Seen at a media event at Wattisham in January 2022, the British Army's latest AH-64E Apache guardian attack helicopters will deliver a significant enhancement to the UK's 1st Aviation Brigade. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
The British Army has commenced training for its latest Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter at Middle Wallop in Hampshire, southern England.
The Army Air Corps (AAC) announced that the first helicopters arrived at the the site's Army Aviation Centre that is to share the training burden alongside the type's main operating base at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk, in the east of England.
โWatch this space over the next 12 months as we train, exercise, deploy, and develop,โ Lieutenant Colonel Simon Wilsey, commanding officer of the AAC's 3 Regiment, posted on his official Twitter account.
News of the arrival of the first AH-64Es at Middle Wallop came approximately seven months after the AAC showcased its latest acquisition at a media event held at Wattisham in January 2022. The corps is in the process of receiving 50 AH-64Es that are being remanufactured from the WAH-64D Apache Longbow AH1 helicopters by Boeing in the United States.
In terms of the army's transition from the WAH-64D to the AH-64E, to date, 36 of the remanufactured Apaches have arrived back at Wattisham, with the remainder expected to arrive at a rate of about two per month until 2024. With 3 Regiment the first to move over from the WAH-64D, personnel from its 662 and 663 squadrons began their flight training following trials activity and the development of instructional techniques in late 2021. The AAC's other Apache unit, 4 Regiment, will begin the process for its 664 and 656 squadrons in early 2023.
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