All Systems Go - Vol. 1 No. 5


		Volume 1	Number 5

This Issue

Look Into The Apache's Future

On a distant ridgeline the branches of a tree rustle. A hostile soldier notices the movement and reaches for the binoculars strapped to his belt. By the time he raises them to his eyes, the movement has stopped. "It's nothing," he says to himself. He couldn't be more wrong.

Before the soldier even got his first glance through his field glasses, a Block III AH-64D Apache Longbow has scanned the battlefield, remasked behind the hill, identified hundreds of enemy targets and, using its network centric technologies, was already sharing that information with ground and air commanders, the rest of the Apache's battalion, and others.

Icons appear in a U.S. squad leader's helmet mounted display. They mark the location of the enemy and offer a suggested path to the enemy's position. That same path has been downloaded into the unit's autonomous "mule" that hauls ammunition, communications gear and other supplies along with the team.

RAH-66 Comanches on deep scout missions and the modernized Apaches poised for attack share information via the Joint Variable Message Format to ensure optimal situational awareness for both of the advanced helicopters crews.

Offshore, in the combat operations centers of Navy ships, the Apache's information, relayed by satellite and the Wideband Network Waveform, allows the fleet's commanders to designate assignments for air wings, unmanned combat aircraft and rotorcraft and gun batteries.

As the hostile soldier settles back in his foxhole, there is movement again on the ridgeline. This time, the entire battalion of Apaches is unmasking briefly to fire their Hellfire missiles. The shots fired are the first in a coordinated assault from land, sea and air. Information gathered, processed and shared in real time by the Apaches ensures the maximum coordination, effectiveness and the optimized use of battlefield systems.

It all happens without a spoken word in less than sixty seconds….

Apache Longbow Joins U.S. Army's Objective Force

BY MARC SKLAR

At the recent Association of the U.S. Army Aviation symposium, Maj. Gen. Joseph Bergantz, program executive officer for Army Aviation, emphasized the importance of the modernization planned for the Apache helicopter and how well it will fit into the U.S. Army’s Objective Force.

Apache Longbow Joins U.S. Army's Objective Force - neg #DVD-378-2 “The Apache will be the heavy attack platform to ensure the Objective Force is decisive throughout the spectrum of military conflict,” Gen. Bergantz said. “The Apache program has been and will continue to be key to the success of the Army and aviation.”

Boeing and the Apache team have spent more than $300 million dollars on research and development for the technologies that may be included in the Block III program, which extends the Apache’s battlefield dominance for years to come.

Pete Aldridge, the Pentagon’s acquisition chief at the time, endorsed the Block III modernization concept for AH-64D Apache Longbow in an acquisition decision memorandum approved in October 2002.

“These new technologies will enable the Apache crew to control and utilize data from remote sensors,” said Al Winn, Apache programs vice president. “The Apache will see and target threats at greater ranges than currently possible and be able to engage threats with other assets, such as artillery, or its own weapons outside the striking range of the threats or, alternatively, report data and bypass the threat without detection. It will also provide greater situational awareness for pilots with its automatic information sharing and faster-decision-making capabilities. Apache’s area of influence will expand greatly.”

Apache Longbow Joins U.S. Army's Objective Force - neg #DVD-395-1 In addition to multiyear contracts from the U.S. Army for 501 Apache Longbows, Boeing has delivered or is under contract to deliver advanced Apaches to Egypt, Israel, Singapore, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Japan is finalizing an agreement for new AH-64Ds, Kuwait has announced the Apache Longbow as its new combat helicopter, and s everal other nations are considering the Apache Longbow for their defense forces.

The new Block III modernization program will continue to enhance the helicopter’s digital capabilities and give it seamless network centric operational capabilities so it can “sense to the horizon, see to the horizon and know beyond the horizon,” said Larry Plaster, Apache modernization manager.

Other enhancements will increase its aerodynamic performance, ability to rapidly deploy and maintainability and survivability in the field. Block III modernization and concurrent initiatives will reduce Apache’s logistical footprint and operation and support costs.

“For example: transportability and deployment enhancements not only enable six AH-64Ds to off-load from a C-5 and be combat-ready in two hours, but they significantly reduce the associated logistical footprint” said Winn. “Shipping crates for the Fire Control Radar, main rotor blades, and mobile cranes are no longer needed nor is there a need to carry a maintenance test pilot along to clear the aircraft for flight after offloading. In other words, the time from rolling off a C-5 or C-17 to ‘in the fight’, is two hours.”

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