The first WAH-64 Apache helicopter destined for the UK Army Air Corps has arrived at GKN Westland's South West England base for final assembly.
The aircraft is the first of nine being shipped to the UK this year from Boeing's Mesa, Arizona, plant and marks the beginning of a ramp-up of the UK Apache programme.
The first eight Apaches will be built in the USA by Boeing, with GKN Westland's own Apache production line starting full-scale production later this year.
The UK Ministry of Defence has ordered a total of 67 WAH-64s, a derivative of the AH-64D, featuring the Longbow fire control radar.
GKN Westland, the prime contractor, was awarded a £2 billion contract to supply the aircraft back in 1996. First deliveries to the Army Air Corps are expected in 2000, with contract completion by the end of 2003.
Martin Fausset, GKN Westland's Apache programme director, says: "There are more than 180 companies contributing to the UK programme. It is a tribute to them and to all the GKN personnel working on the project that this complex programme has met all its key milestones to date."
Three aircraft have now come off the Mesa line. The first is involved in engine integration trials in the USA to qualify the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 engines that will power the British aircraft in preference to the General Electric T700 engines fitted to the US versions.
The second aircraft is being used to train GKN Westland test pilots and Army Air Corps instructor pilots prior to the commissioning of the UK Apache training centres in the second quarter of next year.
Westland says that the third aircraft, delivered a month ahead of schedule, will undergo electromagnetic compatibility testing once final assembly is complete. First flight is scheduled for August.
Source: Flight Daily News
