Editing Boeing AH-64 Apache (section)

====Twentieth century====
[[File:DM-SC-91-09352.jpg|thumb|AH-64A Apache helicopter returns from SOLID SHIELD '89 exercise]]

In January 1984, the U.S. Army formally accepted its first production AH-64A and training of the first pilots began later that year.<ref>Richardson and Peacock 1992, pp. 14–15.</ref><ref>[http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/ah64d/pub/news_2004.pdf Apache news 2004], pp. 33–34. Boeing, 2004. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630232855/http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/ah64d/pub/news_2004.pdf |date=30 June 2013}}</ref> The first operational Apache unit, 7th Battalion, 17th Cavalry Brigade, began training on the AH-64A in April 1986 at [[Fort Hood]], Texas.<ref name="Richardson_p47-8"/><ref>Bernsteein 2005, p. 6.</ref> Two operational units with 68 AH-64s first deployed to Europe in September 1987 and took part in large military exercises there.<ref name="Richardson_p47-8">Richardson and Peacock 1992, pp. 47–48.</ref><ref>Donald 2004, p. 121.</ref>

Upon fielding the Apache, capabilities such as the FLIR's use in extensive night operations made it clear that it was capable of operating beyond the forward line of own troops (FLOT) to which previous attack helicopters were normally restricted.<ref>Williams 2005, pp. 212–213.</ref> It was discovered that the Apache was coincidentally fitted with the [[Have Quick]] [[UHF]] radio system used by the U.S. Air Force, allowing inter-service coordination and joint operations such as the joint air attack teams (JAAT). The Apache has operated extensively with close air support (CAS) aircraft, such as the USAF's [[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II]] and the USMC's [[McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II]], often acting as a target designator to conserve the Apache's own munitions.<ref>Williams 2005, pp. 215–218.</ref> The Apache was first used in combat in 1989, during [[United States invasion of Panama|Operation Just Cause]], the invasion of [[Panama]]. It participated in over 240 combat hours, attacking various targets, mostly at night.<ref>Richardson and Peacock 1992, pp. 51–52.</ref><ref>Bishop 2005, pp. 16–17.</ref> [[Carl Stiner|General Carl Stiner]], the commander of the operation, stated: "You could fire that Hellfire missile through a window from four miles away at night."<ref name ='bern 7'>Bernstein 2005, p. 7.</ref>

[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 980902-A-2839B-002.jpg|thumb|left|AH-64 on exercises, 1997]]
Nearly half of all U.S. Apaches were deployed to [[Saudi Arabia]] following [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]]'s invasion of [[Kuwait]] in 1990.<ref name ='bern 7'/> During [[Gulf War|Operation Desert Storm]] on 17 January 1991, eight AH-64As guided by four [[MH-53 Pave Low|MH-53 Pave Low III]]s destroyed part of Iraq's radar network in the operation's first attack,<ref name="Bishop_p17-8">Bishop 2005, pp. 17–18.</ref> allowing the [[Ground-attack aircraft|attack aircraft]] to evade detection.<ref name="Donald_p144-5">Donald 2004, pp. 144–145.</ref> Each Apache carried an asymmetric load of Hydra 70 rockets, Hellfires, and one auxiliary fuel tank.<ref name=taylor>Taylor, Thomas. ''Lightning in the Storm''. Hippocrene Books, 2003. {{ISBN|0-7818-1017-5}}.</ref> During the 100-hour ground war, a total of 277 AH-64s took part, destroying 278 tanks, numerous armored personnel carriers and other [[Old Iraqi army|Iraqi]] vehicles,<ref name="Bishop_p17-8"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA411790.pdf |title=Case Study of the Development of the Apache Attack Helicopter (AH-64) |publisher=Naval Postgraduate School |first=Edward W. |last=Ference |date=December 2002 |access-date=1 October 2009 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604214649/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA411790&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> for a total of over 500 kills.<ref name="tfhl">{{cite news |last1=Lambeth |first1=Benjamin S. |title=Task Force Hawk |url=https://www.airandspaceforces.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2002/February%202002/0202hawk.pdf |publisher=AIR FORCE Magazine |date=February 2002}}</ref> One AH-64 was lost in the war, crashing after a close range [[rocket-propelled grenade]] (RPG) hit; the crew survived.<ref name=Donald_p147>Donald 2004, p. 147.</ref> While effective in combat, the AH-64 presented serious logistical difficulties. Findings reported in 1990 stated "maintenance units could not keep up with the Apache's unexpectedly high work load..."<ref>[http://www.gao.gov/assets/160/151734.pdf "OPERATION DESERT STORM: Apache Helicopter Was Considered Effective in Combat, but Reliability Problems Persist"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213133754/http://www.gao.gov/assets/160/151734.pdf |date=13 December 2013}}. GAO</ref> To provide spare parts for combat operations, the U.S. Army unofficially grounded all other AH-64s worldwide; Apaches in the theater flew only one-fifth of planned flight-hours.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pogo.org/our-work/reports/90s/ns-puav-19920701.html |title=High Tech Weapons in Desert Storm: Hype or Reality? |publisher=Project on Government Oversight |date=1 July 1992 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217061757/http://www.pogo.org/our-work/reports/90s/ns-puav-19920701.html |archive-date=17 February 2016}}</ref> Such problems were evident before the Gulf War.<ref>[http://gao.gov/assets/150/149732.pdf "APACHE HELICOPTER: Serious Logistical Support Problems Must Be Solved to Realize Combat Potential"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123075822/http://gao.gov/assets/150/149732.pdf |date=23 January 2016}}. GAO</ref>

[[File:AH-64A Apache, 1st Battalion, 501st Aviation Brigade 971216-A-8119B-021.jpg|thumb|AH-64A on [[Operation Joint Guard]] in the Balkans, 1998]]
The AH-64 played roles in the Balkans during separate conflicts in [[Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]] and [[Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija|Kosovo]] in the 1990s.<ref name="Bishop_p21-33">Bishop 2005, pp. 21–24, 33.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=JDgfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nHwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5602,3407150&dq=bosnia+apache&hl=en |title=U.S. Mulls More Copters in Bosnia – The Aircraft Were Requested For U.N. Troop Reinforcement |newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=18 July 1995}}</ref> During [[Task Force Hawk]], 24 Apaches were deployed to a land base in [[Albania]] in 1999 for combat in Kosovo. These required 26,000&nbsp;tons of equipment to be transported over 550 C-17 flights, at a cost of {{US$|480 million}}.<ref>Adams 2006, p. 60.</ref> During these deployments, the AH-64 encountered problems, such as deficiencies in training, [[Night vision device|night vision equipment]], fuel tanks, and survivability.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/43251221.html?dids=43251221:43251221&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+16%2C+1999&author=Tom+Bowman&pub=The+Sun&desc=Army+hunts+for+answers+as+Apaches+fail+in+Kosovo%3B+Readiness%2C+training+faulted+as+21st-century+helicopter+stumbles&pqatl=google |title=Army Hunts For Answers As Apaches Fail in Kosovo; Readiness, Training Faulted As 21st-century Helicopter Stumbles |first=Tom |last=Bowman |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |date=16 July 1999 |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025111739/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/43251221.html?dids=43251221:43251221&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+16,+1999&author=Tom+Bowman&pub=The+Sun&desc=Army+hunts+for+answers+as+Apaches+fail+in+Kosovo%3B+Readiness,+training+faulted+as+21st-century+helicopter+stumbles&pqatl=google |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Army Defends Troubled Copter |first=Mark |last=Thompson |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |date=20 June 1990}}</ref>

In 2000, Major General [[Dick Cody]], 101st Airborne's commanding officer, wrote a strongly worded memo to the Chief of Staff about training and equipment failures.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/docs/man-ac-ah64-001220.htm |title=Apaches Are Ailing Warriors |first=Jon R. |last=Anderson |publisher=European Stars and Stripes |date=19 December 2000}}</ref> Almost no pilots were qualified to fly with night vision goggles, preventing nighttime operations.<ref name="lutt">Luttwak 2001, pp. 78–80.</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' printed a front-page article on the failures, commenting: "The vaunted helicopters came to symbolise everything wrong with the Army as it enters the 21st century: Its inability to move quickly, its resistance to change, its obsession with casualties, its post-Cold War identity crisis".<ref>Adams 2006, p. 61.</ref> Although no Apache combat missions took place, two were lost in training exercises.<ref name="AFMag">{{cite web |last1=Lambeth |first1=Benjamin |title=Task Force Hawk |url=https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2002/February%202002/0202hawk.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2002/February%202002/0202hawk.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=Air Force Magazine |access-date=5 December 2021}}</ref> An effective network of Yugoslav air defenses stopped Apaches from being deployed on combat missions in Kosovo.<ref name="lutt"/><ref name="AFMag"/>