The US government has formally awarded Boeing a contract to build eight AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for Indonesia

WASHINGTON, -- The Department of Defense says in a statement that the “firm-fixed-price” foreign military sales (FMS) contract is valued at $296 million. The helicopters will be built in Mesa, Arizona, and are expected to be completed by February 2018.

US defense secretary Chuck Hagel announced the sale of eight Apaches to Indonesia in August 2013. That announcement came nearly one year after a notification to Congress a year earlier of the proposed FMS sale.

At that time, the total deal was valued at $1.4 billion and included the sale of four APG-78 Longbow fire control radars, an armaments package including 120 Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, plus a training and crew support package.

The helicopters are expected to be used by Indonesia’s military in counter-piracy and maritime awareness roles.