant, the AH-64 was designed for deep attacks against powerful Soviet armor formations on a linear battlefield with defined enemy lines. It was devastating against Soviet-model Iraqi armor in 1991. But while the world has changed since the end of the Soviet threat, the Apache is already proving itself on non-linear battlefields with no definable forward battle lines. Despite bad press after the bloody fights in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the Apache has distinguished itself in today’s combat environments and continues to win export orders.
The AH-64D has expanded the capability and trimmed the high ownership costs of the heavy attack helicopter. It may provide the foundation for yet another block of improvements to help the U.S. Army’s agile, versatile Objective Force of 2010 being created to handle the spectrum of conflicts from peacekeeping to high-intensity warfare.
In 2001, AH-64As went to war in Afghanistan with the 101st Aviation Regiment. They escorted Chinooks and Black Hawks and supported U.S. troops in contact with the enemy, operating from Baghram air base and forward arming and refueling points around the tortured country.
Seven AH-64As provided life-saving firepower for Americans in the fierce firefight around the Shah-e-Kot valley during Operation Anaconda last year. Four of the helicopters received heavy battle damage, including hits from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). The damaged aircraft still completed their missions and brought their crews home, and most were repaired quickly to return to the fight. When combat flared again in 2003, Apaches flew close air support on Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants. One AH-64 was shot down in June but the crew escaped. Apaches provided fire support for combat operations in August and continue to be frontline assets in the war on terrorism.
Likewise, AH-64As and Longbow AH-64Ds were powerful assets in the fast moving "major combat" phase of Iraqi Freedom, with an estimated 140 Apaches in the theater of operations. Combat units were pleased with the Longbow’s operational effectiveness and survivability in an environment noted for sandstorms, brownouts, and ground fire. Boeing reports the AH-64Ds in Iraqi Freedom maintained a 95 percent operational readiness rate.
The Apaches committed to Operation Enduring Freedom had more powerful T700-GE-701C engines to match the performance challenges of the mountainous terrain. These engines provided sufficient power for the mission profiles flown by the Longbow Apache in Iraqi Freedom. The integral inlet air particle separator of the T700 engine proved effective in the dense dust, and the Army quickly fielded a successful Tactical Engine Wash System (TEWS).
AH-64Ds of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Infantry Div. used the radar-guided AGM-114L Hellfire missile for the first time in combat in attacking an Iraqi observation post on the Kuwaiti border. At the night mission’s outset, an AH-64D flew into a sand dune dodging ground fire, but later lifted itself off and returned to base.
A Different Kind of Battle
The 1st of the 3rd also made the first tank kill with the radar-guided Hellfire. As they did in Desert Storm, Apaches in Iraqi Freedom devastated massed armor. When asked why he surrendered his unit, an Iraqi Republican Guard general reportedly responded simply, "Apaches."
AH-64s in Operation Iraqi Freedom nevertheless fought a different kind of battle than they did in Desert Storm. Rather than mass in Soviet-style armored formations in open desert, Iraqi tanks in 2003 generally dispersed, with air defenses hidden in cities or amid civilians. During the battle for Baghdad, three Apache squadrons destroyed 40—50 vehicles and artillery pieces.
With tanks as bait, air defenders set ambushes with RPGs, mortars and other infantry weapons. The much-publicized deep strike near Karbala in March left 31 Apaches damaged by RPGs and gunfire and gave Iraq a very public victory. Two Americans were captured and a sophisticated U.S. Army helicopter in Iraqi hands had to be chased down and ultimately bombed by a U.S. Air Force fighter. With the Army slow to quantify Apache successes, the press seized on the loss. One British newspaper quickly claimed that the fragmentary reports of the action totally discredited the British Army’s purchase of the RTM-322 powered Apache AH Mk.1 (WAH 64 Apache Longbow).
The headlines ignored the repeated message that the Apache could take punishment and return to the fight. One AH-64A from the 2nd Sqdn., 6th Cavalry Regiment took multiple hits during the push for the Iraqi capital. The pilot withdrew to an aid station to get his wounded co-pilot/gunner bandaged, patched up the aircraft with tape and epoxy and rejoined the battle.
Apache crews adapted to use more flexible tactics in the changing fight. The 1st of the 3rd transitioned from massed deep strike tactics to continuous close combat, launching teams of Apaches. While lead crews attacked targets from standoff ranges, wingmen protected the shooters from close-in threats. Shoot-on-the-move tactics also got the Apache out of its vulnerable tank-killing hover. Battalion commanders also provided added security for attack companies in combat.
According to the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, the Army is still gathering observations from Iraq to revise its attack helicopter field manuals and training. The service is taking a hard look at how to use the AH-64 in close combat while maintaining the lethality and shock effects it needs for deep attacks. But whatever the scenario, the Apache continues to evolve for the Objective Force.
When the AH-64A first joined U.S. Army field units in 1986, it introduced new battlefield capabilities for deep strikes at night in the face of integrated air defenses. Night visionics and the laser-designated Hellfire missile gave the big attack helicopter standoff precision. The modernized AH-64D fielded in 1997 dramatically enhanced those capabilities with its mast-mounted Longbow fire control radar, radio frequency interferometer, fire-and-forget radar Hellfire, and an integrated glass cockpit. It is expected to serve the Objective Force alongside the RAH-66 Comanche scout and unmanned aerial vehicles and, on the ground, the Future Combat System.
Boeing Mesa delivered the last of 937 AH-64As built for the U.S. Army, Israel, Egypt, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates in November 1996. The U.S. Army is "recapitalizing" its helicopters to reduce total ownership costs and field new technology. Apache production today is a mix of A models remanufactured to the D configuration for the U.S. Army and new-build AH-64Ds for foreign customers. U.S. Army production runs at about six a month, with international Apaches injected into the line to suit contract delivery schedules.
Boeing said its current facilities can produce 12 AH-64Ds per month.
The Apache is the product of a long list of subcontractors. New AH-64 airframes, once made by Ryan in San Diego and Boeing in Philadelphia, are now produced by Korean Aerospace Industries, but Purdy Corp. in Connecticut still supplies transmissions and General Electric’s T700s continue to power all Apaches except the UK’s AH Mk.1. (No other export customer picked the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322-powered Apache.) Lockheed Martin provides the optronics for old and new Apaches. Team Apache Systems was formed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin to integrate and support the Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight (M-TADS). Lockheed Martin andNorthrop Grumman’s Longbow partnership supplies the AH-64D’s radar.
BCF Designs, Ltd. has demonstrated its new fuel system test set at Fort Rucker. The microprocessor-based set offers improved accuracy and increased fault finding capabilities, according to the company. The company has a four-year contract to supply 300 fuel system test sets to the U.K. Ministry of Defence. The unit will replace about 17 different test sets currently used to support 27 different platforms, the company said.
As of the summer of 2003, the Arizona production line had delivered 318 AH-64Ds out of 501 under contract for the U.S. Army. The Netherlands took the last of its 30 new D-models in mid-2002 and the British Army has accepted the last of 67 AH Mk.1s assembled by AgustaWestland.
The Egyptian army is under contract to upgrade 35 Apaches and should get its first AH-64D in late 2003. The first of nine Longbow Apaches for Israel (one new and eight remanufactured from a fleet of 41 AH-64As) is also due for delivery this year. Singapore has the first eight of its AH-64Ds, and a follow-on lot of 12 Apaches is in process. Kuwait has signed a Letter of Agreement for 16 AH-64Ds to be delivered in 2005 or 2006. Japan has a long-term plan to acquire the AH-64D and will follow U.S.-built Apaches around 2005 with in-country production by Fuji Heavy Industries. In September, Greece signed a contract to add 12 new radar-equipped AH-64Ds to its fleet of 20 As. Its army also has an option on four more Longbows.
Though beaten by Eurocopter industrial offsets in Australia and Spain, and by the Bell KingCobra package in Turkey, the Apache continues to compete with the lighter, less capable helicopters for international orders. AH-64D deliveries to the U.S. Army now stretch through 2006, and export business remains important for Boeing to keep the Apache line open for another round of block improvements.
The U.S. Army started Apache recapitalization with 729 AH-64As, but budgets ultimately trimmed remanufacturing plans to 501 AH-64Ds. Around 200 AH-64As upgraded by reliability and safety enhancements will remain in the Army National Guard. However, the active Army has already lost about 10 AH-64D’s in accidents and combat and projects attrition of 10—15 in routine operations over the next 20 years. An "attrition buy" under discussion could restore the fleet and protect the D-model fielding plan.
The first 284 Apaches remanufactured for the U.S. Army were Block I AH-64Ds with integrated cockpits, provisions for Longbow radar, an Improved Data Modem (IDM) and extensive reliability and supportability enhancements. The next 217 AH-64Ds are Block II aircraft with color cockpit displays and an on-going chain of improvements in successive production lots. International Apaches generally follow the U.S. Army configuration to control cost.
Modernized or new-build Apaches with -701C engines have superior performance at high-density altitudes and hot temperatures, but any of the glass-cockpit AH-64Ds can use Longbow radar. By this summer the Northrop Grumman/Lockheed Martin Longbow partnership had delivered 193 radars to the U.S. Army and foreign customers. Export radars are identical to those used by the U.S. Army except for some software features. The radio frequency interferometer beneath the radar locates and identifies signal emitters.
The U.S. Army has long planned to buy 227 fire control radar kits to outfit AH-64Ds in mixed formations. The seven modernized Apache battalions already declared combat-ready routinely mix non-radar AH-64Ds with radar-equipped aircraft in a two-to-one ratio. Longbow Apaches with and without radar can share the same radar plot automatically annotated with tracked, wheeled, air defense, fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unknown targets. Eventually, IDM will exchange situation reports, intelligence and sensor imagery between the attack helicopters and other members of the Army combined arms team and the multi-service, multi-national Joint Force.
The Block II, production Lot VII Apaches now on the line are the first AH-64Ds to incorporate M-TADS (formerly Arrowhead) and the Modernized Pilot Night Visions System (M-PNVS). M-TADS/PNVS exploits second-generation forward-looking infrared (flir) technology developed for the armed reconnaissance version of the Comanche.
M-TADS is scheduled to achieve initial operational capability in 2005 and promises to enhance the lethality, survivability and reliability of the AH-64D. The first-generation TADS thermal imagers used in Iraq enabled crews to identify ground vehicles with confidence only out to less than 2 mi. (about 3 km.). Lockheed Martin has long estimated second-generation flirs will see about 40 percent farther and provide twice the image quality. The clearer imagery and greater range of M-TADS can help exploit the full 6 i. (8 km.) standoff range of the Hellfire missile and prevent fratricide on jumbled, non-linear battlefields. At the same time, the new M-PNVS infrared sensor will be better able to see hazardous obstructions at night, and an integrated image intensifier will help the Apache pilot fly safely in conditions of low thermal contrast.
According to the Institute for Defense Analyses, the original TADS/PNVS accounts for about 30 percent of overall Apache operating and support costs. M-TADS/PNVS introduces modern electronics that should hike the reliability of the Apache visionics 150 percent and reduce maintenance actions around 60 percent. The new electro-optical sensors can be installed in D- and A-model Apaches in the field and works with the existing Honeywell Integrated Helmet And Display Sighting System (IHADSS). M-TADS upgrade also updates the D- or A-model Apache cockpit with a new TADS Electronic Display and Control (TEDAC) that lifts the co-pilot gunner out of the clumsy direct view optical sight.
The current Block II AH-64D also benefits from advanced mission display processors and a new optical fiber channel bus 1,000 times faster than the Mil Std 1553B databus of the original Apache. To play its part on the digital battlefield, the new AH-64D has a digital map, the Rockwell Collins ARC-210 over-the-horizon, high-frequency radio and an upgraded Improved Data Modem compatible with Joint Variable Message Formats of the tactical internet. Block II Lot VIII aircraft also introduce the first pieces of an open-systems avionics architecture readily upgraded with new processors and other technology enhancements.
Beyond the Block II Longbow Apaches on order for the U.S. Army are plans to upgrade Block I AH-64Ds to a Block III configuration that meets Objective Force requirements.
With startup funding in 2005—09, Block III improvements could include a truly open avionics architecture, the Joint Tactical Radio System, video transmission capability and the ability to control UAVs. Powerful new commercial processors may host Assisted Target Recognition algorithms like those used by the Comanche, and some of the cognitive decision aids demonstrated by the Rotorcraft Pilots Associate program. A mid-wave IR sensor effective in humid environments and the bi-ocular Helmet Integrated Display System of the Comanche are also candidates for the follow-on modernization.
Wanted: Better Climb Rate
Block III could also improve the Apache rotor system and transmission to cut operating and support costs and restore performance with or without radar. The basic AH-64A with full fuel, eight Hellfires, 38 unguided rockets, and 1,200 rounds of 300 mm cannon ammunition has a vertical rate of climb (Vroc) of 2,530 fpm at sea level on a standard day. Even with -701C engines, a Longbow-carrying AH-64D with the same load has a Vroc of just 1,350 fpm. Restoring Vroc is important to an Objective Force helicopter expected to operate in the full range of combat environments.
The U.S. Army was embarrassed by the settling-with-power crashes that cost it two AH-64As in Albania’s mountainous terrain during the Kosovo crisis. Though the -701C proved adequate for operations in Iraq, Block III modernization provides the opportunity to exploit the -701D used in the recapitalized UH-60M Black Hawk. The -701D promises a four percent performance improvement over the -701C engine, and could ultimately give way to the 3,000-shp.-class Common Technology Engine.
A new transmission would enable the Block III AH-64D to use its maximum available power, while potentially doubling the time between dynamic component removals. In addition, a high-thrust, all-composite rotor system would enhance Apache performance anywhere in the world and possibly double the life of main rotor blades.
The Institute for Defense Analyses notes the Apache remains the Army’s most expensive system to operate and support. The AH-64D eliminated about 35 percent of the wiring in the AH-64A and introduced a range of reliability, availability and maintainability improvements. Despite the reliability and supportability advantages of M-TADS, and the enhanced diagnostics built into the AH-64D, the Apache still requires a three-level maintenance system. Repairs are performed by field-level maintainers in attack companies or cavalry troops, Aviation Intermediate Maintenance (AVIM) facilities attached to attack battalions and cavalry squadrons, and depots such as in Corpus Christi, Texas and Anniston, Alabama. Block I AH-64Ds introduced an Improved Electronic Technical Manual to speed maintenance actions. Block III might introduce advanced health and usage monitoring systems.
The Army Aviation Restructure Initiative made attack units "pure" in part to improve availability. When the AH-64A was fielded, each attack battalion received 24 aircraft. With the AH-64D, divisional attack battalions received 18 helicopters for three companies and corps attack battalions 21 aircraft in three companies. By keeping the maintenance assets in those units the same, the Army hopes to hike mission-capable rates from 75 to 90 percent.
The effectiveness of the Apache nevertheless depends on the quality of its crews. At around $3,400 per flight hour, training pilots and co-pilot gunners on the real aircraft is expensive. Simulators can qualify crews in the sophisticated helicopter and maintain critical combat skills for a few hundred dollars per "flight" hour.
Training Advances
AH-64A crews train on 10 AH-64A Combat Mission Simulators (CMSs) at U.S. Army installations in the United States, Germany, and South Korea (Egypt is the only Apache export customer to buy the CMS). The sheer size of the simulators and their elaborate support requirements tie them to fixed locations and deny deployed units an important training tool.
CAE is upgrading the A-model CMSs, incorporating in them its Medallion visual system, new computer systems and instructor operating systems.
Crews flying the AH-64D will ultimately prepare for combat on the first production simulators able to deploy in-theater with aviation battalions. The Boeing Longbow Crew Trainer enables AH-64D crews to fly accurate, representative cockpits in a detailed visual environment filled with interactive threats. Plans call for 23 in both deployable and fixed versions. The first went into service at Fort Rucker; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The Army may deploy one to support of units in Iraq.
In addition to the crew trainers, the deployable Boeing Longbow Collective Training System lets six AH-64D crews train as a fighting company. The first LCTS is used by the 21st Cavalry Brigade at Hood to train Longbow battalions going through unit fielding training. Ultimately, the crew and collective trainers will be networked with other forces.
The size and composition of units of action in the Objective Force is unresolved. Whatever their strength, the Apache is expected to remain in the U.S. Army to 2024 or beyond. Military threats have indeed changed. Fortunately, the U.S. Army has an attack helicopter tough enough for the full spectrum of conflicts.
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