[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] The New Apache Helicopters Deployed to USFK

On the 17th, the 5-17th Aviation Regiment, an Apache attack helicopter unit, held its activation ceremony at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. (Photo by Defense Daily)

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The US Forces Korea (USFK) has established an Apache attack helicopter unit ahead of the South Korea-US summit. It is unusual for the USFK to publicly announce the establishment of a unit, which is interpreted as a warning message to North Korea.

According to military officials on the 18th, the ROK-US Combined Division held a ceremony for the establishment of the 5-17 Air Cavalry Squadron, composed of Apache attack helicopters, at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province the day before.

Until now, the ROK-US Combined Division had one Apache battalion permanently stationed and another Apache battalion rotated every nine months. However, the US Department of Defense announced the results of the first "Global Posture Review (GPR)" after President Biden's inauguration in November last year, deciding to permanently station the previously rotational Apache attack helicopter battalion on the Korean Peninsula. This means that two Apache battalions will be permanently stationed on the Korean Peninsula going forward. Notably, the 48 Apache attack helicopters deployed to the USFK are the first deployment of the new model Apache overseas.

The newly established unit operates the latest model, the ‘AH-64E v6’ Apache attack helicopter. The new Apache Guardian, manufactured by Boeing, weighs 10.1 tons, has a top speed of 365 km/h, and a combat radius of 480 km. The new Apache is equipped with the ‘Cognitive Decision Aiding System (CDAS),’ which helps detect enemy tank movements and assists in attack decisions. It can also be armed with a 30mm cannon capable of destroying light tanks, 16 Hellfire anti-tank missiles, and 76 rocket rounds.

The new Apache helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) assigned to their missions were also revealed. On the 11th, the US Army Pacific Command posted on its website images of Apache helicopters and the ‘killer drone’ Gray Eagle (MQ-1C) of the US 2nd Infantry Division stationed at the Pyeongtaek base in Gyeonggi Province. The simultaneous public disclosure of the deployment status of both Apache and Gray Eagle by the US military is unusual and is due to their joint operation capability (Manned-Unmanned Teaming, MUM-T).

The new Apache helicopters can receive frontline information from the Gray Eagle and, if necessary, attack enemy commanders or tanks using Hellfire missiles mounted on the Gray Eagle. The Gray Eagle is equipped with Hellfire missiles and Viper Strike (GBU-44/B) precision-guided bombs and can fly for over 30 hours. It is known that 12 Gray Eagle unmanned attack drones are deployed at the USFK Gunsan base.