The Apache AH-64E and its modernization by the US Army are not going smoothly, and concerns are cropping up. One is the new engine, which has problems supplying it and no long-range missile, as the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) noticed.
Apache's Modernization Program Hitches
The report says that the HASC Chairman, when the army asked for a $10 million budget request for the Apache Future Development Program as part of the defense bill released a week ago. It is supposed to serve until 2050, but its upgrading is not comprehensive enough, noted Defense News.
No plans have been sent on how to start the aircraft getting the under-development Improved Turbine Engine Programme (ITEP) powerplant.
The gunship should be used on UH-60 Blackhawks and the Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA), reported EurAsian Times.
HASC expects a report by April 1, 2023, addressing the new power plant's supply chain problem and how all the components are affected by COVID-19.
General Electric is developing the new engine but is delayed due to the pandemic affected by the disrupted supply chain. GE's T901 powerplant was chosen over the Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney collaboration which is the Advanced Turbine Engine Company.
The new engine for the Apache AH-64E should have been ready by the third quarter of 2021, getting flight tested and deemed airworthy by 2023. Small production would be done by late 2024, with full-on production in 2026.
Not having the ITEP on the date is compounded by not having any long-range air-to-surface missile. Instead, the army uses the Israeli Spike Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) missile.
Another issue that might be a dampener has been the absence of a long-range air-to-surface missile, with the army making do with the Israeli Spike Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) missile, noted Defense-Update.
India Buys the AH-64 E, Chinook
The Indian Air Force bought 22 Apache gunships with heavy lift Chinooks in a $3 Billion deal in 2015. Six more AH-64s were purchased, costing $800 million after a visit of former President Donald Trump in February 2020.
According to Torbjorn Sjorgen, Boeing's Vice-president for International, Government, and Defense; informed that New Delhi wants to buy more.
IAF's 11 Apaches from 22 are equipped with the Longbow fire control radar systems and Hellfire missiles that are lethal to most tanks and called 'tank killers.'
Another armament is the Stinger air-to-air missiles and its chin-mounted gun; it has 625 armor-busting depleted uranium rounds for attacking light armor and personnel for the mission like close air support and all-around ground assault.
IAF's Thrust in the India-China Border Conflict
During the LAC in Ladakh standoff, gunships patrolled the Leh Air Base at the height of the conflict. The forces of the PLA and Indian army had armored units in the area in May 2020, which are still there. Units have left Pangong Lake and Galway Valley.
Apache gunships are up against the Chinese Z-10 attack helicopter, which is lighter and less armored, with a weaker engine. The US is having difficulty catching up with a near-peer opponent like China.
Compared to the Apache AH-64E, other combat helicopters are less capable, but their deficiencies are catching up fast; China and Russia are developing rotorcraft while the US struggles with its military budget.
