Boeing delivered the first Extended Block II AH-64D Apache Longbow to the U.S. Army during a ceremony at the company's Mesa, Ariz., Apache production facility.

Boeing is remanufacturing 96 A-model Apaches for the U.S. Army under the extended Block II contract. The $1.149 billion contract was signed in January 2007 and also included 30 helicopters for the Foreign Military Sales contract with the United Arab Emirates to upgrade its 30 AH-64A.

This contract will bring the total of rebuild AH-64D in U.S. Army service to 597 as 501 remanufactured AH-64D Apache Longbows were produced between 1997 and 2006 under two five-year, multi-year contracts. Boeing is also producing new-build AH-64D Apache Longbows for the U.S. Army, 27 of which were ordered as wartime attrition replacements.

Meanwhile Boeing continues working toward delivery of the Block III Apaches beginning in 2011. Currently in the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, production is scheduled for 2010. Block III will provide the AH-64D with network-centric capabilities, improved aircraft flight performance and reduced operations and support costs.