Block III Apache production begins
Construction has begun at Boeing’s Arizona facility on the first fuselage of the US Army’s AH-64 Block III Apache helicopter.
It is expected that production will be completed by the second half of 2011, and it will begin to be fielded with units a year after that, an army statement released on 6 April said.
The ‘next generation’ aircraft will have a stronger engine, improved avionics, a better computer networking capability, and increased manoeuvrability.
‘As part of its preparation of the Block III Apache, the programme completed a logistics demonstration in March designed to show that the aircraft will be maintainable once fielded,’ the statement said.
‘The demonstration checked on the avionics, wiring, gear boxes, cockpit seat and electronics, among other things.’
Three months were given for this phase to be completed, but Lt Col Dan Bailey, the programme’s product manager, said it was finished three weeks earlier than expected, and that only 2% needed altering.
He added that the first two aircraft will be used for developmental purposes, and the following five for training the first equipped unit.
The Block III Apache features a 701D engine, composite rotor blades, improved networking and communications avionics, and an improved drive system. When radar-equipped it is named the AH-64 Apache Longbow.
The army plans to acquire 690 Block III Apaches by 2026, beginning in 2013 at a production rate of approximately two battalions per year.
In 2005 the US Army modernisation plan called for the Apache to remain a major weapons system until 2030 and beyond, and therefore Block III modernisation was deemed essential.
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