Boeing hopes to market new attack copter

Boeing managers say two programs that will determine the future of the company’s Mesa plant are ready for liftoff.

Boeing test pilots have successfully completed the first test flights of a new attack helicopter planned for foreign customers. Also, two Apache attack helicopters with advanced technologies have been handed off to the U.S. Army for flight testing at the Yuma Proving Ground. If the tests are successful, the Army could order more than 600 of those next-generation Apaches, potentially extending Mesa production of the combat machines to 2025.

The stakes for Boeing and the East Valley are high — the continued employment of more than 4,500 workers at the Mesa plant and the $2.3 billion annual economic impact of the Apache program in Arizona, said John Schibler, chief engineer of Apache programs.

The new military helicopter, designated the AH-6i, is a light attack-reconnaissance aircraft geared toward nations that can’t afford the more expensive Apache or don’t face serious enough threats to justify the more powerful aircraft.

The AH-6i (i is for international) incorporates avionics and other technologies developed for the latest-generation Apache but at less than one-third the price, said program manager Lauralie Campbell.

“It fits a niche in the market,” she said.

The AH-6i would be useful for border patrolling or for countries that face internal rather than external threats, said William Jernigan Jr., team leader in the AH-6i program.

“Some countries do not need a heavy attack aircraft,” he said.

VIDEO: Boeing's new attack helicopter in flight

The first prototype flew out of the Mesa flight line on Sept. 16 after seven months of development, testing its flight characteristics during a 36-minute flight. Since then, it has flown several more times over the Arizona desert.

The prototype will be displayed Nov. 15-19 at the Dubai Air Show in the United Arab Emirates, a region with governments that could be prime customers, Jernigan said.

“We have had a number of inquiries about it, and a couple of countries have expressed an interest in buying it,” he said. “But first they want to see it and to fly it.”

The AH-6i is based on the former Hughes 500-series airframe dating back to the 1960s. The original military version was designated the OH-6 Cayuse, and some of those aircraft are still flying around the world, Jernigan said.

Interest in an updated version from those countries as well as successes by U.S. special forces in using the aircraft prompted Boeing to develop the prototype, he said.

The AH-6i includes updated avionics and a night vision system as well as rockets and Hellfire missiles deployed on pylons on either side of the aircraft — making it considerably more lethal than its predecessor.

Boeing sold the rights to the 500 series and other civilian helicopters to MD Helicopters in 1999, but Boeing retains the right to develop advanced military versions, Jernigan said.

Boeing also has developed the technology to make an unmanned version of the AH-6i, creating a potential link to the Apache.

One of the new technologies in the next-generation Apache is the ability of Apache pilots to control unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, while in flight — allowing the manned helicopter to stand off from threatening situations. The Apache crew could control the UAV’s sensors, view its data and video and fire weapons from the UAV.

Those and other advanced capabilities will be tested in Yuma by the U.S. Army pilots in November and December. If those tests are successful, Pentagon officials could authorize low-rate initial production of the advanced Apaches, called Block III, in April, Schibler said.

Schibler said he’s confident the program will go forward because Boeing’s test pilots have already proven Block III technologies in flight. The new flight program allows U.S. Army pilots to confirm the results before making the decision to begin production, he said.

If the Pentagon gives the go-ahead, Boeing Mesa would modify the airframes of existing U.S. Apaches to include new avionics and software, new composite rotor blades, new transmissions and other improvements. Foreign countries that fly the Apache also could ask Boeing to refit their aircraft with Block III upgrades, Schibler said.

The employment impact of the AH-6i would depend on the number of orders and whether some employees could be transferred from the Apache assembly line, said Boeing spokeswoman Carole Thompson.