U.S. Army Conducts New Large-Scale Pacific Combat Tactics Test with Apache Helicopters in Hawaii
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Apache crews from the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, conducted a multiship air assault over Hawaii as part of JPMRC 26-01, a training event built for Indo-Pacific conflict scenarios. The drills show how the Army is using the islands as a real-world lab for dispersed combat, sustainment, and command across contested terrain.
On November 15, 2025, AH-64 Apache helicopters from the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment lifted off from Wheeler Army Airfield over the Hawaiian island chain, not for a routine gunnery range, but as part of a large-scale combat rehearsal tailored to the Indo-Pacific, as reported by DVIDS on December 1, 2025. The multiship air assault operation formed one of the aviation pillars of Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center rotation 26-01, a combat training event designed to mirror the complexity of future wars in jungle and archipelagic environments. Far from being a distant training backdrop, Hawaii is emerging as a central proving ground where the U.S. Army tests how it will fight, sustain and command forces across contested seas and dense terrain. By integrating Apache units into this scenario, the Army is turning familiar attack helicopters into instruments for experimenting with new operational concepts in the Pacific theater.
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The Apache helicopter is a twin-engine, tandem-seat attack aircraft known for its sharp, angular frame, heavy weapon pylons, and the steady, throaty rotor beat that signals its combat-focused design (Picture Source: U.S. Army)
At the heart of this activity lies the AH-64 Apache, the Army’s primary attack helicopter and a proven asset in conflicts from the Gulf War to counterinsurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Hawaii, the platform is being pushed into a different role: supporting distributed formations across island chains under the constant assumption of long distances, limited infrastructure and exposure to maritime threats. The aircraft’s combination of sensor fusion, precision-guided munitions and the ability to operate at low level in complex terrain makes it ideally suited to escort air assault formations, provide overwatch for dispersed infantry, and deliver rapid fire support where ground-based artillery may be limited by geography. Within the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, Apache crews use JPMRC rotations to refine everything from crew coordination and deck-landing profiles to rapid rearm and refuel drills that match the tempo of large-scale combat operations rather than small-unit raids.
The Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) effectively serves as the Pacific equivalent to the U.S. Army’s National Training Center. While training centers in the continental United States replicate desert or temperate combat environments, the Hawaiian Islands provide terrain closely analogous to Southeast Asian and broader Indo-Pacific conditions, featuring dense jungles, steep volcanic slopes, and extensive oceanic separation between training areas. Within this environment, Apache units engage not only in gunnery practice but also execute comprehensive combat operation cycles under challenging conditions such as denied communications, degraded GPS, and limited logistics. Training scenarios intentionally incorporate electronic jamming, cyber effects, and disrupted command and control links, compelling aircrews and ground commanders to apply mission command principles, preplanned contingencies, and analogue navigation techniques. JPMRC thus functions as a vital testbed for both individual proficiency and the development of integrated mission profiles that coordinate helicopters, unmanned systems, and ground maneuver elements within contested operational networks.
The multinational character of JPMRC 26-01 adds another layer to Hawaii’s role as a front-line laboratory for future operations. Alongside U.S. units, military personnel from France, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, with New Zealand staff observers, form a composite force tasked with dominating jungle and archipelagic terrain during large-scale combat operations. For Apache crews, this means integrating with partner ground units that use different communications architectures, tactics and standard operating procedures, while still delivering timely close combat attack and armed reconnaissance. These rotations allow U.S. planners and aviators to explore how attack aviation can be synchronized with partner nation artillery, coastal defense, maritime patrol aircraft and ground maneuver units in a scenario where no single force has a monopoly on sensors or shooters. As the Army experiments with new formations such as mobile brigades and multi-domain task forces, Hawaii provides a live environment to explore how Apaches plug into a wider web of joint and multinational capabilities.
Beyond its immediate training objectives, the integration of Apache units into JPMRC’s complex scenarios carries broader strategic significance. Operating from Hawaiian bases and projecting power across diverse training areas, U.S. Army aviation demonstrates its ability to rapidly concentrate force in critical parts of the Indo‑Pacific without the need for permanent forward deployment of large troop contingents on every island. The focus on long‑range resupply, distributed command posts, and integrated air‑ground maneuver directly reflects Department of Defense concepts for operating in contested maritime environments.
For allies and partners, participation in JPMRC provides valuable insight into how U.S. aviation would function alongside them during a crisis, while also highlighting the challenges of sustaining interoperability under intense electronic and information warfare conditions. For potential adversaries, the exercise conveys a clear message: the U.S. Army is not merely adapting legacy platforms such as the Apache for the Pacific theater, but is leveraging Hawaii as a continuous, realistic testbed to refine tactics, techniques, and procedures tailored to the region’s geography and the demands of large‑scale combat.
As AH-64 formations continue to operate over the Hawaiian Islands during JPMRC rotations, they exemplify a strategic evolution in the Army’s approach to preparing for conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. Hawai‘i has transcended its traditional roles as a logistics hub and command center to become a comprehensive combat training environment where attack aviation, ground maneuver forces, joint enablers, and multinational partners collectively address the complex demands of modern warfare on a large scale. By leveraging its state-of-the-art combat training capabilities to rigorously test Apache crews in jungle and archipelagic environments under contested conditions, the Army is intentionally shifting the focal point of its readiness efforts toward the Pacific theater. The multiship air assault operations observed at Wheeler Army Airfield in November 2025 represent more than a highly visible training exercise; they serve as a tangible demonstration of the United States’ commitment to equipping its forces and partners to face the intricate, high-intensity conflicts that may arise across the island chains of the Indo-Pacific.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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Apache crews from the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, conducted a multiship air assault over Hawaii as part of JPMRC 26-01, a training event built for Indo-Pacific conflict scenarios. The drills show how the Army is using the islands as a real-world lab for dispersed combat, sustainment, and command across contested terrain.
On November 15, 2025, AH-64 Apache helicopters from the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment lifted off from Wheeler Army Airfield over the Hawaiian island chain, not for a routine gunnery range, but as part of a large-scale combat rehearsal tailored to the Indo-Pacific, as reported by DVIDS on December 1, 2025. The multiship air assault operation formed one of the aviation pillars of Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center rotation 26-01, a combat training event designed to mirror the complexity of future wars in jungle and archipelagic environments. Far from being a distant training backdrop, Hawaii is emerging as a central proving ground where the U.S. Army tests how it will fight, sustain and command forces across contested seas and dense terrain. By integrating Apache units into this scenario, the Army is turning familiar attack helicopters into instruments for experimenting with new operational concepts in the Pacific theater.
The Apache helicopter is a twin-engine, tandem-seat attack aircraft known for its sharp, angular frame, heavy weapon pylons, and the steady, throaty rotor beat that signals its combat-focused design (Picture Source: U.S. Army)
At the heart of this activity lies the AH-64 Apache, the Army’s primary attack helicopter and a proven asset in conflicts from the Gulf War to counterinsurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Hawaii, the platform is being pushed into a different role: supporting distributed formations across island chains under the constant assumption of long distances, limited infrastructure and exposure to maritime threats. The aircraft’s combination of sensor fusion, precision-guided munitions and the ability to operate at low level in complex terrain makes it ideally suited to escort air assault formations, provide overwatch for dispersed infantry, and deliver rapid fire support where ground-based artillery may be limited by geography. Within the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, Apache crews use JPMRC rotations to refine everything from crew coordination and deck-landing profiles to rapid rearm and refuel drills that match the tempo of large-scale combat operations rather than small-unit raids.
The Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) effectively serves as the Pacific equivalent to the U.S. Army’s National Training Center. While training centers in the continental United States replicate desert or temperate combat environments, the Hawaiian Islands provide terrain closely analogous to Southeast Asian and broader Indo-Pacific conditions, featuring dense jungles, steep volcanic slopes, and extensive oceanic separation between training areas. Within this environment, Apache units engage not only in gunnery practice but also execute comprehensive combat operation cycles under challenging conditions such as denied communications, degraded GPS, and limited logistics. Training scenarios intentionally incorporate electronic jamming, cyber effects, and disrupted command and control links, compelling aircrews and ground commanders to apply mission command principles, preplanned contingencies, and analogue navigation techniques. JPMRC thus functions as a vital testbed for both individual proficiency and the development of integrated mission profiles that coordinate helicopters, unmanned systems, and ground maneuver elements within contested operational networks.
The multinational character of JPMRC 26-01 adds another layer to Hawaii’s role as a front-line laboratory for future operations. Alongside U.S. units, military personnel from France, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, with New Zealand staff observers, form a composite force tasked with dominating jungle and archipelagic terrain during large-scale combat operations. For Apache crews, this means integrating with partner ground units that use different communications architectures, tactics and standard operating procedures, while still delivering timely close combat attack and armed reconnaissance. These rotations allow U.S. planners and aviators to explore how attack aviation can be synchronized with partner nation artillery, coastal defense, maritime patrol aircraft and ground maneuver units in a scenario where no single force has a monopoly on sensors or shooters. As the Army experiments with new formations such as mobile brigades and multi-domain task forces, Hawaii provides a live environment to explore how Apaches plug into a wider web of joint and multinational capabilities.
Beyond its immediate training objectives, the integration of Apache units into JPMRC’s complex scenarios carries broader strategic significance. Operating from Hawaiian bases and projecting power across diverse training areas, U.S. Army aviation demonstrates its ability to rapidly concentrate force in critical parts of the Indo‑Pacific without the need for permanent forward deployment of large troop contingents on every island. The focus on long‑range resupply, distributed command posts, and integrated air‑ground maneuver directly reflects Department of Defense concepts for operating in contested maritime environments.
For allies and partners, participation in JPMRC provides valuable insight into how U.S. aviation would function alongside them during a crisis, while also highlighting the challenges of sustaining interoperability under intense electronic and information warfare conditions. For potential adversaries, the exercise conveys a clear message: the U.S. Army is not merely adapting legacy platforms such as the Apache for the Pacific theater, but is leveraging Hawaii as a continuous, realistic testbed to refine tactics, techniques, and procedures tailored to the region’s geography and the demands of large‑scale combat.
As AH-64 formations continue to operate over the Hawaiian Islands during JPMRC rotations, they exemplify a strategic evolution in the Army’s approach to preparing for conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. Hawai‘i has transcended its traditional roles as a logistics hub and command center to become a comprehensive combat training environment where attack aviation, ground maneuver forces, joint enablers, and multinational partners collectively address the complex demands of modern warfare on a large scale. By leveraging its state-of-the-art combat training capabilities to rigorously test Apache crews in jungle and archipelagic environments under contested conditions, the Army is intentionally shifting the focal point of its readiness efforts toward the Pacific theater. The multiship air assault operations observed at Wheeler Army Airfield in November 2025 represent more than a highly visible training exercise; they serve as a tangible demonstration of the United States’ commitment to equipping its forces and partners to face the intricate, high-intensity conflicts that may arise across the island chains of the Indo-Pacific.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
