DLA helping Army manage Apache inventory

The AH-64 Apache has served as the U.S. Army's mainstay attack helicopter since the mid-80s. Roughly 3,000 Apache aircraft have shipped to U.S. and partner nation militaries, and the platform is evolving to conduct counter-drone warfare while the Army envisions integrating it with unmanned systems and electronic warfare units as a composite package, with a nearly $4.7 billion order for new builds awarded in late 2025.

But the aircraft has been around for more than 40 years, and the service recently drew up plans to divest itself of a yet-to-be-determined number of aging AH-64s. Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services Army Service Liaison Brice McMinn serves as a conduit between the agency's reverse logistics arm and Army logistics leadership. As the service's program office responsible for AH-64s began formulating a plan to cannibalize valuable components and potentially dispose of several dozen Apache airframes, McMinn provided a DLA property disposal perspective and took part in regular meetings to answer any divestment regulation questions.

Once the Army was ready to turn over the first AH-64 from an Alabama location, McMinn said personnel from the DLA Disposition Services field site at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida - Area Manager Hunter Higgins and Property Disposal Specialist Michael Hambrick - stepped in to educate Fort Rucker-based Army logisticians on the proper property turn in procedures.

Hambrick conducted an initial site visit to evaluate the airframe in December and help the turn-in unit navigate the Army's local property disposal procedures. Once the property was off the Army's books, DLA quickly found another use for the helicopter.

DLA has a storied history of supporting ranges with realistic hard targets while helping the services avoid additional disposal costs associated with full demilitarization. Under War Department regulation, the mutilation of tanks, aircraft, and armored troop carriers by range bombs and strafing fire is considered sufficient for demilitarization-required vehicles and weaponry. Major U.S. military ranges, both on land and at sea, rely on DLA equipment for range targeting, including the Air Force's Nevada Test and Training Range and the Army's National Training Center in California and Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana.

This time, Hambrick said DLA's Eglin team found an enthusiastic recipient in the Air Force 598th Range Squadron that manages Avon Park Air Force Range in Florida, a frequent hard target destination.

"The generosity of DLA Disposition Services providing a used Army Apache fuselage for use as one of our range targets provides the numerous aircrew that train here a realistic representation of the kind of targets they can expect to employ their weapons against in a combat environment, instead of having to imagine something as general as a CONEX container as some sort of tactical target," said 598th Range Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Albert Chang. "Every bit of realism the warfighter gets here at APAFR gets them better prepared for the warzone."