New AAC Apache AH-64Es

[gary1701]

 

Gents,

 

Thought these that I shot on a quick hour or so trip up to the fence at Wattisham on Thursday evening would be of interest. Decent pics of the new AH-64E's have been extremely rare, but I managed to get a couple of them within a hour of my first visit for 2022. Okay, I cheated a bit as the Echo flights have been mostly around the early evening for the last couple of weeks and it's only now that it's worth going up for some photography, given the geography of Wattisham.  It's taken them a long time to get these working and I'm still not sure why the delays. The first pair arrived at Wattisham in December 2020, although test flying had already been conducted in the US, but it took a full year before any flew in the UK, with the first UK flight in December, with a dozen or so delivered by then and currently sixteen from fifty delivered to the UK but only 6/7 have flown so far over here.

 

My contacts on the base tell me that they're gone really OTT on the paranoia about security and access to the Echo model, and much of the AAC seem to think that outside the US, they're the only one's who have got the Echo model, which suggests they need to get out a bit! So although I normally don't get any problems when on the Wattisham fence with camera and radio I thought that I might be having some grief from now on, but security just waved as they went past on Thursday, even with a couple of Echo's spinning up so hopefully a good summer ahead! 

 

Anyway, here's 'Ugly 1/2' ZM712/714 climbing out on a local sortie Thursday evening. Note the rocket pods don't have the rounded caps. I don't know if we're ditching the CRV-7 from the AH1 and going with the US 2.75 rocket as these are meant to be standard US spec Echo models, or just they haven't bothered to put the caps on yet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and one of a ever shrinking number of AH1's still operating.

 

 

Gary

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by gary1701

[Latinbear]

Terrific shots there Gary and in really lovely light. I find the Apache a nightmare to photograph owing to the colour scheme but the sun really shows them off nicely.  Externally the E and D models looks pretty much the same apart from the device sitting above the ARMY on the E or am I missing something obvious? 

[Troffa]

Great shots Gary!   Have our E-Models got  Towel rail HF antennas on the Starboard Tail boom?

[Paul J]

This is interesting. Recently on fr24, I noticed some activity from Wattisham. And the fr24 describing the aircraft as Tornado FGR 4 with ZM prefix to the serial only? !  Now we know what it was.

[exdraken]

Thanks for the pics!

If I understand correctly, the Apaches are standard US ones without UK mods... so standard weapons only I guess.. 

But maybe the delays have something to do with mods, or issues with US equipment    (radios??)

I thought that at least the UK would get the new exhausts...

they seem to be off limits for all other export customers of the E/ Guardian as well.....

[gary1701]

Thanks guys and hi Mark. external differences that I know of are the 'egg whisk' antenna as noted above, another large bladed aerial on the upper fuselage, in between the engine nacelles that seems to match the one carried over from the AH1 at the same position on the underside and different HIDAS aerials and placements. Not visible on my images is a large raised panel on the right hand side of the EFAB that is behind the stub pylons. Marking changes include, the two vertical black lines on the engine nacelles and the serial on the fin is in a slightly larger font - which will make quite a few people happy. Most importantly, these ones are actually clean, for now! No towel rail HF aerial on the rear right hand side fuselage and no upward turned engine exhausts, don't know why the later as US and other operators have had that for years. Others also reckon they sound slightly different, less 'growly' but can't say I've noticed that, maybe I'm just deaf! On the tracking sites they do now appear to be showing with the ZM serials, although not necessarily the correct ones! That said, on Thursday ZM712/714 were showing correctly. The remaining old AH1's rarely show the correct aircraft serial nowadays.

 

Photographing Apaches is a bit of a art. I never do it unless the suns out and I can get it behind me, which means early evenings up at Wattisham during April to August, pointless most other times!

 

Gary

 

  

[Evalman]

19 hours ago, gary1701 said:

Photographing Apaches is a bit of a art. I never do it unless the suns out and I can get it behind me,

 

Gary

 

  

 

That's very true, the same can be said for Pumas, Chinooks etc.  You can just about get away with it when they are land-locked.

 

Very nice images. They certainly look good in that light.

 

[Red Dot]

Top photos Gary. They look great in the sun, as you say

 

Andy

[junglierating]

Good stuff...working on Apache in the past good times.

I note that the E varients have no DAS sensors or CMDS  fitted yet .

[gary1701]

Hi again gents,

 

Few more from a couple of evenings last week. I got one of the Echos at a better angle with the sun and they're still flying a few of the AH1s. Still seems rather slow with only a couple flying each day. Another three turned up at Mildenhall in a C-5 during the week and some more are due soon apparently, which considering there has only been one delivery in 2022 so far suggests they're probably got a few at Mesa to bring over.

 

 

 

 

Already getting the oil stains!

 

 

AH1s still flying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary

[Alpha Delta 210]

Lovely selection. That paint finish sure is matt!

 

Thanks for sharing.