The AH-64A Apache - A Swedish perspective
Since 1988 the Swedish army has
operated two companies of what it
refers to as 'anti-tank' helicopters - 20
MBB BO 105CBs (local designation
Hkp 9A) equipped with the Emerson
Heli-TOW system. In March 1995 the
Chief of the Army requested the
Director of Army Aviation to undertake
a technical demonstration programme
of a dedicated attack helicopter. In
1996 Sweden was facing a major
defence review and the army felt the
time was at hand to evaluate its
requirement for, and the benefits of, a
modern multi-role attack helicopter.
A list of potential types was drawn
up for evaluation, including the MDH
AH-64A Apache, Bell AH-1W Super
Cobra, Agusta A 129 Mangusta,
Eurocopter Tiger, Atlas/Denel CSH-2
Rooivalk, Mil Mi-28 'Havoc' and Kamov
Ka-50 'Hokum'. The primary purpose of
the evaluation was to determine how
aircraft would perform in a Swedish
environment, so the army insisted that
its pilots be trained to fly each type
under evaluation, and act as systems
operators/gunners. Aircraft had to be
available for evaluation in mid-1995,
undertake live weapons firings and
require a minimum of operating/
support costs. The choice was
narrowed to the AH-64A and Mi-28.
The Swedes recognised that one was a
mature system and the other still in the
early stages of development, but were
interested in examining the two
completely different design
philosophies and doctrines behind the
Apache and the 'Havoc'.
Planning for the four-week
evaluation began in April/May 1995.
Upon arrival in Sweden the aircraft
would self-deploy to the Northern
Military District to undertake tactical
missions and live-firing exercises. This
would be followed by air-to-air target
firing and tactical missions in the
Central and Southern Military Districts.
As a result, each aircraft would be
exposed to the full range of Swedish
geography and climate.
The Swedish Defence Material
Administration (FMV) and the United
States Army Security Command, with
the support of the Swedish Army
Aviation Centre and McDonnell
Douglas Helicopters, agreed to supply
two USAREUR AH-64As, then
stationed in Hanau. A Swedish crew
was trained by MDH at Mesa to fly the
Apache and operate its systems. A
team of Swedish tactical advisors
travelled to Ft Rucker to undertake
detailed mission planning. The two
Apaches (86-9029/86-9033) were flown
from Germany by a mixed US/Swedish
crew, arriving at the 2nd Army Aviation
Battalion in Linkoping on 12 August
1995.
The Apaches were scheduled to
undertake a range of tactical scenarios,
including operational redeployment
between military districts, avoiding
enemy fighter aircraft, engagement of
enveloping forces, deep strike
operations, operations in the Swedish
archipelago, engagement of enemy air
assault forces, delaying operations
against mechanised forces, and
supporting attacking armoured forces.
Swedish terrain, tactics and military
posture mean that standard US
operational procedures, such as artillery
and air support, were impossible. The
Swedes learned that the Apache had
the flexibility to operate throughout the
country and could be redeployed over
substantial distances while still carrying
an effective weapons load. Even
without the use of EW systems, the
Apaches avoided the JA 37 Viggens of
F21 Wing, which were hunting them
during their redeployments. In the
event, missions were not flown at
night, although the Swedes recognise
that night operations are preferable,
indeed essential, in their Arctic
environments (in northern Sweden six
months of the year are spent in almost
permanent darkness). The autonomous
nature of AH-64A operations stretched
Sweden's (substantial) C3 network and
highlighted the need for an improved
communications fit on the aircraft. The
Apache's radios are not compatible
with Swedish radio systems. Two days
of maritime operations with navy and
marine units in the archipelago proved
that the Apache was very vulnerable on
the outer coastline and needed the
shelter of the inner archipelago to
protect it from hostile fire. However,
the Marines were impressed by the
AH-64A and thought that the Apache
could play an important role in
supporting (or repelling) amphibious
attacks. Furthermore, the Hellfire
missile (Rb 17) is already in service as a
coastal defence weapon in Sweden
and is compatible with the Apache's
own weapons.
During a simulated air drop by an air
force Hercules, the Apaches 'shot
down' the aircraft using Hellfire. During
anti-armour missions the Apache
proved to be far superior to Sweden's
existing Hkp 9As. Air-to-air trials were
conducted against towed targets at the
Swedish Anti-Aircraft School, Vaddo.
The targets were 'cold' (with no IR
signature, perhaps not the most
realistic simulation) and the FLIR and
DVO were unable to acquire them
within the prevailing safety limits.
When the gun did lock-up a target the
autotracking system failed and no
direct hits were ever made on any
target. Live-firing trials were limited to
the Apache's rocket system, as
Sweden already has the Hellfire in
service (as a coastal defence missile)
and is familiar with its performance.
There were also cost and safety factors
in this decision. A manual rocket firing
was made and the rockets missed the
target area by several hundred meters.
A total of 99 hours was flown by the
two aircraft during the four-week
evaluation. During that time, there
were periods when one or both AH-64As
were unserviceable. The Apaches
suffered from software problems in the
FCC and badly maintained rocket pods;
an APU clutch had to be changed, a TV
camera had to be replaced, a laser unit
had to be replaced, several bulbs had
to be changed, one gun suffered a
hardware failure and rotors needed
repairing. As a result, five of the
planned 20 missions were cancelled
due to technical problems. Additional
missions were also cancelled to allow
ground crews more time to prepare for
weapons tests. The Apache's
navigation and fire control systems
suffered several problems. Co-ordinates
in latitudes higher than 65°N could not
be entered and, as a result, planned
night attack missions were not flown.
A single Mi-28 was supplied by
Rosvoorouzhenie to the FMV under a
contract signed in August 1995. The
evaluation helicopter (Mi-28 prototype
042) was airlifted by II-76 to Lulea on
7 October 1995. Using Mi-24s and
Mi-28s in Moscow, the Swedes had
trained one test pilot and two service
pilots to fly the Mi-28. Swedish
personnel ultimately flew as weapons
systems operators during the
evaluation, and not as command pilots
(the Mi-28 does not have dual controls).
Since the Russian pilot was not a fluent
English speaker, all operational
missions were tightly pre-briefed and
flown with a translator airborne in
another aircraft. The Mi-28 flew a
number of tactical missions that
mirrored the Apache programme. The
Swedish evaluation found that the
sighting system worked well and was
easy to use, even in the hands of an
inexperienced crew. The Mi-28 was
rated as highly survivable, with good
ballistic protection for the crew and
with an extensive onboard RWR and
ECM system. The MMI (Man Machine
Interface/ergonomics) of the Mi-28 was
generally good and will be improved.
The aircraft handled well, although
crews had some reservations about
their early production standard aircraft
in this area. Current production Mi-28s
are completely lacking in any nightfighting
capability. Mil is working to
remedy this problem with the much
improved Mi-28N, which has been
compared (perhaps over-optimistically)
to the AH-64D.
The official Swedish Army Aviation
Centre report on the evaluation stated
that the Mi-28's weapons accuracy
was "good and astonishingly
repeatable," particularly taking into
account the range of firing parameters
and poor weather conditions. Both
9M1154Shturmand 9M120 Ataka
guided missiles were fired against
stationary targets (to a maximum range
of 4680 m/15,354 ft, with the Mi-28
flying at 200 km/h, 124 mph IAS), with
1-m (3.3-ft) accuracy. Rockets were
found to be accurate up to a range of
4000m (13,123ft), with 35 hits
registered from 40 firings. Four
unexploded rockets were later found
and questions were raised about the
production quality and safety standards
of Russian ammunition. Gun firings
were unsuccessful due to bad
boresighting.
The Mi-28 was flown for a total of
30 hours, never failed to undertake a
mission, and experienced the minimum
of technical snags. On one occasion an
engine automatically throttled back
The AH-64A maintained its
reputation as an complex and
effective aircraft during the
Swedish army aviation evaluation.
after plume ingestion from a rocket
firing. This was a safety measure which
performed as expected, and the aircraft
was ready for flight within an hour, to
resume firing tests. The aircraft also
experienced a failure of the flare
dispenser. The Swedish opinion of the
Mi-28 was that it was a robust and
reliable helicopter well-suited to field
conditions. Reservations were
expressed about the classification and
standards of its electrical system and
some design features. Integration of
the required modern avionics would
require additional electronic shielding
and filtering. Availability of the
necessary specifications, airworthiness
certification, technical manuals and
maintenance documentation was an
unknown.
The evaluation of the AH-64A
concluded that it was a highly-complex
aircraft, requiring a well-trained and
co-ordinated crew. Successful missions
demanded an intensive level of mission
planning. Its onboard systems allowed
detection of targets, by day and night,
at ranges meeting all Swedish
requirements. A large proportion of
Swedish wartime personnel are drawn
from a (trained) conscript force, who
were deemed to be capable of
supporting Apache operations. The
attack helicopter demonstration
programme to date has provided much
first-hand experience and broadened
the Swedish understanding of modern
attack helicopter operations. The
programme will continue through to
1999/2000, with a view to presenting a
final proposal, prior to the next major
Parliamentary defence review in 2001.
An AH-64D Longbow Apache
evaluation will take place during that
timeframe. A Eurocopter Tiger
evaluation was scheduled for February
1997. Robert Hewson
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