Army seeking $45 million to put Israeli missiles on Apache

The Army is asking for $45 million in fiscal year 2021 for the Long Range Precision Munition, a new-start missile procurement program for use on the AH-64 Apache helicopter.

The service plans to field 205 of Rafael's Spike Non-Line-of-Sight missiles on the attack helicopters in FY-21.

Brig. Gen. Wally Rugen, director of the future vertical lift cross-functional team, said in January the Army Requirements Oversight Council had approved the decision to field the Israeli missiles as an interim solution.

The LRPM "will provide Army aviation with improved and longer range weapons, sub-systems and munitions that can rapidly respond in a combat environment improving the survivability of the warfighters and weapon systems in an anti-access/area denial and positioning, navigation and timing denied environment," according to the service's budget justification documents.

Army spokeswoman Sarah Tate told Inside Defense in a statement in January the Army is drafting a capability development document for a permanent system on the Apache.