The pilots who fly Apache helicopters for the Army are fully committed to their mission of monitoring and protecting ground forces. But in the heart of every Apache pilot lies a secret desire: to find air-to-air targets and blow them out of the sky.
This week, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense released video of their own AH-64 fighter jets engaging and shooting down Iranian Shaheed drones that they said were flying towards targets in the country. In recent months, the Israeli Army has also used AH-64s to attack Iranian drones in flight.
“As Apache pilots, we love blowing things up, and the idea that we could do air-to-air flight was pretty amazing,” Don Bentley said. He has flown Apaches in the Army for 10 years, including flying with the 4th Infantry Division in Afghanistan, and is now writing military novels.
Bentley and another long-serving Apache pilot told Task & Purpose that the UAE’s involvement shows how the 40-year-old helicopter has a place in the new world of drone warfare.
Like everyone else, there are many of them.
Like everyone else…
Video shows UAE air defenses intercepting and destroying an Iranian drone trying to… pic.twitter.com/vvHmZkcBri
— Disclaimer | MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 8, 2026
Emily Hills enlisted as a truck mechanic but retired in 2018 after 10 years as a warrant officer flying helicopters, including combat deployments and as a test pilot.
“I love the Apache. She’s a maintenance pilot’s worst nightmare, but I love her. So seeing that fact counts [engagement] It’s amazing,” Hills said. “I always joke, you know, the reason we sell so many planes is we hope there will be an Apache vs. Apache dog fight one day. We obviously don’t really want this, but it’s still nice to see. “
Air tactics designed for ground use
Both pilots agreed the videos looked authentic, with the symbols on the screen matching the Apache’s targeting and flight systems, and the indications of tactics and weapons matching their own experiences.
The engagement appeared to show Apache helicopters tracking and firing at Iranian Shaheed drones, which are widely used in the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Not surprisingly, Bentley said, the Apache appears to be using a 30mm M230 chain gun, which rotates under the helicopter’s nose, in a tactic similar to ground engagements.
“What you see in the video is the 30 mm cannon that the Apache has,” Bentley said. “It’s not designed for air-to-air engagements. It actually fires much more slowly than a fighter jet. So, for example, a fighter’s cannon can fire 3,000 rounds a minute, whereas an Apache’s cannon fires only 600 rounds. Most of them look like 10-round bursts, and that’s what the cannon is designed to do, to shoot armor and other things.”
An AH-64 Apache helicopter assigned to Task Force Nighthawk flies over a landing zone during aviation operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Nov. 3, 2025. Army photo by Spc. Donald Kennedy.
Bentley noted that the Apache helicopters do not fire tracer rounds because the guns are targeted with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system that allows weapons officials to see the heat signature of each round.
“The gunner is in FLIR mode, so [the bullets] “It looks black, but it’s actually the heat from the bullet,” Bentley said. “Tracer rounds are used in higher-rate machine guns where you ‘walk in’ the bullet. With the Apache, all you do is fire a selected number of bullets and then adjust the bullets for impact. So you’re not firing a continuous stream, like you’re walking in tracer rounds.”
Although it does not appear to have been used in this incident, the United States has been testing airburst munitions specifically designed to neutralize drones.
“You can look at the video and see a couple of shots where you can see the bullets go by, but they don’t have an air blast,” Bentley said. “They went right over the target. So I think they were regular Apache bullets.”
Hard flight to hit the ball easily
Hills noted that American Apache pilots preferred short-range shooting in the cities of Iraq and Afghanistan.
“If you’re shooting in a populated area, conserving ammunition is important to cause collateral damage,” she said. “So I think it was a very skilled professional engagement.”
Hills noted that while the front-seat pilot is aiming the gun, the back-seat pilot may be pushing the helicopter at near top speed to stay in the best firing position. She also noted that watching the battle at full throttle reminded her of the maintenance troops who keep the helicopter’s multiple systems functioning properly.
“The backseat does a great job of keeping the weapon firing platform level, that’s the job of the backseat,” she said. “I know the aircraft is very well maintained and that gun can shoot nails, especially in the desert, it’s hard to get it to do that. You know, the M230 is a fickle girl.”
Hills also wanted to know if the mechanics were actually Americans, contract workers.
“A lot of the people I was in the military with are out,” she said. “So it still makes me very proud of them because they’re still trying, still fighting.”
Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters have supported U.S. forces in countless battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Dan McClinton.
The UAE has been flying Apache helicopters for nearly three decades and purchased more than 30 of the latest version in 2024.
“I trained and went to school with Emirati pilots,” Hills said. “They were on our flight class when I was going through it.”
The sheer novelty of seeing the Apache kill air-to-air reminded both pilots that the helicopter was originally conceived to be able to carry Stinger missiles, a weapon designed to shoot down fighter jets. Early Apache models even had ignition switches for the air-to-air system on the flight controls.
“It was envisioned that the two Apache wing stores would have hard points on the ends where you could mount the stinger,” Bentley said. “I’ve never used it in 10 years of flying.”