The Dutch MoD said that, presently, various helicopter platforms cannot exchange important information with other aircraft or ground units, constraining mission planning and exposing crews to undesirable situations with not up-to-date data about their mission.
The Netherlands’ Ministry of Defense said it is investing in the purchase of modern Network Enabled Capabilities (NEC) communications systems for all its helicopters, namely the AH-64 Apaches, CH-47 Chinooks, the NH90s and the AS532 Cougars. The three Dutch armed services currently lack standardized, secure and encrypted radio communications to allow quick coordination, less constrained by adversary radio snooping and comms jamming.
Interestingly, each of the platforms is undergoing an upgrade and/or replacement program. In fact, the AH-64D Apaches are being upgraded to the AH-64E v6 standard; the NH90s are being put through a Mid-Life Upgrade and receiving a Link 22 data link; the Cougars will be replaced by 14 new H225M Caracals; the Chinooks, along with the Apaches and NH90s, are set to receive self-protection suites to counter infrared and radar homing anti-air missiles.
Defensie gaat de zelfbescherming van 3 typen helikopters verbeteren en versterken. Het gaat om de NH90-maritieme gevechtshelikopter, de Apache-gevechtshelikopter en de Chinook-transporthelikopter.
Lees meer 👉 https://t.co/ktOrLlBdD3 pic.twitter.com/td2Sj8adRM
— Koninklijke Luchtmacht (@Kon_Luchtmacht) May 22, 2024
Unsecure comms constraining missions
The MoD said that, presently, the lack of secure communications prevents various helicopter platforms “exchange important information with other flying systems or units on the ground.” The mission planning is also “mainly done manually,” which “is labor-intensive and time-consuming.” Further complicating the situation, “an additional risk is that not all information is still up-to-date during the mission.”
Het trainen van mogelijke reacties bij een aanval op 1 van de NAVO-lidstaten. Dat is waar het om draait tijdens de internationale oefening #NordicResponse 🇳🇴
De NH90-maritieme gevechtshelikopters trainen op amfibisch optreden onder arctische omstandigheden ❄️ #fighttogether pic.twitter.com/bNHit3Bayo
— Koninklijke Luchtmacht (@Kon_Luchtmacht) March 12, 2024
The military is therefore purchasing “59 portable and modular NEC boxes” for the helicopters, as well as 14 ground systems for command posts, to allow a shared operational picture through secure communication over long distances. Whether the acquisition is an open tender from local and international vendors or the MoD has already contracted a supplier, is not clear, but the systems are nevertheless expected to be delivered by 2029.
This acquisition comes amid a reemergence of the use of the attack helicopter in the European theater and particularly the entry of the AH-64E Version 6 (or v6) variant, which is the Apache’s most modern and capable configuration. The Dutch AH-64D Apaches are themselves being upgraded to this standard. Let us take a look at this program, as the country’s military refurbishes its other rotary wing platforms.
Netherlands AH-64D Upgrade
The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) operates a total of 28 AH-64Ds, which were delivered between 1998 and 2002. The service’s AH-64D Block II fleet began an upgrade to the AH-64E Version 6 (or v6) standard following a Feb. 2018, $1.19 billion deal. Boeing reported delivering the first AH-64E v6 on Oct. 25, 2022, while another two units were flown to the RNLAF’s Woensdrecht Air Base, in Bergen op Zoom, in a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane on Dec. 7, 2023. According to a U.S. Army release, those two and follow-on aircraft were to be assembled and tested at Woensdrecht, before being flown to their future operating station of Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Deliveries of the other aircraft will continue through 2025.
By Apr. 2024, reports quoted the Netherlands MoD announcing the first four “remanufactured” aircraft returning to operations with the RNLAF’s 301 Squadron. On Aug. 19, 2024, the DSCA announced a $305 million FMS sale to the Netherlands of helicopter training, ammunition spares and components for CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters.
At the time, six AH-64Es were stationed at Texas’ Fort Cavazos. The facility trains Dutch Apache’s and CH-47 Chinook’s pilots and crews, certifying them through the American Falcon program. Three months prior, in May 2024, Applied Audio Visual Technology (AVT) received a $28.3 million FMS contract to deliver AH-64E Apache helicopter simulator trainers, called the Targeted Fidelity Apache Tactical Trainer (TFATT) platforms.
AH-64E Version 6
The AH-64D variant is operated by 17 international forces, including the U.S. Army and European allies, and, among the 1,260 Apaches deployed globally, over 665 are in the AH-64E v6 variant. The U.K. operationalized its own AH-64Es late in 2023, with Sep. 2024 seeing U.S. and British Army’s AH-64E v6 Apaches exercising together for the first time.
The U.S. Army added that the remanufactured aircraft have a modern GE T700-701D engine, an “upgraded gearbox, new composite rotor blades, latest communications, navigation, sensors, data correlation and pilot cognitive decision aiding systems” to “multiply combat effectiveness […] over the D model.”
Vandaag zijn onze twee #Cougar #helikopters terug op eigen bodem🇳🇱 Samen met @kon_marine , @korpsmariniers en @landmacht hebben onze mannen en vrouwen noodhulp geleverd op de Bahama’s na orkaan Dorian. Welkom thuis! #Wildcats #300squadrons #NoodhulpDorian pic.twitter.com/rbQMldmr0j
— DHC Luchtmacht (@dhcluchtmacht) October 24, 2019
Specifically, the Dutch upgrade program to the AH-64E v6 configuration involved 17 AN/APG-78 Fire Control Radars; 28 AN/ASQ-170 Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sights; AN/AAR-11 Pilot Night Vision Sensors; 28 AN/APR-48B Modernized Radar Frequency Interferometers; 70 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems; and parts to upgrade the 51 T700-GE-701C engines to T700-GE-701D (42 engines integrated on the helicopters, with nine spares). The AN/APG-78 FCRs allows the pilot to detect targets from behind obstacles and simultaneously track 128 targets and engage 16 at once.
The MoD adds that all Echos are equipped with manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), enabling the exchange of media and other data with other assets such as the remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper or the F-35 Lightning II.
Apache Electronic Warfare capability
In Oct. 2024, Lockheed Martin was also contracted to upgrade the U.S. Army’s AH-64 Apaches with new Electronic Warfare capabilities powered by a new series of top-of-the-line microelectronics developed by Intel. Lockheed Martin is expected to partner with the U.S. Army to design, test and produce the Generation 3 RFI/RWR (Radar Frequency Interferometer/Radar Warning Receiver) APR-48B system, powered by the MCP-2 developed by Intel’s Altera.
The APR-48B is included in the Dutch AH-64D upgrade package, and can be presumed to be present in the post-upgrade AH-64E Version 6 helicopters delivered back to the RNLAF. However, since the Gen 3 system has only been recently announced, the APR-48B system on the Dutch Apaches is the Gen 2.
Lockheed Martin’s statement added that, in collaboration with the Apache Program Office, it will replace all the Gen. 2 systems on all the Apache aircraft, implicitly referring to the U.S. Army’s helicopters but without providing details on other operators.
