Indian Army says Apache deliveries expected in 2025

The Indian Army intends to deploy its AH-64E helicopters in combined operations with the Indian Air Force's 22 in-service AH-64E helicopters (one of which is pictured above). (Indian Air Force)

The Indian Army's delayed procurement of six Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters on contract is gaining traction with the service now expecting the helicopters to be delivered in 2025.

An Indian Army spokesperson told Janes on 8 July that the first batch of helicopters could be delivered in July 2025. The spokesperson added, however, that the army did not have a specific timeline for when the deliveries would take place.

The army ordered the six helicopters in February 2020. The first batch of helicopters was initially scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2024. Janes previously reported that the helicopters will be delivered in two batches of three aircraft each.

However, deliveries became delayed even though the assembly of the airframes appeared to be on track in 2023. In January 2023 Boeing announced that its Indian partner, Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL), had delivered the first Indian Army AH-64E fuselage. TBAL produced the fuselage at its facility in Hyderabad in southern India. In August 2023, Boeing added that it was starting production of the Indian Army Apache at its Mesa, Arizona facility.

Neither the Indian Army nor Boeing has officially specified why deliveries of the platforms have become protracted. A Boeing spokesperson told Janes in July 2025 that the company remains “closely engaged with the US government and the Indian Army, and continues working to execute our contract as swiftly as possible to meet the Indian Army's fleet requirements”.