The AH-64 was first "blooded" in combat during Operation Just Cause in Panama in December 1989. The warbirds provided fire support for an assault on the Comandancia building of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega's Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF).
Originally built by Hughes Helicopters (now known as MD Helicopters) and currently manufactured by Boeing, the AH-64 Apache helicopter made her maiden flight in September 1975 but didn’t actually enter into operational status with the U.S. Army until April 1986. She was worth the wait.