Friday, January 11, 2013

Army Nicknames AH-64E 'Guardian' -- Shoulda Been 'Monster'

Army Nicknames AH-64E 'Guardian' -- Shoulda Been 'Monster'

Last fall, the service redesignated the AH-64D Apache Longbow Block III, calling it instead the AH-64E Apache, aka AH-64 Echo, in recognition of its greatly increased capability compared to the AH-64D Block II. Now comes an Army news release revealing that the Apache Project Office has given the Echo model a nickname as well: "Guardian."

"Guardian," the release explains, was suggested by Gina Gill, a logistics management specialist at the Army Aviation and Missile Command Logistics Center at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., who won a "name the new Apache" contest. "Although the Apache is known as the deadliest helicopter, it is much more," Gill wrote. "The Apache functions as a safeguard for our soldiers on the ground. It seeks and eliminates threats that would otherwise be undetectable and/or indestructible, allowing our troops to complete their missions. The Apache is our soldiers' guardian in the sky."