Prince Harry Completes Apache Pilot Training

(NewsCore) - Britain's Prince Harry, or Captain Wales as he is known in the Army Air Corps, has completed his Apache pilot training -- and picked up a prize to boot.

The 27-year-old won a prize for his shooting skills, being named the best co-pilot gunner as he finished 18 months of training on the Apache attack helicopter, the Ministry of Defense announced Thursday.

"During a dinner to mark the end of the what is officially known as the Conversion to Role (CTR) course, Captain Wales and his fellow students were congratulated by Apache Force Commander, Col. Neale Moss, who said they were now up to the challenge of operating one of the most sophisticated attack helicopters in the world," the statement, obtained by Sky News, said.

The prize of best co-pilot gunner saw Harry presented with a polished 30 mm round from an Apache cannon, mounted on a stand, during the dinner at Wattisham Air Station in Suffolk, eastern England, where he has been training.

The prince, who is Queen Elizabeth's grandson and third in line to the British throne behind his father and older brother William, also trained in the United States for two months last year at bases in California and Arizona.

More than 20 students finished the course and will now be assigned to squadrons in the Apache Force based at Wattisham. It is part of 16 Air Assault Brigade -- the British Army's largest brigade, with 7,400 soldiers.

The state-of-the-art Apache helicopters are designed to destroy tanks using a formidable array of weapons, which include rockets and Hellfire missiles, AFP reported.

Britain has used the two-man helicopters in Afghanistan to hunt Taliban fighters, gather intelligence and provide cover for larger Chinook helicopters.