In the early 1970’s the US Army wanted a replacement for the AH-1 Cobra so companies submitted proposals. In July 1973 the list was shortened to Hughes and Bell with each building a prototype in 1975. The Army selected the Hughes helicopter because its landing gear was more stable and the main rotor was more damage tolerant. In 1981 3 pre-production AH-64As were given to the Army for testing and named Apache. The Apache went into production in 1982 and has evolved into one of the deadly machines over the battle field.
In 2013 an airshow was held in Cosford, England where along with numerous aircraft, a static and aerial display of the AH1 Apache was carried out by ZJ171 from the 662 Squadron. The crew of ZJ171 was Staff Sergeant Jamie Boakes and Captain Harry Wales (Prince Harry) as he is affectionately referred to. ZJ171 is WAH #6, the first WAH-64 Apache delivered to British Army at GKN Westland Helicopters at its Yeovil facility. In 2007/2008 Captain Wales spent 10 months on the front lines in Afghanistan.