Missile APACHE

The APACHE program originated from a concept developed in the 1980s for an unpowered glide weapon. It was soon determined that such a design would lack the necessary range to allow the launch aircraft to stand off from heavily defended airfields. Consequently, the project evolved to incorporate a turbojet engine, transforming the weapon into a powered cruise missile. A formal development contract was established in 1989, leading to the first deliveries to the French military between 2001 and 2004. This missile subsequently served as the basis for the development of the SCALP-EG / Storm Shadow cruise missile.

Designed as a specialized runway-denial weapon, the APACHE is a subsonic cruise missile notable for its stealth characteristics, which enable it to penetrate dense enemy air defense networks. Its guidance system combines inertial navigation and GPS for the mid-course phase, with a terminal millimetric radar used to identify the target runway and trigger payload release. The missile does not carry a unitary warhead; instead, it dispenses a payload of ten KRISS (Kill Runway Improved Sub-System) submunitions. Each submunition is a penetrating charge designed to create craters on runways. They also feature delayed fuzing, which can be set for several hours, significantly complicating and hampering repair efforts on the airfield.

The APACHE was qualified for deployment on the Mirage 2000 and Rafale combat aircraft of the French Air Force. Its operational doctrine centered on the neutralization of enemy airfields to establish air superiority, a mission that would have required coordinated strikes with multiple missiles to render a single runway unusable. The missile was delivered to the French armed forces in the early 2000s but was ultimately withdrawn from active service and placed in storage by 2009 without ever being used in combat. A formal program to dismantle the stockpile was undertaken between 2014 and 2019.