The Army and Boeing [BA] are monitoring the AH-64E Apache’s first maritime deployment to collect lessons learned that will be incorporated into the eventual Lot 6 aircraft.
Soldiers in the 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment were the second group to deploy with the new Echo variant and the first to deploy with the attack helicopter for shipboard operations, Apache program manager Col. Jeffrey Hager told reporters at the Association of the United States Army annual conference this week.
Hager said many of the planned improvements for the aircraft will be to enhance its utility in a maritime environment, with the Army assuming that the Asia-Pacific rebalance will mean an increase in operations in the littorals. Though the aircraft is meeting all its requirements right now for the 1/25th’s deployment, Hager said the Lot 6 capability insertion would include sensors upgrades, a fire control radar upgrade, and software improvements to increase the accuracy of targeting in a maritime environment–extending the radar, broadening its bandwidth and more to allow the helicopter to pinpoint ships of all different sizes in different sea states and weather conditions unique to at-sea operations.
The Army and Boeing are developing the upgrades now, and the effort will be informed by an after-action review once the 1/25th comes home from their deployment. A follow-on operational test and evaluation (FOT&E) is planned for fiscal year 2017 to test the improvements, and if all goes well they’d be incorporated into the Lot 6 contract and delivered about a year after the test, Hager said.
Boeing is currently producing Lot 3 helicopters, with Lot 4 set to begin production in 2015 and deliver in 2016. These aircraft would include Link 16 connectivity that was successfully demonstrated in a FOT&E in August. Both lot 3 and 4 contracts were signed early this year, and 30 of the combined 82 aircraft have been delivered so far–all on time, Hager said.
Additionally, Boeing produced 30 Apaches for Taiwan in fiscal year 2014. Saudi Arabia is in the middle of its buy and will receive 36 for its Royal Saudi Land Forces plus another 12 in FY ’15 for the Saudi Arabia National Guard. South Korea will also buy 36 Apaches in FY ’15, and the company is in talks with Indonesia, India, Qatar and more, Hager said.
With production so steady, the Army and Boeing are looking to sign a multiyear procurement contract in fiscal year 2016. Hager said the Army is already busy securing funding and beginning to write its request for proposals.