A New Mission for One of the Army’s Most Iconic Aircraft
For decades, the AH-64 Apache was built to destroy tanks and provide close support to troops on the ground. Now the Army is giving it a mission few expected: hunting drones.
The rise of drone swarms in Ukraine, the Red Sea, and across the Middle East has pushed every service to rethink air defense. Fixed systems like Patriot, Avenger, and IFPC provide critical coverage, but they can’t be everywhere. The Army’s own analysis, echoed through congressional testimony and the Department of Defense’s 2024 Strategy for Countering Unmanned Systems, shows a widening gap: drones move faster than ground air-defense units can reposition.
To close that gap, the Army is turning to a platform it already trusts, the AH-64E Version 6 Apache, and shifting it into a mobile counter-UAS role.
“We know drones are now a constant part of the battlefield,” Army aviation officials have said publicly during 2024–2025 modernization briefings. “This requires mobile, layered defenses that can move with maneuver forces.”
That’s the new logic behind the Apache’s transformation.
Proving Apaches Can Kill Drones With Weapons They Already Have
The Army began formally evaluating Apache counter-UAS performance in a series of 2024–2025 live-fire events, including a major demonstration at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina. AH-64E helicopters from the South Carolina Army National Guard served as the primary shooters.
According to the Army’s official release from PEO Aviation and DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center, the aircraft successfully engaged multiple unmanned aircraft using only existing Apache weapons and sensors. No experimental missiles, no classified pods, no special prototypes.
Confirmed Army capabilities displayed in the event included:
- Laser-guided rockets (APKWS) for small, fast targets
- Hellfire and JAGM missiles for medium UAS threats
- 30mm cannon fire for close-range intercepts
- Cooperative lasing with ground teams and other aircraft
- Longbow radar and M-TADS/PNVS sensors to track drones even in poor visibility
Army officials said the demonstration showed that the Apache “can extend air-defense coverage and complement ground-based systems,” especially during high-tempo operations where mobile units need protection immediately rather than waiting for SHORAD units to reposition.
Why the Army Needs a Mobile Drone Killer That Can Move With Troops
Drone warfare has changed faster than air defense programs can evolve. The DoD’s 2024 unmanned-systems strategy notes the same problem militaries worldwide are experiencing: drones are cheap, fast to field, and getting smarter each year. They reduce warning time and overwhelm fixed radars.
Congressional Research Service reports from 2024 and 2025 add another concern: U.S. air defense units are still too few and often tied to defending fixed assets, bases, ports, logistics hubs, not every convoy or frontline element.
That leaves gaps. And gaps are where drones win. A helicopter, however, can move wherever the threat appears.
Apache advantages the Army now wants to exploit:
- Speed: The AH-64E can quickly reposition to cover gaps, especially during fast maneuvers.
- Altitude: It can see over tree lines, ridges, and urban terrain that hide drones from ground radars.
- Sensors: The Longbow radar and M-TADS system can track small objects that ground units may not see.
- Networking: Link 16 integration allows Apaches to receive drone tracks from ground sensors, other aircraft, or nearby units.
- Firepower: Multiple weapon options mean they can respond to different drone sizes without waiting for specialized air-defense assets.
In short, the Apache becomes the Army’s first mobile air-defense truck, a gunship that can sprint to protect units when drones suddenly appear.
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, demonstrate the capabilities of the AH-64 Apache helicopters in Lielvarde Air Base, Latvia, May 2, 2025. The CAB provides essential air support, executing reconnaissance, attack and medical evacuation missions to enhance ground forces' effectiveness. (U.S. Army video by Sgt. Charlie Duke)
Training Shifts: Crews Are Learning a New Mission Set
The Army isn’t treating this as a one time demonstration. Apache units are already receiving new training guidance based on TRADOC, the Air Defense Artillery School, and Army Aviation Center of Excellence recommendations.
According to publicly available Army training updates:
- Counter-UAS tasks are being added to unit Mission Essential Task Lists.
- Simulator scenarios now include drone threats integrated into attack, escort, and reconnaissance missions.
- New gunnery tables incorporate aerial targets and small UAS engagements, not just tanks or ground vehicles.
- Aviation, air defense, and electronic warfare units are training together more often to build unified response tactics.
That shift affects everyone, from pilots to maintainers to ground commanders who request Apache support.
Instead of calling Apaches only when a patrol needs close air support, units may soon request an Apache presence when they expect drone activity or when air-defense units are stretched thin.
What This Means for Soldiers and Units on the Ground
For troops who operate in areas where drones are a constant threat, the Apache’s new role could change how missions are planned and executed.
Here’s what units may start seeing:
- Apaches providing overwatch during drone-heavy operations, not just during kinetic contact with ground enemies.
- Faster response times to sudden drone contacts, especially on long convoys or during dispersed operations.
- More requests for air-ground coordination, since many drone kills rely on shared sensor data and laser designation.
- Increased integration with M-SHORAD Strykers, as Apaches backfill gaps during movement or large-scale exercises.
- More flight hours dedicated to protective missions, not just offensive attack profiles.
While the Apache will remain a premier attack helicopter, the Army’s leadership has acknowledged that drone threats require platforms with mobility, sensors, and the ability to react instantly. The AH-64E fits that need better than any current ground-based asset.
The Road Ahead
The Army’s counter-UAS modernization plan includes new radars, directed-energy systems, upgraded SHORAD platforms, and the IFPC program, but those systems will take years to field across the entire force.
The Apache, by contrast, is already here. It has the sensors, the weapons, the network links, and the crews. All the Army needed was a mission shift.
As drone swarms grow more common on global battlefields, the service is betting that turning the Apache into a drone-killing gunship will give maneuver units the protection they’ve lacked and buy time until next-generation air defense systems arrive.
The transformation of the AH-64E isn’t about replacing its historic role. It’s about keeping it relevant in a world where the next threat won’t roll on tracks, it’ll fly.
Sources
U.S. Army / DoD Primary Sources
• PEO Aviation – Apache Counter-UAS Demonstration Release (MCAS New River)
• DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center – Test & Evaluation Notes
• U.S. Army AH-64E Version 6 Fact Sheet
• Department of Defense – 2024 Strategy for Countering Unmanned Systems
• U.S. Army TRADOC / ADA School – Mobile SHORAD & Layered Defense Doctrine
• U.S. Army DOT&E Annual Report (2023–2024) – Counter-UAS assessments
• Army Futures Command – Counter-UAS modernization briefings (AUSA 2024–2025)
• Congressional Research Service – Counter-UAS: Background and Issues for Congress (2024 & 2025 updates)
