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BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
19th August, 2005: Boeing delivered an AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat chopper to Kuwait. The US Government accepted the chopper on behalf of Kuwait. This is Kuwait’s first AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat chopper, a release said.
The Apache Longbow was delivered from Boeing’s Arizona unit. Though the AH-64D Apache Longbow has been technically accepted by the US on behalf of the Government of Kuwait, it will undergo further tests in the US throughout the year before being physically delivered to Kuwait. Kuwait had placed orders for 16 Apaches with the US Defense Department. The AH-64D Apache Longbow delivered now is the first of that batch, a Boeing release said.
Bob Burns, program manager for the Kuwait Apache program, Boeing, said, “From the initiation of the foreign military sale, through production of the first Apache, the program has benefited from the close working relationships between the U.S. Army, Kuwaiti government representatives, Boeing and the other Apache industry teammates.”
Kuwaiti military personnel for maintenance are now undergoing training in the United States. Pilots from the middle eastern nation are expected to join them later this year.
Neither the US nor Kuwait has made public the delivery schedule or contract details. The deal between Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence was sealed in 2002, when it signed the offer letter, thereby becoming the seventh defence force in the world to opt for the AH-64D Apache Longbow. As far as the AH-64D Apache Longbow is concerned, the Kuwaiti deal meant that the number of its customers worldwide increased to seven.
AH-64D Apache Longbow has a unique state-of-the-art modem that transmits real-time, secure, digitized battlefield information apart from fully integrated avionics and weapons. AH-64D Apache Longbow chopper can detect, prioritize and and engage stationary or moving targets at standoff ranges in almost all weather conditions, the Boeing release said.
The $30 billion Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, with its headquarters in St. Louis, provides network-centric system solutions to military, government, and commercial customers worldwide. It is also the largest military aircraft and satellite manufacturer and has the distinction of being NASA’s largest contractor.
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
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