As the military ramps up its investment in counter uncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS) technology, the U.S. Army believes it has developed the ability to take down enemy drones using attack helicopters.
During a series of demonstrations conducted in partnership with the South Carolina Army National Guard, the branch neutralized UAS using a variety of munitions launched from Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters. The campaign follows a series of 2024 exercises in Saudi Arabia during which Apaches took down UAS with Hellfire missiles.
“These results confirmed that Apache can deliver persistent, flexible, and cost-effective options to defeat UAS threats,” the Army said in an update Monday. “Each demonstrated munition offers trade-offs in range, collateral risk, and engagement tempo to provide commanders scalable solutions dynamic to mission requirements.”
The Army views C-UAS as a necessity to combat the rise in cheap, high-volume, and lethal drones on the battlefield. However, its existing systems are largely fixed, ground-based, and scarce, leaving gaps in drone detection. Fighter jets are also capable of firing air-to-air munitions, but balancing their high speed with precision is difficult.
Adding C-UAS capabilities to the Apache would give the Army a mobile platform that flies slow enough (about 150 knots) to take down UAS that slip through the cracks. The helicopter’s sensor and communication systems can also give personnel advanced warning of drone threats.
“An Apache attack helicopter with trained and equipped aircrews is the most adaptable weapon system on modern battlefields,” said Lieutenant Colonel Steve Cusack, the Army product manager for Lockheed Martin’s Hellfire and Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) systems. “The limiting factor remains how much the Army can invest into aircrew training and munition integration to reduce crew workload.”
The recent testing was conducted with the AH-64E Version 6 (v6), the most modern variant in the Apache family.
The helicopter deployed JAGM and Hellfire missiles, Hydra-70 guided rockets, and 30 mm munitions that are designed to detonate within range of their target. According to the Army, the missiles and 30 mm rounds successfully hit their targets, while the Hydras hit three out of four.
C-UAS Apache
The successful demonstration may signal positive momentum for Boeing’s Apache program, which has faced scrutiny in recent months.
The manufacturer describes the AH-64E v6 as the Army’s “most advanced multi-role combat helicopter” and is under contract to produce it through 2028. The model can fly with up to two crew and 16 Hellfire missiles, or 76 smaller rockets and 1,200 30 mm rounds.
Since introducing the AH-64A in 1984, Boeing has delivered more than 2,700 Apaches to the U.S. Army and other militaries. About 1,280 remain in operation and have racked up more than 5 million flight hours for the Army.
The program has modernized over the years. In 1997, for example, the D-model Apache brought increased accuracy over longer distances, more advanced threat detection, and enhanced sensor and communication systems. The E-model in 2013 introduced further upgrades to sensors, software, and weapons systems and is designed to better survive on the battlefield.
The next Apache to come off the production line will be the AH-64E Version 6.5 (v6.5), which is undergoing testing at Boeing’s Mesa, Arizona, facility. The v6.5 will overhaul cockpit software and interfaces with tools, such as advanced flight controls, that are designed to reduce pilot workload. It will also be the first to be built using a common software configuration that is designed to enable future updates across the entire v6.5 fleet.
At the same time, Boeing is undertaking a modernization project to upgrade the Army’s existing AH-64Es. Like the v6.5, the modernized Apaches will incorporate an open system architecture that could enable future deployments of launched effects or long range precision munitions when the technology is matured.
Planned upgrades to the fuselage design and main rotor hub, tail rotor, and drive systems are intended to increase the helicopter’s capacity and reach. Enhancements to the crew display, flight control system, and health and diagnostic systems are designed to improve pilot awareness and enable cheaper, higher endurance operations.
By upgrading existing models, Boeing believes its established infrastructure, maintenance, and pilot training procedures will allow Army units to switch to the modernized Apache within months. It bills the concept as the “most affordable, achievable, low-risk attack helicopter” for multidomain operations.
While Boeing describes the Apache as the “backbone” of the Army’s attack helicopter fleet, the program faces some uncertainty.
In May, the Army said it plans to phase out its remaining D-model Apaches to focus on the E-model. But even recent upgrades are “on the cusp of being capabilities where we don’t necessarily see them contributing to the fight the way they have done perhaps in the past,” Lieutenant General Joseph Ryan, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for operations, plans, and training, said last year.
The Army has specifically cited the Apache as a factor in rising aviation accident rates.
Per an annual assessment by the Army Combat Readiness Center, the branch in fiscal year 2024 experienced 17 Class A crewed aviation mishaps, defined as those that result in loss of life or property valued at more than $2.5 million. Fifteen of these took place during flight, and of those, nine involved the AH-64. Per the report, the model’s overrepresentation is the most “obvious trend” among the mishaps.
The Army in fiscal year 2024 saw the most Class A flight mishaps since FY 2014 and its highest rate of mishaps per 100,000 hours since FY 2007. That rate is well above five- and ten-year averages. The report attributed the spike to “training and experience issues” with the AH-64 and Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota. In 2023, an Army aviation spokesperson told digital news site Breaking Defense that an increase in Apache electrical power generator failures has caused precautionary landings.
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