Apache attack helicopters are like flying dinosaurs. They’re ugly, misshapen, and deadly as hell. Here are 16 photos of this awesome airframe in action:
1. Armed Apaches conduct a reconnaissance flight to look for RPGs and mortars in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2007.
2. Troops preparing for deployment conduct an exercise with the helicopter at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany.
3. A U.S. Army Apache flies over the desert near Mosul, Iraq.
4. A U.S. Army captain rides on the outside of an AH-64 during an extraction exercise. (This method is used to rescue downed aircrews.)
5. The first AH-64E deployed to Hawaii is given a traditional Hawaiian blessing before the Rim of the Pacific exercise in 2014.
6. An Apache flies from the HMS Ocean, an amphibious assault ship of the British Navy.
7. A British Army Air Corps AH-64D helicopter fires on insurgents in Afghanistan in 2007.
8. An Apache attack helicopter takes off from Balad Air Base, Iraq for a mission.
9. British Royal Marines ride out of an insurgent-held compound on the helicopter after rescuing a wounded marine trapped there.
READ MORE: That time 4 Royal Marines strapped themselves to attack helicopters and rode into a Taliban compound
10. An Apache flies escort as soldiers move on Fallujah, Iraq.
10. A helicopter undergoes maintenance on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan as the sun sets.
11. An Apache fires during an exercise with a Georgia National Guard infantry brigade.
12. At the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, an AH-64D hovers over friendly troops.
13. One of the attack helicopters prepares to depart a base in Afghanistan for a security and reconnaissance mission.
14. An aircrew engages targets during an exercise at Fort Irwin, California’s National Training Center.
15. An AH-64D flies in front of the sun at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany.
16. An Apache at rest will remain at rest until it’s time to kill something.
