Israel Signs for 12 AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopters After Budget Dispute Nearly Sank Deal

Israel has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense for 12 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, the newest production variant of the type, with the Israeli Ministry of Defence stating that deliveries are expected to begin early in the next decade. The ministry announced on October 14 that Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram had instructed its Washington mission to sign an agreement negotiated jointly with American officials. No value was disclosed, although the Israeli business daily Calcalist has put the purchase at approximately $1 billion. The order is considerably smaller than the 30 helicopters the U.S. State Department cleared for sale in January, and highlights how domestic budget pressure, rather than American approval, has become the limiting factor on Israel’s helicopter recapitalisation. Defence Minister Israel Katz called the purchase “a critical step in the IDF’s force buildup.”

The deal very nearly lapsed, with Israel having missed an American ordering deadline the previous week despite three extensions, according to reporting by Calcalist, as the purchase was held up by a shortfall of roughly $288 million that had divided the Defence and Finance ministries for months. The government resolved the dispute on October 14 by approving the transfer of approximately 1.03 billion shekels, drawn largely from planned cuts to a multi-year development program for the country’s Arab communities, a decision taken two weeks before national elections in Israel which has drawn questions over budget priorities. The State Department’s January 30 notification had covered up to 30 AH-64Es and 70 engines at an estimated $3.8 billion, leaving 18 airframes of that ceiling unordered, with Baram stating that the ministry would “continue to work at full pace to sign additional critical agreements, including the acquisition of additional platforms, munitions, interceptors, and more.”

Israeli defence officials have identified a shortage of attack helicopters as one of the lessons of the Hamas assault of October 7, 2023, when Israeli forces struggled to respond quickly to simultaneous attacks across multiple locations near the Gaza border. The Israeli Air Force still relies entirely on AH-64A helicopters delivered between 1990 and 1993 and AH-64D Saraf helicopters remanufactured from the earlier model and received from 2005, with the fleet numbering between 45 and 48 airframes by different estimates, and with the front with Hezbollah, where Israel has threatened to seize more territory, placing further demands on it. Boeing Israel President Maj. Gen. (res.) Ido Nehushtan noted that the order follows Israel’s selection of the KC-46A tanker and its decision to acquire a second squadron of F-15IA fighters, making Boeing the principal beneficiary of the country’s current modernisation drive.

The AH-64E, first delivered to the U.S. Army in 2011, is powered by two General Electric T700-GE-701D turboshaft engines, carries the AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar above its main rotor and can take control of unmanned aircraft in flight from the cockpit. The Israeli Ministry of Defence stated that its aircraft will carry improved radar, targeting, communications and battlefield coordination systems compared with the models in service. Israel was the first country outside the United States to operate the Apache, with its first AH-64As arriving on September 11, 1990, meaning the Echo models will enter service around four decades after the type first joined the Israeli Air Force.