British Apaches to be upgraded

Boeing are to upgrade the British Army’s Apache attack helicopters to the AH- 64E standard. A US Department of Defence statement on 11 May provided details of the $488m modification to a Foreign Military Sales contract, which covers remanufacture of 38 Apaches, as well as procurement of three Longbow crew trainers and associated spares. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with estimated completion in May 2024. A total of 50 helicopters will eventually be manufactured. The British Army will be relocating the Attack Helicopter Force from Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk, to a new base closer to the Salisbury Plain training area. Among possible bases in southwest of the country are Middle Wallop, Hampshire, Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset, or Boscombe Down, Wiltshire.

Meanwhile, the Apache Conversion Unit (653 Squadron/3 Regiment Army Air Corps), based at RAF Wattisham in Suffolk took part in Exercise Lightning Force, designed to give personnel converting to the Apache experience in operational flying over challenging terrain and in a contested air environment.