Australia to buy 29 AH-64E Apache Helicopters Worth $3.5B

The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of AH-64E Apache helicopters, engines, missiles and related equipment to Australia for $3.5 billion.

The contract covers 64 T700-GE 701D engines, 29 AN/ASQ-170 Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight/AN/AAR-11 Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensors (M-TADS/PNVS), 16 AN/APG-78 Fire Control Radars (FCR) with Radar Electronic Units, 29 AN/APR-48B Modernized Radar Frequency Interferometers (MRFI); 70 Embedded Global Positioning Systems with Inertial Navigation Systems plus Multi-Mode Receiver (EGI+MMR) (58 installed, 12 spares); 35 AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS) (29 installed, 6 spares); 70 AN/ARC-231A Very High Frequency/Ultra High Frequency (VHF/UHF) radios (58 installed, 12 spares); 85 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles; 29 M36E8 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM); and 2,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System Guidance Sections (APKWS-GS).

Also included are AN/APR-39 Radar Signal Detecting Sets; AN/AVR-2B Laser Detecting Sets; AN/APX-123A Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders; IDM-401 Improved Data Modems; Link-16 Small Tactical Terminal KOR-24-A; Improved Countermeasure Dispensing System (ICMD); AN/ARN-149 (V)3 Automatic Direction Finders; Doppler ASN-157 Doppler Radar Velocity Sensors; AN/APN-209 Radar Altimeters Common Core (RACC); AN/ARN-153 Tactical Air Navigation Set (TACAN); AN/PYQ-10(C) Simple Key Loader; M230E1 + M139 AWS Automatic Gun; M261 Rocket Launchers; M299 missile launchers; 2.75 inch rockets; 30mm rounds; High Explosive Warhead for airborne 2.75 rockets, inert; MK66-4 2.75 inch rocket High Explosive warhead M151 fuze M423 motor; MK66-4 2.75 inch rocket warhead M274 motor; MK66-4 2.75 inch rocket motor; M151HE 2.75 inch warhead; Manned-Unmanned Teaming-2 (MUMT-X) video receivers; Manned-Unmanned Teaming-2 (MUMT-X) Air-Air-Ground kits; training devices; communication systems; helmets; simulators; generators; transportation and organization equipment; spare and repair parts; support equipment; tools and test equipment; technical data and publications; personnel training and training equipment; U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance; technical and logistics support services; and other related elements of program and logistical support.

Currently, all AH-64Ds and AH-64Es are equipped with a datalink that allows “level two” interoperability with a Shadow or Gray Eagle, meaning the helicopters can receive video streams and other data from the drone.

The MUMT-X system — short for manned-unmanned teaming X — will allow the crew of an AH-64E to control the sensors and flight path of Textron’s RQ-7 Shadow and the General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle, something users in the field cannot do with current systems.

MUMT-X is predominantly a hardware upgrade comprised of an air- to-air-to-ground (AAG-X) kit mounted on the belly of the aircraft, which allows the Apache to transmit and receive video with ground units, and an upper receiver (UR-X) that gives it the ability to communicate with UAVs.