Boeing (Hughes) AH-64 Apache

History

Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing The AH-64 Apache has served U.S. and Allied forces well throughout its history of service, which officially began in 1986. It conducted extensive combat operations in the 1980s and 1990s in Panama (Operation Just Cause), the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), the Kosovo War, and more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Apache tank was the proven winner of the war, showing its anti-tank skills against Saddam Hussein's once-mighty armored forces in the Gulf War. The Apache family has accumulated more than 3 million flight hours since the first prototype flight, and as of this writing, production of the new airframe is still in progress.

More than 2,000 Apache attack helicopters have been produced, and modernization efforts are expected to make the Apache a viable battlefield tool by 2020.

Hughes' name

The Hughes Helicopter Company began operations in 1947 as part of the Hughes Aircraft Company, owned by legendary businessman and pilot Howard Hughes. Hughes Helicopter became part of the Hughes Tool Company in 1955 and merged into the Hughes Helicopter division as part of the Summa Corporation in 1972.

Summa Corporation was founded by Howard Hughes following the sale of his Hughes Tool Company that same year (the tool company itself eventually came to be known as "Baker Hughes"). In 1981, Howard Hughes founded the Hughes Helicopter Company, and the AH-64 Apache was introduced under the Hughes Helicopter brand, and in 1984 the company eventually became a subsidiary of aviation giant McDonnell Douglas, hence the name. McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems, Inc. In turn, McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing to become a subsidiary in 1997.

Today, the AH-64 Apache is officially named Boeing Defense, Space & Security - or Boeing for short.

Attack Helicopter

Despite the changing landscape of the modern battlefield, attack helicopters have always proven to be a critical component of any land-based operation. The Vietnam War proved this for the U.S. Army, with transport helicopters armed with rockets, cannons, grenade launchers and machine guns and successfully influencing the outcome of battles on demand. The two-seat Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter family debuted later in the war and continued to gain acceptance through the use of rocket pods, triple-barrel artillery, automatic grenade launchers and guided TOW missiles.

Because their primary mission is to conduct low-altitude combat operations near ground fire and other hazards, attack helicopters are highly vulnerable to enemy ground fire and are therefore considered more "vulnerable" at high altitudes than high-speed fixed-wing aircraft. connect. Despite the ability of attack aircraft to deliver precision weapons at high altitudes, modern militaries must still rely on the precision and hovering capabilities of attack helicopters, which operate at high speeds and lack reasonable latency.

As such, attack helicopters still largely contribute to the success of modern ground forces.

When combined with other equipment such as Belchiova Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopters or Northrop Grumman E-8 "J-STARS" management aircraft, the Apache has the capability to deploy in large numbers against any enemy certain computing power. Even by today's advanced technological standards, its weapon suite is top-notch, capable of engaging multiple armored targets from a distance.

Regardless, the Apache remains a reliable and resilient killing machine on the battlefield, capable of turning the tide of any ground battle upon arrivalprovided the crew is well-trained and well-prepared for future missions.

The Cold War Dilemma

Aside from a nuclear attack, the main concern during the Cold War became the threat of an all-out war on the European continent. As a result, both sides hoarded all kinds of weapons and worked hard for the long winter ahead. The key to the Soviet invasion strategy was their large formations of main battle tanks, which proved very effective against the mighty German army during World War II.

During this historical period, Germany remained a divided country, divided into eastern and western regions, and a multinational NATO alliance charged with maintaining peace in Europe.

The U.S. Army recognizes the urgent need for a new high-capacity tank-killing helicopter. The U.S. Army initially turned to the vaunted Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne helicopter for their needs, but U.S.

Air Force opposition and political infighting at the government level completely destroyed the program in August 1972, leaving only ten completed. The prototype was sent to the museum. That same month, the U.S.

Army, looking to improve the capabilities of its AH-1 Cobra, continued to announce the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) program and formally requested a Request for Proposal (RFP) from interested parties. The final product will be a technological marvel capable of engaging enemy tanks with relative ease, while still providing top-notch day and night survivability.

The main goal, of course, was to develop a combat helicopter capable of withstanding the intense fighting on the European battlefield.

Competition begins

Major U.S. defense contractors submitted five noteworthy submissions, including Bell Helicopter Textron, Boeing-Vertol/Grumman Aerospace, Hughes, Lockheed and Sikorsky. Bell retains a certain edge here, having already supplied the excellent AH-1 Cobra to the US military during the Vietnam War. Boeing-Vertol has previously produced a variety of transport helicopters, and Hughes has built a solid reputation as a helicopter manufacturer since the 1950s. One of Lockheed's major forays into military helicopters became the abandoned Cheyenne Project.

Sikorsky, on the other hand, has been building aircraft since 1925, producing the first stable helicopter platform as early as 1942. In the end, Bale seemed to come out on top of the game.

After the U.S. Army winner was announced on June 22, 1973, two of the five powers involved were ultimately selected to compete. Bell offered their "Type 409", which was later called the "YAH-63" by the US Army, while Hughes Helicopters proposed the "Type 77", which later became the "YAH-64". Each company was tasked with building two airworthy prototypes and a ground test airframe based on the proposed model. The airframe submitted by Bell has a clunky look and bears some resemblance to the original Cobra line.

It was equipped with a tandem cockpit layout, bow turret, short wings for ordnance, tricycle landing gear and short mast main rotor blade assemblies. Hughes' approach looked less appealing, with its stepped tandem cockpit, short tail, "trailing" landing gear and turret stance under the fuselage.

By April 1975, Bell was ahead of the development curve and ran its ground test prototype for the first time. Under pressure, Hughes engineers worked to deliver their first ground test vehicle the AV-01 (Aircraft 01) which began its own evaluation in June.

Ground test vehicles are used to test form and function and selected engines in a relatively controlled environment without the need to achieve direct flight. An airworthy Hughes YAH-64 recorded its maiden flight on September 30, 1975, and the Bell prototype took off a day later on October 1.

A formal evaluation of the two systems was then initiated. Company test pilots put the prototype through rigorous test flights to achieve various program milestones. After approval by the respective companies, the prototypes were handed over to the U.S. Army for formal testing.

There was a major planning change at the time - the choice of the new HELLFIRE anti-tank missiles instead of the long-standing and proven TOW series missiles. Hellfire missiles will soon become synonymous with Apache.

The YAH-64 was also modified to accommodate an improved rotor mast with swept tips. A new tail was introduced to reduce the growing weight of the prototype. On December 10, 1976, it was announced that Hughes' submission was the clear winner of the AAH program. Of course, that raised concerns about the lucrative defense contract and brought down the Bell 409's record. The U.S.

Army ordered three production-quality YAH-64 models for weapons and sensor testing, while the original prototype pair and single-ground test vehicle met new production-quality standards.

With regard to selected Hellfire missiles, the U.S. Army tested a pair of competing targeting systems that also manage night vision, television and telescope functionstheir functions are directly tied to the pilots and gunners helmets. Two submissions were provided by Martin-Marietta and Northrop.

The prototype "AV-02" had the former installed, and the prototype "AV-03" had the latter installed. Testing of the system with HELLFIRE began in April 1979, and by April 1980 the Martin-Marietta target system was more popular than the Northrop product.

Unfortunately for the AAH program, the AV-04 was lost in an air accident after the T-28D reconnaissance plane carrying the prototype in flight crashed, killing both helicopter test pilots on 20 November 1980. Nonetheless, three YAH-64 airframes were sent to Fort Hunter-Liggett for further evaluation. By the end of 1981, the plane was named "Apache". After additional testing was completed, serial production was approved for approximately 446 Apache helicopters (the U.S.

Army originally planned to purchase 536 machines). The production form differs from the prototype mainly in the revised nose and cockpit contours. The complex feature that drives the trailing edge of the wing was also eventually removed from the design.

Political strife almost took its toll on the Apache project, but key backers helped the product get off the ground. On September 30, 1983, in a formal ceremony at a facility in Mesa, the Apache surrendered to the U.S.

Army, which even included a Native American on a white horse and armed with a rifle. On January 6, 1984, Hughes was acquired by McDonnell Douglas, and the MD label now precedes the AH-64 Apache name. The first AH-64A Apache was delivered to the U.S.

Army on January 26, 1984, establishing a long-standing relationship between the Army and the Apache that continues to this day. The first combat unit followed in 1986, and the last AH-64A US Army Apache was delivered on April 30, 1996 - after the 821 had been completed.

AH-64 Apache Walks

In the eyes of most people, Apache's exterior design will never win a beauty award. After all, it's a basic weapon of war designed for tomorrow's battlefield. As such, its design follows practicality beyond a smooth, contoured shape - as a result, it is more insect-like than any combat helicopter seen before or since its introduction. The main design feature remains the stepped tandem-seat cockpit layout, with the pilot in the rear and the gunner in the front.

The pilot maintains a command position on the plane and can easily see ahead of the gunner's position. Both positions are accessed via the top hinged starboard side door panel of each cockpit seat.

The sighting system is housed in a fitting on the front of the fuselage and has limited left-to-right swivel. The sides of the forward fuselage were fitted with curved fairings to accommodate avionics.

The M230 chain gun is mounted on a structure below the cockpit floor (as opposed to the previous chin tower on the AH-1 Cobra) and can be rotated and raised as needed. Rectangular engine pairs were separated by a central hull shape and placed aft of the crew compartment.

The engine drives the propshaft, which in turn drives the gearbox, which transmits rotational power to the gearbox. From there, the rotation is provided to the main rotor mast as well as to the tail rotor, which passes through a long shaft buried in the tail (tail boom). The tail is set very low and also contains the horizontal tail (at the very end of the aircraft) and the vertical tail.

The tail is also fitted with a pair of twin-blade tail rotors mounted on the port side of the aircraft. This blade arrangement is called a "twin tail" rotor because each twin blade rotor is attached to the tail as a separate pair of units. The main rotor blades are of course mounted on a short mast and have four blades, but are known for their curved tips.

The sheets are arranged in the traditional "+" pattern. Both rotor assemblies can be removed from the fuselage for better transport. Additionally, the main landing gear legs allow the Apache to "crouch" for loading on a transport aircraft.

The AH-64 family was also airlifted by a larger line of American porters, including the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, Lockheed C-141 Starlift, and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.