U.S. Army Prepares For Full-Rate AH-64E Production [View all]

[unhappycamper]

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_10_26_2012_p03-01-511015.xml




U.S. Army Prepares For Full-Rate AH-64E Production
By Amy Butler
October 26, 2012

The U.S. Army has officially designated the newest version of its Apache helicopter the E model, and service officials are planning to issue a contract to Boeing to begin full-rate production.

The full-rate production decision issued in August is “probably the single largest decision for this program since Block Is and Block IIs went into production,” says Col. Jeff Hager, the Army’s Apache project manager. The forthcoming contract will include 48 aircraft per year for the U.S. Army for two years as well as 48 foreign sales orders. The anticipated production rate will be four per month for the Army with three monthly for international customers during full-rate production. The Army plans to buy 690 total.

However, the specter of sequestration — mandated spending cuts set to take place Jan. 1 if the government does not strike a debt-reduction deal — has prompted Hager to begin examining various production rates as Apache would likely suffer a reduction along with other defense projects.

The first AH-64E was delivered to the Army last November, and production has ramped up since to about three deliveries per month in Boeing’s Mesa, Ariz., factory, says David Koopersmith, Boeing’s vice president of attack helicopters. The team briefed reporters on the status of the program at this week’s annual Association of the U.S. Army conference here.




unhappycamper comment: Let's talk dollars.

When I buy a new car, I like to know how much stuff costs: paint job, fog lights, bigger engine, leather interior, navigation system, sunroof, etc. etc.

When I try to find out the cost of military hardware, the price list just isn't available. "Trust me" is not acceptable from a car salesman, nor should it be for MIC salesmen. So we do the best we can.

Wikipedia is notoriously low on the price of military hardware. Since this thread is about the AH-64E let's focus on that. Wikipedia sez:
AH-64A: US$20 million (2007),
AH-64D (AH-64A upgrade): US$18 million (2007)[4]

OK, the AH-64D costs $20 million + $18 million = $38 million dollars. So how much does the AH-64E cost? However much it is, the US Army is planning on buying/upgrading 690 of them. Too bad we don't know what the AH-64E costs.

Here's just two examples of Wikipedia's cost numbers:

Wikipedia sez the F-22 is "US$150 million (flyaway cost for FY2009)". Time magazine (link:http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1912203_1913322,00.html) sez the F-22 costs $350 million dollars each.

Here's another example: Wikipedia sez "US$218 million (flyaway cost for FY2007)". Time magazine (link:http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1912203_1913322,00.html) sez the C-17 costs $318 million dollars each.