Apache Longbow Contract

 Boeing and the U.S. Army signed a $151.9 million contract for 11 new AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters. The funding was made available through a 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. Apache Longbows feature fully integrated avionics and weapons, plus a modem that can transmit real-time, secure digitized battlefield information to air and ground forces. The helicopter can rapidly detect, classify, prioritize and engage stationary and moving opposition targets at standoff ranges in most weather environments. More