The US Army’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (12th CAB) has used the AH-64E Apache in a counter-drone role during an exercise in Germany, in what the unit described as a first for the European theater.
In a release published on March 19, 2026, the brigade said that soldiers from the 2-159th Attack Battalion had used the helicopter’s existing weapons to engage and destroy drones in air-to-air engagements during Operation Skyfall at the Grafenwoehr Training Area.
According to the brigade, the exercise was designed to support the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative and to show how attack helicopters could contribute to counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) missions, alongside more traditional air defense assets. The US Army noted that the Apache’s speed and mobility make it suited to intercepting aerial threats that might evade fixed-wing aircraft or ground-based defenses in some scenarios.
Major Daniel Murphy, operations officer for the 2-159th Attack Battalion, said that the mission remains new territory for many crews.
“Most pilots in our unit and across the Army have never engaged in air-to-air with the Apache, so this is a new engagement profile for us that we have to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures for,” Murphy said in the release.
Helicopters in the drone age
The Germany exercise is not the first time the Apache has been presented as a potential drone hunter. In September 2025, a US Army live-fire demonstration took place in South Carolina, in which AH-64E crews detected, tracked and destroyed drones using a mix of weapons, including missiles, guided rockets and 30mm cannon fire. That earlier test was framed as evidence that the Apache could offer a more flexible (and potentially more economical) response to some drone threats than relying exclusively on high-end air defense systems or fighter aircraft.
That logic has become increasingly relevant as militaries look for layered ways to counter drones and loitering munitions. Small and relatively cheap unmanned aircraft can be difficult to engage efficiently with fast jets or expensive interceptors, especially when they fly low and slow. In that context, the Apache’s flight envelope and onboard gun make it an attractive candidate for at least part of the C-UAS mission set.
There is also already some operational evidence behind the concept. In November 2024, an Israeli AH-64 Apache shot down a kamikaze drone over northern Israel with its M230 chain gun after the aircraft crossed into Israeli airspace from Lebanon.
In January 2026, French Army aviation leaders argued the war in Ukraine is changing how helicopters are used, rather than making them obsolete. They pointed to the continued relevance of helicopters for certain missions and noted that Ukraine had used them at night as mobile shooters against low-flying Shahed-type threats.
