N.C. Guard battalion gets new Apache

[unhappycamper]

Maj. Gen. William E. Ingram Jr., adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard, makes his remarks in front of one of 12 Apache AH64-D Longbow helicopters received by the Guard’s 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 130th Aviation Regiment, on Jan. 6. Seated at right are North Carolina State Rep. Greer Martin, left, and State Rep. Ty Harrel.


N.C. Guard battalion gets new Apache
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jan 25, 2008 20:39:29 EST

The North Carolina National Guard received the first of its 24 AH-64D Longbow attack helicopters, becoming the second operational reserve aviation unit to rise to a level of capability on par with active units.

The Arizona National Guard’s 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 285th Aviation Regiment, received its allotment of 24 AH-64D Apaches two years ago and is in the process of redeploying from Afghanistan.

By the end of 2009, four National Guard battalions will have received 96 of the modernized aircraft, giving National Guard aviators the opportunity to train with the attack helicopter’s latest technology and become a force multiplier for the active-duty Army.

“We all recognize that you have got to equip the the way you equip the active component. It’s an operational force and you can’t say ‘I’ll give you old stuff’ and then say you’re part of the operational force,” Army aviation chief Brig. Gen. Stephen Mundt told Army Times at an aviation symposium of the Association of the U.S. Army.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/army_guardapaches_080126w/



uhc comment: I had a difficult time tracking down the cost of an AH-64D Longbow, but managed to find a 2006 article.

http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/5287

If I did the math correctly, these guys cost on $13,810,000 a pop. 24 of them cost $331,418,182. 96 of them costs $1,235,672,000.