U.A.E. to buy 17 new, refurbished Apache AH-64E helicopters

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Boeing has been tapped by the U.S. Army to provide the United Arab Emirates with 17 Apache AH-64E aircraft, according to a new $242 million foreign military sales contract.

The deal, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, is for the remanufacture of eight of the helicopters, as well as nine new-build aircraft.

Work on the contract will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., and is expected to be finished by Feb. 28, 2023.

Fiscal 2010 foreign military sales funds in the full amount of the contract have been obligated at the time of award.

The new contract modification comes under a contract first awarded in March 2016, which carries a potential $7.3 billion total value.

The Boeing made AH-64E Apache is a four-blade rotary-wing aircraft that is typically armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods.

The U.A.E. also inked a deal with the U.S. government in December 2016 for 28 more remanufactured Apache helicopters. That deal included sensors, radars, missile warning systems, GPS systems and other supporting equipment at a total value of $3.5 billion.