A number of British Apache helicopters, joined by Wildcat helicopters, have flown from Poland back to the UK.
The aircraft have been involved in various exercises on the continent, including deploying from Finland to Estonia to conduct ‘strikes’.
The British Army’s new Apache AH-64E attack helicopter was spearheading the deployment of helicopters on NATO’s largest military exercise since the Cold War.
Two of the @BritishArmy‘s new AH-64E attack helicopter provided cover for soldiers during a ground assault as part of major @NATO exercise, Steadfast Defender.
The cutting-edge Apache gunships showcased their abilities by hovering low in a simulated strike against air defences. pic.twitter.com/92Ja1VUDc8
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 10, 2024
All the activity comes under the umbrella of Exercise Steadfast Defender 24, which is testing and refining NATO’s plans for reinforcing European defences against a near-peer adversary. Some 20,000 British personnel are involved, among 90,000 troops from all 32 members of the alliance.
British attack helicopters cross border to strike in Estonia
The British Army has purchased 50 Boeing-built Apache AH-64Es, with 3 Regiment Army Air Corps the first of the two frontline Apache regiments to begin operating the new aircraft in 2022. The AH-64E offers improved flying performance and new sensors and communications systems that vastly improve its battlefield performance over the Apache Mk1 it replaces.
Hi folks hope all is well.
Always fascinated by the distance of these newly introduced Apaches. Is that all of them returning, or are leaving some deployed in Poland? Still, well done to them and the commitment the UK military has performed!
Cheers
George
I wonder what we are going to do with the Mk1’s…. Could the Ukrainians use them?? Just a thought.
Cheers
Garry
The key will be to get them properly armed with longer range missiles. Both Russia and Ukraine found out the hard way that helicopters are easy targets when they operate too close to the front line.
Their tactics and aircraft suck compared to the Apache tho tbh, as cool as the Hind is, and as cool as the KA50 looks, not even night capable which is where the Apache spends the majority of its operations.
It’s impossible to know how the apache would operate in such an environment. For sure it’s more capable but equally the US has ditched its project to replace them as its worried about the survivability of helicopters.
It isn’t impossible to know at all, it is very possible to know, fact is the helicopters aren’t the best tool for that job on that particular battlefield. I am ex AAC myself.
That battlefield though is exactly the one the apache was designed around. They were designed to be countering Russian armour across the fields of eastern Europe.
The only place better for them would be an uncontested air space.
I take your points of course, and the Apache can still fight and be effective in that battlefield, you just wouldn’t want to unless you had to, there is better tools for that particular battle, our tactics alone and training would make the aircraft 10x more effective than anything the Russians or Ukrainians have been doing, they are like a bull in a china shop, and all that nonsense of blind firing rockets is just beyond bizarre honestly.
Lets stick to fighting low ball 3rd countries where we can really hammer them right ?
Certainly for the battlefields they have been used for over the last few decades they have excelled.