Wed, Jun 18, 2003
Arrival of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters this
month in South Korea marks completion of U.S. Army efforts to field
an Apache Longbow battalion in the region. This newest Apache
Longbow unit joins another element, which arrived in South Korea in
late 2001 as the first international deployment of U.S. Army Apache
Longbows. A third foreign-based U.S. Army Apache Longbow unit is
based in Germany.
Built
by Boeing in Mesa (AZ), Apache Longbow helicopters are the
world’s most advanced multi-role combat helicopters. These
U.S. Army Apaches, which had been in Korea as AH-64As, were
remanufactured and returned to duty in their next-generation
configuration. The U.S. Army is modernizing its fleet of AH-64A
Apaches into next-generation Apache Longbow helicopters, which link
a wide range of avionics, electronics and weapons into one
fully-integrated weapon system.
U.S. Army AH-64A Apaches and AH-64D Apache Longbows were
deployed overseas in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Apache helicopters are fielded around the world, including the U.S.
Army’s deployment to Afghanistan for Operation Anaconda as
part of the war against terrorism.
This new unit spent the last year transitioning to Apache
Longbows as an AH-64A Apache battalion. To qualify as combat ready,
the men and women of the squadron completed a series of
comprehensive classroom, flight and field exercises. Soldiers
underwent a rigorous field examination, which included three
live-fire exercises, and flew about 3,000 hours during the training
program.
Led by the 21st Cavalry Brigade, unit members completed eight
months of extensive training at Fort Hood, Texas. They returned to
South Korea by ship in May after being certified in April as the
eighth combat-ready Apache Longbow battalion.
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