Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) AH-64D Longbow Apaches now deployed to Iraq are equipped with a new self-protection system supplied by Denmark's Terma A/S. In February the RNLAF issued a quick reaction contract for the integration of a new self-defense fit to be ready for deployment in four months. In response, Terma delivered the Apache Modular Aircraft Survivability Equipment (AMASE)—an advanced electronic warfare (EW) system to defeat infra-red guided missile threats. AMASE incorporates Terma's AN/ALQ-213(V) EW management system with missile launch warners and flare dispensers in a pod carried on the Apache's stub wingtips. Other similar TERMA-developed systems are already flying on RNLAF Cougar and Chinook helicopters. In May the Dutch authorities announced that six AH-64Ds would be deployed to al-Muthanna province in Iraq to support the Dutch troop component there. The helicopters moved to Iraq in June.
