Posted on 06/10/2011 9:27:55 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Taiwan buys 30 AH-64 Apaches By Stephen Trimble
Taiwan will receive 30 Boeing AH-64 Block III Apache helicopters under a new contract signed with the US government, a US Army official announced on 10 June.
The order marks the latest show of US military support to Taiwan despite deep objections by China, and confirms the first international customer for the AH-64 Block III.
Col Shane Openshaw, the army's AH-64 project manager, said Taiwan's first new-build helicopter will enter production in October, with the rest of the aircraft sprinkled through Boeing's production programme.
©RAF
The AH-64 Block III deal is known in Taiwan as a project code-named Sky Eagle.
The Block III programme upgrades the engine and transmission system on the AH-64, restoring speed and lift performance lost after two decades of service added weight to the original airframes.
The Block III variant also introduces new software and connectivity, allowing the pilots to simultaneously control unmanned air vehicles and their payloads.
The US Army is programmed to receive a fleet of 690 AH-64 Block IIIs over the next 15 years, with all but 56 aircraft remanufactured from previous models. The remainder will be new-build aircraft to replace helicopters lost in combat operations over the last decade.
That will hold the Chicoms off maybe 5 minutes. Taiwan better be prepaing because this country isn’t going to defend them against our financial masters,
Amen!
Apaches won’t exactly be used to fly to the mainland and attack China. If China ever negotiated a unification, the Apaches would fall into their hands. Still not a problem for China.
They would only be useful if the Chinese were uncool enough to forcibly invade Taiwan.
If China is angry, we can only come to one conclusion about their intent,,,
Keep selling weapons to Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan..in the end, the 2 biggest bullies in the classroom just can’t stare at each other. Over time, they’ll have to duke it out.
Give them one fully functional Ohio class sub, loaded to the gills.
I’m going to be more concerned if China starts building a fleet of aircraft carriers. For the moment it is just one.
I hear ya, but my guess is that the Chicoms are going to wear us down in a war of attrition. They’ll keep building, while we contract. I feel they’ll have administrative control pretty much all of the western pacific within 20 years.
I hear ya, but my guess is that the Chicoms are going to wear us down in a war of attrition. They’ll keep building, while we contract. I feel they’ll have administrative control pretty much all of the western pacific within 20 years.
Unless they send a complete crew and maintenance unit with it it would do one short cruise and then set tied up in Kaohsiung harbor gathering moss.
yitbos
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