Boeing wins U.S. Army helicopter deal worth $1.5 billion

Boeing Co. on Thursday said it had won a U.S. Army contract valued at about $1.5 billion to remanufacture 117 AH-64D Apache helicopters to the new AH-64E model.

The agreement brings the total number of AH-64E model Apaches under contract for the Army to 290, with an additional 400 helicopters likely to be ordered in coming years.

The agreement modifies an existing contact between Boeing and the Army for production of a fifth and sixth batch of Apache helicopters, the company said in a statement.

Under the agreement, it said, the Army will return 117 AH-64D Apaches to Boeing’s Mesa, Arizona, production center to be remanufactured into the AH-64E configuration. The Army followed a similar model when the AH-64A Apaches were remanufactured into AH-64Ds.