AgustaWestland Apache

The AgustaWestland Apache, first designated WAH-64 by Westland Helicopters and later the Apache AH1 in British service, is a licence-built version of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army Air Corps. Westland was selected in July 1995 and a contract for 67 helicopters was signed in 1996. Boeing built the first eight, and the other 59 were assembled by Westland, later AgustaWestland, at Yeovil in Somerset from Boeing-supplied kits. The British version differs from the American one in using Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 engines, a new electronic defensive aids suite and a blade folding mechanism that lets it operate from ships. Westland produced the first prototype in September 1998 and the 67th and final aircraft was handed over in July 2004. Apaches served in Afghanistan from 2006 and in the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya, flying from Royal Navy ships. The AH1 was retired on 25 March 2024, and most of the airframes were remanufactured to the AH-64E standard.