Israel signs for AH-64E attack helicopters

Having flown earlier model Apache attack helicopters since 1990, Israel will now field the latest AH-64E version from the early 2030s. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Israel has signed for the procurement of 12 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters to be delivered in the early 2030s.

The Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the buy for an undisclosed value on 14 October 2026, nine months after the US government approved the sale of up to 30 such helicopters to the Israeli Air Force (IAF) for an estimated USD3.8 billion. Follow-on buys will likely be announced in due course.

Per the US Department of State approval for the deal announced in February 2026, the AH-64E will be delivered mast-mounted Northrop Grumman AN/APG-78 Longbow fire-control radars and manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) receivers. The helicopters will be of the latest Version 6 standard now in service with the US Army and other international customers. This version greatly extends the type's stand-off capabilities with an increased range of the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-78 mast-mounted fire-control radar from 8 to 16 km. Version 6 also features a dedicated maritime attack capability for the first time.

While weapon launchers are included, the weapons themselves are not. It is likely that further to the standard Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-surface missile, they will be armed with the same Rafael Spike Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) missile as carried by AH-64Es flown by the US Army, increasing the helicopter's stand-off range further out to beyond 25 km.

These newbuild AH-64Es will replace and/or augment 23 remaining AH-64A Peten (Cobra) helicopters that were received by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) from 1990, as well as 20 remaining AH-64D Saraf (Fiery Winged Serpent) helicopters received from 2005.

For more, please see Israeli Apache crews weigh benefits of latest AH-64E