Two British Army Apache AH-64E attack helicopters were observed flying low over Loch Lomond and Glasgow on Saturday afternoon before continuing south towards the Scottish Borders.
The aircraft were first seen over Loch Lomond before entering the Glasgow area, where they followed the River Clyde corridor through the city centre at roughly 1,000 feet. After passing through central Glasgow, the helicopters continued south-east, flying over Rutherglen and East Kilbride before heading towards the Borders.
Witnesses reported the pair flying in close formation as they tracked the river through the city before turning away from the Clyde and departing the Central Belt, something we have confirmed using flight tracking data.
UK Defence Journal understands the activity was routine and not connected to any specific incident or operation.
The Apache AH-64E Guardian is the British Army’s primary attack helicopter and is operated by the Army Air Corps. The UK currently fields around 50 aircraft of the type, which replaced earlier Apache AH-1 variants as part of a modernisation programme. nThe aircraft are designed for a range of battlefield roles including reconnaissance, close air support and precision strike missions. Each helicopter is armed with a 30mm M230 chain gun and can carry a mix of guided weapons including Hellfire missiles and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System rockets.
The AH-64E variant includes upgraded engines, improved digital connectivity and the ability to work alongside unmanned aerial systems, allowing crews to control or receive data from drones during operations.
Military helicopters frequently conduct training flights across the UK, often using rivers, valleys and other geographic features as navigation references when practising low-level flying. While such flights are common across training areas, the sight of attack helicopters following the River Clyde through central Glasgow remains relatively unusual but interesting nonetheless.
Rebellious Scots to crush? Right now nothing would surprise me.
Send them to the straights of Hormuz.
We don’t have the ships.
These at least can engage Drones on the water and in the air alongside more ASCS Merlin.
We shouldn’t go anywhere near the Straits of Hormuz.
It’s Trump’s f@ck-up that closed it, it’s up to him to fix it.
It is.
My point was that IF we get involved, and there are already RN autonomous USV there, apparently, then they’re an option as we effectively have no ships to send.
Especially if it’s dressed up as defensive, like other RAF actions in the area.
We have a to be used directly opposite at Musandam, not well known generally, but so important that senior ministers and Royals have visited there in the last few years and RM exercise there.
Ideally, the Armilla Patrol of 3 Frigates would still be there but clever HMG over decades have dismantled much of the RN.
Damn no edit….” a base to be used”
Yes it’s annoying isn’t it…
Nobody should be trying to do demining operations in a narrow channel that’s still a hot zone. That’s a quick way to lose your anti-mine assets.
There’s only 3 ways to open the Straits,
(a) end the war, but Trump wants “unconditional surrender”…
(b) cut a deal like the Chinese are supposed to have done…
(c) full-on Iraq style invasion of Iran.
Personally I’m glad the 3 frigates aren’t there, otherwise the USA would be pressuring us to sacrifice them in convoy escort duties.
Agree the strait is a death trap that will suck naval resources into the maritime version of a never ending COIN op… you either have peace or essentially control both sides of the strait.
What I cannot believe is Trump even suggested china should help… FFS talk about dangling your cut arm in a shark infested pool…
He clearly didn’t have a clue. Either nobody dared tell him this would happen or it went in one ear and out the other without it registering in his dementia-addled brain. It’s another quagmire that America is sliding into.
Meanwhile the Sec of Defence thinks it’s all a glorified video game, and is more concerned about the bad optics of dead servicemen returning than their actual deaths.
And everywhere else too
You obviously didn’t get the White House memo – it’s not closed, it’s just commercial ship owners and crew are choosing not to sail through!
Accepting Trump is a Benny sock puppet helps. No one likes an extremist theocracy, and that is what Iran is. However you do not bomb innocent people and win any plaudits or grow a fan club. So my take, we do not send anything. Did we not learn after Iraq? After 9/11 Every Nato member answered to call to The Gan and paid a cost in human life.
An extremist Israeli government just flattened Gaza, sure the 9th October was awful and many innocent Jewish folk died.
However, imo, all Trump and Benny have achieved in this escapade so far is to push Arabs towards Iran and create ill feeling toward the US and Israel. Do not forget Trump has talked about invading Greenland and Canada. He has dropped Ukraine in the poo. Time Europe as a whole stopped dealing with a supposed friend who cannot be trusted full stop.
Play him at his own game, tell him we are ceasing basing rights on UK soil.
Is the T31 designed to operate in the Gulf area tyoe environment? Pity none available right now and if they were would their armaments stack up? This has got to be focusing minds with their CIP. Hopefully they don’t skimp on it. And is five truly enough? If they ordered a few more for UK/Med then maybe 4-5 could be available for mid East, Indo Pacific assuming the UK still wants its presence there.
Apaches down the Thames over London and back is normal, plus Chinooks (and Pumas back in the day). Merlins not so much, but sometimes.
Then there’s the regular Ukrainian AN-12 flying past on its way to and fro, the noisy bugger. And every so often A400Ms…at 30,000ft they are loud enough, cant imagine what they’d be like low level or attempting a special forces drop…