IAF gets its first Apache attack helicopter from Boeing, 21 more to come
Boeing handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday the first of the 22 Apache attack helicopters that India had contracted to buy in September 2015 for about $3 billion at current prices.
Air Marshal A S Butola travelled to Boeing’s helicopter production facility at Mesa, Arizona, to attend the handing over ceremony, alongside US government officials.
The IAF is buying the latest version of the Apache, designated the AH-64E (I) Apache Guardian. The first batch of four-six helicopters will be shipped to India in July, said the defence ministry.
The Apaches are being acquired through a hybrid contract. The helicopter itself has been contracted through a “direct commercial sale” with Boeing. However, the radar and assortment of weaponry including missiles, rockets and cannon bullets, are being acquired directly from the Pentagon through a “foreign military sale”.
