Army aviation: helicopter fleet features mix of new, refurbished aircraft.

• Author: Colucci, Frank
• Position: FLEET UPGRADES

As a result of the heavy use of helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Army will need more than 3,000 new or remanufactured attack, utility, cargo and special operations helicopters by 2020, according to aviation program officials.

The service, meanwhile, is expected to award five contracts some time next year to study options to design and develop a joint heavy lift vehicle.

The Army now plans to upgrade 597 AH64D Longbow Apaches, all of them remanufactured from AH-64As at the Boeing facility in Mesa, Ariz.

In 1997, the Army equipped D-model Apaches with all-weather fire control radar, fire-and-forget missiles, digital cockpits and improvements to ease maintenance. A second upgrade to the AH-64D, now in progress, adds color cockpit displays, a digital map, over-the-horizon high frequency radio and a modernized target acquisition and pilot night-vision sensor.

Block III--also in development--improves the Apache air vehicle with composite main rotor blades, an improved transmission and more powerful T700-GE701D engines, which also are used in the Army's Black Hawks. Block III also includes new technology that will allow Apache pilots to operate unmanned air vehicles from the cockpit.

The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq proved that helicopters need "situational awareness" of ground operations, says Apache program manager, Col. Ralph Pallotta. The current Block II Longbow Apache can access the Army's tactical Internet and send radar imagery to other aircraft. The Block III avionics system will traffic larger volumes of data from ground, air and space networks.

Boeing program managers believe that Apache airframes can be remanufactured at less cost than a new aircraft. The company's "lean manufacturing" initiatives aim to lower costs, for example, by building remanufactured aircraft for the Army and new aircraft for international customers on the same line.

The current AH-64D multi-year contract for 217 Block II Longbow Apaches wraps up in mid-2006. A follow-on contract calls for the remanufacture of 96 more AH-64As to Block II D models. Boeing officials expect a proposal for 13 new-build Block II Longbow Apaches to result in a contract this September that would eliminate a production gap between Blocks II and III.

Block III includes 284 Block ID models that will be remanufactured. The Army also wants to upgrade all Block II Longbow Apaches to Block III, and a decision to modernize 117 National Guard AH-64As to D-models is expected...