Боевое крещение «Апачи» приняли 20 декабря 1989 года, когда совместно с другими вертолетами из 82-й аэромобильной бригады обеспечили высадку рейнджеров 82-й парашютно-десантной и пехотинцев из 7-й легкой пехотной дивизии. Так началась агрессия против Панамы, получившая наименование Just Cause.
American AH-64s have served in conflicts in Panama, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Israel used the Apache in its military conflicts in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip
The AH-64 was designed to perform in front-line environments, and to operate at night or day and during adverse weather conditions
The AH-64 is adaptable to numerous different roles within its context as Close Combat Attack (CCA). In addition to the 30 mm M230E1 Chain Gun, the Apache carries a range of external stores and weapons on its stub-wing pylons, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles, and Hydra 70 general-purpose unguided 70 mm (2.756 in) rockets
The U.S. Army formally accepted its first production AH-64A in January 1984 and training of the first pilots began later that year.
Nearly half of all U.S. Apaches were deployed to Saudi Arabia following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
As of 2011, the U.S. Army Apache fleet had accumulated more than 3 million flight hours since the first prototype flew in 1975