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Taiwan has activated a brigade of U.S.-made AH-64E Apache attack helicoptersThe 601st Air Cavalry Brigade is equipped with 29 Boeing AH-64Es.The 30 helicopters (one crashed into a building during a 2014 training flight) were delivered in 2013 and 2014, and the two Apache squadrons have since been training for their debut.The 601st brigade is responsible for the defense of Taipei and the rest of northern Taiwan. The Apaches will be supplemented by Taiwan's 61 AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters. Their counterparts across the Taiwan Straits are Communist China's Z-10 attack helicopter.Like all elements of Taiwan's defense forces, the AH-64Es are expected to contribute to anti-landing efforts, including offshore and onshore engagement. That could include attacking the landing craft during the final approach or attacking PLA forces that manage to disembark. Taiwan's M60A3 TTS tanks are also primarily aimed at anti-landing operations rather than tank versus tank combatThe ultimate question is whether 29 helicopters will change the balance of power between China and Taiwan, or whether the Apaches are largely symbolic?A brigade of Apaches gives Taiwan another tool to make the Chinese think twice before they commit to an attack. Apaches would be also useful in scenarios other than full-scale invasions, such as a decapitation attack aimed at Taipei and Taiwan's political leadership, or special forces attacks on key military installations. These are situations in which timely deployment of attack helicopters, either Apaches or Cobras, can play a crucial role.