February 18, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Apache helicopters downed drones in air-to-air combat with 30mm proximity ammo
Gunship pilots test-fired APEX munitions, designed to pulverize targets with shrapnel.
UnmannedBy Zita Ballinger Fletcher Feb 18, 2026, 11:32 AMA U.S. Army AH-64D Apache helicopter hovers during a NATO exercise in Orzysz, northwestern Poland, on Sept. 17, 2025.
(Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images)HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — The U.S. Army’s Apache attack helicopter AH-64 broke new ground by firing 30mm proximity ammunition at drones in air-to-air combat during a December exercise in Yuma, Arizona, according to the service.The live fire test saw Apache pilots engage drones flying on ranges at Yuma Proving Ground using the 30x113mm XM1225 Aviation Proximity Explosive, called APEX.The APEX rounds have proximity fuzes that cause them to detonate when they close in on a target, releasing a wide radius of blast fragments.The 30mm rounds are designed to be fired at targets requiring precision to hit, such as small boats, drones and enemy combatants, without requiring changes to the Apache’s existing weapon system.The fragments excelled at destroying drones in flight, the service has stated, in addition to being effective against ground targets.“The XM1225’s proximity fuze has the potential to increase soft-skinned ground and aerial target vulnerability, providing the Attack [Division] community an additional capability so long as those targets are susceptible to detection, classification, and tracking,” Maj. Vincent Franchino, test pilot and Attack Division chief at Redstone Test Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said in a statement.The APEX technology was developed in-house by the U.S.