US Army to award final AH-64E multiyear contract

The US Army is to award Boeing a final multiyear (MY) contract for the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, with a sole-source notification being issued by the service on 2 July.

Boeing builds re-manufactured and new Apache airframes at its plant in Mesa, Arizona. The imminent multiyear award for 600 helicopters will close out the current AH-64E programme-of-record. (Boeing)

The five-year award (with options for further one-year contracts) will run from fiscal year (FY) 2022 to FY 2026, covering lots 12 to 16 of full-rate production of the AH-64E Apache Guardian. It will comprise up to 600 re-manufactured and new-build helicopters for the US Army and international customers.

No timeline for a contract award was disclosed in the Army Contracting Command’s pre-solicitation notice, and neither was a proposed contract value.

This second MY award for the AH-64E (the first was contracted in March 2017) will run through to the end of the platform’s current production programme-of-record. From 2011 to 2026, Boeing will have built 791 re-manufactured and new-build AH-64Es for the US Army and international customers at its facility in Mesa, Arizona. The US Army plans to field 690 AH-64Es, of which 643 will be re-manufactured platforms, and the type has already been sold to eight international customers.

The AH-64E improves on earlier model Apaches, in that it is equipped with a new and improved drivetrain and a composite rotor system, giving it a 25 kt higher top speed than the AH-64D. The platform is also equipped with improved open architecture avionics and the ability to control an unmanned aerial vehicle from the cockpit.

As of 1 May, 2,394 Apaches of all variants had been delivered worldwide, of which 410 were latest AH-64Es (276 to US Army, and 134 to international customers).