Apache helicopters: India charts its own course amid Korean retreat

While South Korea’s National Assembly effectively cancelled its $2.2 billion plan to acquire 36 additional AH-64E Apache helicopters — citing budgetary concerns and vulnerabilities highlighted by the Ukraine conflict, India is moving in the opposite direction. The Indian Army is set to receive its first set of AH-64Es this July, with three of six ordered helicopters expected imminently and the rest arriving by year’s end.

South Korea’s decision was guided by shifting military doctrines and fiscal restraint. Lawmaker Yu Yong-weon of the People Power Party, speaking to The Korea Times, emphasised the growing obsolescence of manned rotary platforms in modern warfare due to their exposure to low-cost missile and drone threats, as seen in Ukraine. However, while Seoul steps away from legacy systems, India appears to be doubling down though not in contradiction, but in complementary alignment with emerging military thinking.

Indian perspective

Indian military planners have consistently maintained that the country’s security dynamics differ significantly from those of East Asia. Positioned between two nuclear-armed adversaries and facing active border challenges, India requires battlefield tools capable of immediate response, tactical flexibility and high survivability. This context supports the Apache’s relevance.

Unlike South Korea, which is moving towards unmanned systems following the US Army’s cancellation of its next-generation helicopter programme as cited in The Korea Times, India is pursuing a two-pronged modernisation strategy: investing in unmanned systems while also reinforcing manned attack capabilities. As News18 points out, these Apache helicopters will be deployed along the India-Pakistan border — an area where rapid-response capability and precision air support are critical to deterrence and readiness.

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Apache: Proven, adaptable and future-ready

According to information published by Boeing, the AH-64E Apache remains the world’s most dominant and operationally proven attack helicopter. Its survivability, strike precision and modular adaptability allow it to integrate with next-generation technologies. Manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), operational on the Apache for more than a decade, enables pilots to command autonomous systems in real-time, extending reach and battlefield awareness.

This hybrid model aligns well with India’s evolving military doctrine, which does not treat unmanned systems as a replacement for manned platforms, but rather as force multipliers. In this context, the Apache functions not as an outdated legacy asset, but as a “quarterback” on the battlefield — coordinating drone inputs, executing precision strikes and adapting to real-time tactical changes, as described in Boeing’s defence briefings.

Lessons from Ukraine and beyond

While Korea’s defence leaders cite the vulnerability of helicopters in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India views the same conflict with a nuanced lens. Different theatres require different tools. The Apache’s battlefield utility was recently demonstrated in US-Saudi drills, where it was used to neutralise drones using Hellfire missiles expanding its mission set to include counter-UAS (unmanned aerial system) roles.

Further, the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Systems Office (JCO) in the US recently conducted successful drone swarm countermeasures using Apache-linked systems. As reported by Boeing, the US Army’s adoption of a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) enables the rapid integration of emerging technologies—like launched effects (LEs) and drone defence modules — directly onto existing Apache airframes.

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This means that India’s investment is not just in a platform, but in a future-proof ecosystem of capabilities that will evolve with the battlefield.

Cost-efficiency in Indian context

South Korea’s programme faced resistance also due to the sharply increased cost of AH-64Es — 66 per cent higher than previous contracts, per The Korea Times. But India’s deal, signed in 2020 for approximately $600 million for six helicopters, was secured before this inflation spike. The Indian Air Force already operates 22 Apache helicopters, acquired via a 2015 deal, with full operational readiness achieved in close air support roles.

By extending this platform to the army, a move that allows for independent operations and inter-service synergy, India is leveraging existing logistical infrastructure and pilot training pipelines, reducing the long-term cost burden. This integration provides a strategic depth that unmanned systems alone cannot offer.

A calculated divergence

India’s decision to proceed with Apache induction, even as Seoul pivots to drones, is not a rejection of modernisation. Rather, it is a tailored response to its own strategic imperatives. As Boeing noted, drones alone cannot replicate the full spectrum of Apache capabilities, especially in high-intensity, unpredictable conflicts. India’s operational needs emphasise a blend of human adaptability with automated reach and reconnaissance.

Indeed, as Boeing demonstrated through its upcoming plans to integrate “launched effects” and drone command capabilities directly into Apache cockpits, the aircraft is being repositioned not just as a weapon, but as a command-and-control platform in multi-domain operations.

India’s Apache bet is future-focussed

South Korea’s decision to drop its Apache acquisition highlights the fluidity of global defence priorities. Yet India’s move to induct its fleet at this moment represents more than just continuity, it signals strategic foresight. The Indian Army’s Apache helicopters, arriving now, are not legacy holdovers but forward, compatible tools ready for hybrid warfare.

As the world experiments with unmanned platforms, India is not resisting the tide but steering carefully within it — leveraging proven systems, maximising interoperability, and preparing for the hybrid battles of tomorrow. In this context, the Apache is less a symbol of the past and more a key to the future.