Boeing

The Boeing Company has delivered the first of 59 WAH-64 Apache Longbow helicopter kits to GKN Westland Helicopters Ltd., of Yeovil, England.

The helicopter kit, which arrived in Yeovil this week, was delivered to the United Kingdom from the Boeing rotorcraft facility in Mesa, Ariz.

GKN Westland will assemble, flight test and deliver the aircraft to the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The United Kingdom has ordered 67 Apache Longbow helicopters and will receive all of its aircraft by the end of 2003.

As the major subcontractor, Boeing is responsible for completing, flight testing and delivering eight WAH-64s to GKN Westland, in addition to producing the 59 helicopter kits. All of the Apache Longbows will undergo flight testing and validation by GKN Westland prior to delivery to the Minister of Defense.

Five completed WAH-64s have been delivered through August, including one aircraft that is in England. That aircraft, along with two others at the Boeing facility in Mesa, are being used to complete testing of U.K.-specific equipment, including the Rolls-Royce-Turbomeca RTM322 engines that power the WAH-64. The remaining two aircraft are being used to train British Army pilots in Mesa.

The WAH-64 is the United Kingdom version of the world's only fourth-generation combat helicopter, the AH-64D Apache Longbow, in production at Boeing in Mesa.

With its advanced Longbow fire control radar, Apache Longbow crews can scan the battlefield in real time, classify and prioritize multiple threats, and digitally share this battlefield information with other AH-64Ds and other friendly forces.

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