The following story was filed by Cpl Brian Hartigan and published in ARMY Magazine in June 1999 under the title:

During the Gulf War, it was reported that the United States deployed 15 Apache battalions, numbering some 288 aircraft, to the region. During the Mother of all Wars these aircraft destroyed more than 500 tanks, 325 miscellaneous vehicles, 120 APCs, 50 bunkers or observation posts, 30 air defence installations and 20 other aircraft. The haunting images of missiles and 30mm cannon shells ripping through trucks and other light-skinned vehicles along the Basra Road are etched in the collective psyche of the TV generation.

Such images, although depicting a brutal and horrific circumstance of war, graphically portray the reality of modern warfare. Soldiers are, thankfully, far less likely to fix bayonets and charge over the top. The clinical precision of modern weaponry, although not totally removing (yet) the human factor from the battlefield, at least offers the modern warrior, to some degree, the safety of remoteness.

Battle proven and awesomely clinical in its lethality the AH-64 Apache has just gotten better, and how.

The AH-64D Apache and Apache Longbow are the latest developments in the series.

There is little physical difference between the older AH-64A and its D model derivative (except the addition of the mast-mounted Longbow radar on the AH-64D Longbow). Most developments are under the skin and, in terms of mission capability, these developments represent a quantum leap in lethality.

To trial the new machine, in 1995, the US Army pitted six AH-64D Apache Longbows against their predecessor, the familiar A model. The threat array developed to test the combat capabilities of the two types was designed to simulate a 2004 digitized enemy consisting of heavy armour, air defense and countermeasures.

Following the tests the US Army declared the AH-64D Longbow to be 400 per cent more lethal and 720 per cent more survivable than the AH-64A. The latter statistic being mainly due to its ability to effectively engage enemy targets at greater ranges, outside the range of enemy defensive weapons.

The essential difference between the new AH-64D and the AH-64D Longbow is the fitment of the Longbow fire control radar to the latter variant. This system allows the aircraft to detect moving or stationary targets on the battlefield, through battlefield obscurants or in bad weather. The exact range of the radar is classified but it is safe to say that it exceeds the maximum range (8km) of the Hellfire missiles carried under its wings.

Longbow can automatically scan the battlefield, detect 128 targets, designate and prioritise the 16 potentially most dangerous of these, showing them symbolically to the crew on a colour Multi-Function Display. It prioritises 16 important threats simply because the aircraft can carry 16 Hellfire missiles. Each missile is allocated to a specific target by the mission computer and once the pilot pulls the trigger, 16 missiles can be dispatched, in succession, to their designated targets. This can be done in a fire-and-forget mode thus minimising the need to expose the aircraft and the crew to possible enemy counter attack. Should the designated target move, even completing a U-turn during the missile's flight, onboard (the missile) algorithms can extrapolate the position of its target -- and only its target. Even if two targets are in proximity, a particular missile has eyes only for its own target.

This means that Longbow can hit stationary or moving targets on an obscured battlefield, when all other optical systems are rendered useless, and means an enemy commander can watch 16 of his tanks being destroyed without knowing from whence his nemesis attacked. And, of course, 16 dead tanks means 16 missiles, which means only one Apache. When working in teams of three or four the potential killing power of an Apache attack team is awesome.

Each Apache can carry 16 Hellfire missiles or 76 70mm unguided rockets or a combination of both plus four air-to-air missiles. In addition, the 30mm, belly mounted, M230 automatic cannon has 1200, high-explosive rounds available.

An Apache attack team need only comprise one Longbow and two or three D models because the Longbow can share its information digitally with, not only its partners, but ground and other air elements as well. The battle-management computers can divide the battlefield into segments, allocating a segment to each of its partners in the flight. Targets detected in each segment then become the responsibility of the aircraft allocated. This effectively means the flight of four Apaches, which may be separated by several kilometers, becomes one combined fighting entity.

The US Army has signed a contract with manufacturer, Boeing, to produce 232 Apache Longbows over a five-year period with the first examples delivered in '97. All or most of the army's 821 A-model airframes will progressively be remanufactured to D model specifications. Both the United Kingdom and The Netherlands have also acquired the AH-64D with the former opting to fit Longbow on all of its 67 examples.

The British purchase sees Boeing team with British helicopter manufacturer GKN Westland to manufacture the Apache under the designation WAH-64 the first of which was delivered in September, 1998. This variant is powered by two Rolls Royce Turbomeca RTM322 engines, each rated at 2100 shp, as opposed to the American T700-GE-701C engines at 1890 shp.

The Royal Netherlands Airforce took advantage of the availability of leased A-model helicopters to commence crew training before delivery of the first of its 30 AH-64D Apaches in June last year.

APACHE statistics

PROJECT AIR87, one of the largest capital outlays in the Australian Army's history, will see the introduction of about 24 armed reconnaissance helicopters for two squadrons in Australia's north. 161 Recce Sqn in Darwin and 162 Recce Sqn in Townsville will benefit from the outlay of more than AUS$1 billion, with the new choppers expected to be operational in 2005.

The need to replace the Vietnam-vintage Kiowa and Iroquois-gunship fleets has long been recognised. Both airframes are nearing the end of their service lives.

Six contestants initially responded to the Australian Army’s Request for Proposal. These were -- Agusta with Aussie partner Tenix and the A129 Scorpion – Bell and Helitech with the AH1-Z Viper – Boeing and Boeing Australia with the AH64D Apache – Denel Aviation and BAeA (now BAE Systems) and the RedHawk – Eurocopter and ADI Ltd with the Aussie Tiger – and Sikorski with an armed Black Hawk.

The list has since been reduced to four – Scorpion, Viper, Apache and Aussie Tiger.