CH-47F contracts awarded by the U.S. Army and several ‘foreign’ customers

00:02 GMT, August 27, 2008 Boeing announced yesterday that it has been awarded a $3.6 billion (€2.5 billion) five-year contract to build 181 CH-47F Chinooks as part of the U.S. Army’s effort to modernise its fleet of aging heavy lift helicopters. The contract contains an option for ten more Chinooks funded under the fiscal 2008 supplemental budget as well as an additional option covering 24 more helicopters that could bring its total value to $4.3 billion (€2.9 billion).

The contract is the largest awarded to date under the ‘U.S. Army Modernization Program’, that calls for 513 Chinooks and includes a combination of 452 new build CH-47F and remanufactured CH-47D as well as 61 remanufactured MH-47G aircraft, a special forces variant of the Chinook. Boeing had been contracted to make 59 of the helicopters prior to the recent contract awarding and delivered 48 of them.

In a Boeing press release Col. Newman Shufflebarger, Army project manager for Cargo Helicopters says: "This multiyear award not only allows the Army to field this important aircraft at a substantial savings, but enabled the contractor to enter long-term agreements for specialty metals, to include titanium, which significantly reduced long-lead times for these critical materials. The Army was able to reduce the lead time associated with a new-build aircraft by six months." Jack Dougherty, vice president, Boeing H-47 Programmes concluded: “This multiyear award will yield a cost savings of more than $449 million (€306 million) for the U.S. Army and taxpayers."

Since the aircraft received its combat-ready certification from the U.S. Army in 2007, the F-model has completed several thousand flight hours, including deployments to Liberia in support of U.S. President George Bush, and is currently undergoing its first deployment to Iraq.

Boeing announced its first international Chinook sale to the Netherlands in 2007 while deliveries are expected to take place between July 2009 and January 2010. At this year's Farnborough Airshow Boeing and AgustaWestland (Finmeccanica group) signed an industrial agreement related to a joint proposal of four new CH-47F Chinook helicopters for the Italian Army (plus options for 16 more). This agreement also includes a licensing arrangement that enables AgustaWestland to market, sell and produce the Chinooks to the United Kingdom, other European countries and several nations in the Mediterranean region. According to media coverage Turkey is also considering to buy ten CH-47F, while Sikorsky is proposing its CH-53K that it currently develops for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Beside that another deal seems to be ‘home and dry’. Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced a couple of days ago that his government wants to purchase six used CH-47D helicopters from the United States as well as 16 new F-model Chinooks to be in service by 2013. This deal has been cited at $4.2 billion (€2,8 billion).

Compared to its predecessor the CH-47F helicopter delivers greater mission-critical capabilities with a newly designed, improved airframe, a Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) cockpit which improves the aircrew’s situational awareness, and a BAE-designed Digital Advanced Flight Control System (DAFCS) which provides improved flight-control capabilities. CAAS also incorporates an advanced digital map display and a data transfer system that allows storing of preflight and mission data. Improved survivability features include the Common Missile Warning and Improved Countermeasure Dispenser systems.

Powered by two 4,733-horsepower Honeywell engines, the new CH-47F can reach speeds greater than 281 kmh (175 mph) and transport more than 9,500 tons (21,000 pounds). The CH-47F, with the Robertson Aviation Extended Range Fuel System, has a mission radius of more than 740 km (460 miles).