Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Army have signed a $151.9 million contract for 11 new AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat helicopters. Funding for the new-build aircraft is part of the President's fiscal year 2006 Supplemental Budget.

The new aircraft, to be built in the Lot 11, Block II configuration, are in addition to the 16 new AH-64D Apache Longbows already under contract and to the AH-64A Apaches being remanufactured under a multi-year contract with the Army. Boeing will begin assembly in 2008 at its manufacturing facility in Mesa, Ariz., where Apaches have been built since the program's inception.

"A dedicated team representing government and industry worked together on this contract to ensure that the Army meets its aircraft loss replenishment objectives and that the warfighters have the resources they need to ensure mission success," said David Almond, Block II Apache program manager. "The team knows the importance of delivering quality products, on time, to meet the demands of the battlefield commanders and soldiers."

Apache Longbow helicopters are used extensively in the desert and in other extremely harsh environments. The helicopter features fully integrated avionics and weapons, plus a state-of-the-art modem that can transmit real-time, secure digitized battlefield information to air and ground forces. It can rapidly detect, classify, prioritize and engage stationary and moving opposition targets at standoff ranges in nearly all weather environments.