Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth put rock star Kid Rock in the seat of a £75 million ($100 million) US Army attack helicopter on 28 April 2026, less than a month after military pilots were suspended for buzzing the same celebrity's Tennessee home during a nationwide anti-Trump protest.

Hegseth and Kid Rock, whose legal name is Robert Ritchie, both flew in AH-64 Apache attack helicopters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell framing theflightsas a Freedom 250 community relations event tied to America's 250th anniversary commemoration.

Open-source flight tracking data shows Kid Rock's private jet departed Nashville early that morning and touched down at Fort Belvoir at 06:30, according to theMilitary Air Tracking Alliance, a group of open-source analysts monitoring military aviation worldwide. Critics on Capitol Hill and in statehouses were quick to ask who was picking up the bill.

According to the Military Air Tracking Alliance's logs, an AH-64 Apache lifted off at Fort Belvoir shortly after 13:00 on Monday, flew several loops over the base, and landed approximately ten minutes later.

That aircraft was part of a larger contingent, four Apaches and two H-60 Blackhawk helicopters, that had repositioned to Fort Belvoir from Fort Campbell in Kentucky the previous Saturday. An Army official, speaking anonymously because the details were not authorised for public release, told the Associated Press that flying an Apache costs approximately £5,250 ($7,000) per hour.

Joined my friend@KidRock— and some of our great@USArmyApache pilots — for a ride this morning. (More to come on that!)Kid Rock is a patriot and huge supporter of our troops. The War Department is wasting no time celebrating America’s 250th — home of the free because of the…pic.twitter.com/7EyhlaCeUj

Hegseth posted photos of himself and Kid Rock standing in front of an Apache and wrote onsocial media: 'Kid Rock is a patriot and huge supporter of our troops. The War Department is wasting no time celebrating America's 250th, home of the free because of the brave.'

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said Ritchie 'participated in multiple troop touches with service members and filmed videos for Memorial Day, America's 250th birthday, and for his Freedom 250 tour.'

The April flight came less than a month after a separate incident that drew national attention. On 28 March 2026, AH-64 Apaches from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell hovered near Kid Rock's 27,000-square-foot Tennessee estate, which he calls the 'Southern White House,' on the same afternoon that anti-Trump 'No Kings' protests were taking place across Nashville.

This is a level of respect that shit for brains Governor of California will never know. God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her. 🇺🇸 🙏pic.twitter.com/iD5mmkaXv1

Source: International Business Times UK