On July 27 an Antonov An-124 heavylifter of Antonov Airlines arrived at Hindon Air Force Station from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport carrying the first four Boeing AH-64E(I) Apache Guardian attack helicopters for the Indian Air Force. A second batch of four is expected in early August. According to Boeing, the deliveries are being made ahead of schedule.
Following reassembly and air test, the eight AH-64s are due to move to Pathankot AFS in Punjab, where the Indian Air Force expects to formally induct the type into service in September. The operating unit is expected to be No. 125 “Gladiators” Squadron, which previously operated Mil Mi-35 “Hind” gunships. The remaining 14 AH-64s from the initial Indian order will be delivered in 2020. A second squadron is expected to form at Jorhat AFS in Assam, which currently hosts An-32 transports and Mi-17 helicopters.
India became the 14th customer for the Apache when it signed for 22 AH-64E(I)s in September 2015, also buying 15 CH-47F(I) Chinooks at the same time. The first of the CH-47s arrived in India by sea in February. The Defence Ministry approved the procurement of six more Apaches in 2017, with these aircraft intended for service with the Indian Army.
The Air Force’s first AH-64E(I) flew at Boeing’s Mesa, Arizona plant in July 2018 and Indian pilots and technicians began training in the U.S. that year. The first helicopter was formally handed over to the IAF in a ceremony at Mesa on May 10, 2019.
In March 2018 Tata Boeing Aerospace—a joint venture between the two industrial giants—opened a new facility in Hyderabad to build Apache fuselages, which are shipped to the final assembly line at Mesa. The first fuselage was delivered in June the same year. TBA is now the sole source for AH-64 fuselages, and also supplies other components for the program.