U.S. Army Apache Attack Helicopter Units Train For Anti-Drone Operations at German Bases

U.S. Army AH-64E Apache crews from the U.S. Army 2-159th Attack Battalion have conducted anti-drone warfare exercises, simulating the detection, tracking, and shooting down of simulated drone threats at Germany’s Grafenwoehr Training Area. The exercises demonstrated the aircraft’s  ability to counter small unmanned aerial systems, at a time when Apache helicopters in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and possibly elsewhere in the Middle East, have been actively involved in counter-drone operations. The exercise highlights a significant shift in Army aviation as Apache crews integrate radars, sensors, and targeting systems to engage large numbers of low cost attack drones, at a time when such aircraft have played central roles in conflicts in both Ukraine and the Middle East.

The current exercises mark the first time the Apache has been validated as a viable air-to-air counter-drone platform in the European theatre in U.S. Army service. Exercises have been conducted under the framework of the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, and were highlighted by analysts to have demonstrated how rotary-wing assets can play significant roles in closing gaps in integrated air defence networks. This new mission set has required the rapid development of new tactics, techniques, and procedures to adapt to doctrinal changes. Apache attack helicopters have a superior capability to loiter, and have far lower sustainment costs and maintenance needs than manned fighter aircraft. Their 30mm M230 chain gun, and Hydra 70 rockets with Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits, together provide two primary armaments that are well suited to counter-drone duties. 

Significant concerns have been raised by analysts in both Russia and the Western world regarding the continued viability of attack helicopters, as even highly sophisticated Russian helicopter types with advanced sensors and high levels of armour protection have proven highly vulnerable to attacks by low cost single use drones. In mid-March, for example, a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter was hit and destroyed by a first-person-view (FPV) drone on the Pokrovsk region. The demonstrated vulnerability of attack helicopters has been speculated to be a primary factor leading the South Korean Defence Ministry to recently reduce its own orders for the Apache.

U.S. Army Apache units in Europe have been highly active in recent months, with the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade in Germany having in February conducted aviation manoeuvre and sustainment training focused on the use the aircraft and CH-47F Chinook heavily lift helicopters for high-tempo air mobility. The CH-47F Chinook’s sling load validation allows for heavy equipment to be moved when road infrastructure is unusable, with each able to transport 155 mm artillery pieces, engineer bridging sections, components of long range air defence systems, and a wide range of other asset types. The Apaches were relied on for far armed reconnaissance and escort roles to support these logistics operations. 

In September the U.S. Army 1st Armoured Division deployed Apaches for deep strike live-fire exercises in Lithuania near the Belarusian border, during which the aircraft flew coordinated strike missions and destroyed simulated enemy positions. This coincided with the modernisation of Belarus’ own attack helicopter fleet with the procurement of new Mi-35s from Russia. Although the Apache is relied on heavily as the Western world’s only heavyweight attack helicopter type, concerns have at times been raised regarding its reliability, particularly after four of the aircraft crashed in just 44 days in early 2024, including two within just three days in March that year.