... If I am not mistaken the total is eight...Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia plans to buy eight units of AH-64 Apache helicopter from the US, deputy minister of defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said here on Thursday.
"If I am not mistaken the total is eight," he said.
He said the procurement was done not because the US had made an offer to the government. "It was done to meet Indonesia's needs. They did not offer them but it was us who sought them," he said.
He said however that no agreement had been reached with regard to the purchase plan.
AH-64 Apache is a helicopter with four-blade propellers, two engines and three landing wheels. Singaporean Army is the only military in ASEAN who has AH-64D Long Bow, the most sophisticated type of this Apache.
The helicopter is also categorized as an assault aircraft manned by two crew. Apache has been developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopter for the US army to replace AH-1 Cobra.
It first made a debut on October 1, 1975. AH-64 has a sensory capability to take over targets and a night vision system.
The weapons attached in the aircraft are chain gun M230 30mm placed between main landing wheels.
AH-64 Apache is also completed with a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire and Hydra 70 rocket pods. (R018)
Editor: Ade P Marboen
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