The Australian Ministry of Defence announced that it had selected American Boeing and the AH-64E Guardian Apache as the Australian Army’s new offensive helicopter as part of the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program.
The new helicopters will replace twenty-two (22) in-service EC-6G5 Tiger from 2025 onwards. In total Australia will acquire 29 A-64E Guardian Apache, of which twenty-four (24) will be operational, while the remaining five (5) will be directed to training pilots.
Photo by the website www.military-today.com
According to the schedule, the first twelve (12) helicopters will have to acquire Initial Operational Capability (10C) in 2026, and full operational capability (FOC) in 2028.
The 22EC-6G5 Tiger is being replaced due to high maintenance costs and the long time it takes to repair systems shipped to Europe.
