Army officials say they plan to let frontline troops test out the latest version of the heavy-lift CH-47F helicopter with the 24 examples currently on order before committing to a full procurement.
This throws cold water on the prospects of a full-rate fielding of Boeing’s newest Chinook heavy-lift helicopter any time soon.
After making a rhetorical commitment in 2024 to move toward full-rate production of CH-47F Block II, the army is, for now, not committing to additional Chinook purchases beyond the 24 aircraft already on contract.
Instead, the army will deploy the new helicopters to frontline troops, who will evaluate the latest Block II before a decision is made on additional purchases. That is according to one of the service’s top aviation generals, who spoke at the Army Aviation Association of America conference in Nashville on 16 April.
“We’ll have 24 total Block IIs,” says Brigadier General David Phillips. “We can get those out in the field, get the feedback from the field and see what the next procurements could be, to give the army decision space.”
Boeing has already delivered six of the latest Block II Chinooks to the army, with 24 examples under contract. A Lot 6 contract covering the final six examples of the army’s CH-47F Block II rapid fielding initiative was signed on 15 April.
Those aircraft are notably separate from the MH-47G special operations Chinook variant that Boeing has been actively delivering to US Special Operations Command and the UK Royal Air Force (RAF). Although distinct, the MH-47G and CH-47F Block II share a common core. Both are assembled at the same Boeing site in Philadelphia.
While the US Army is not officially walking away from its Block II plans, 24 aircraft represents only a small fraction of the more than 400 CH-47s currently flown by the service’s conventional aviation brigades.
A draft version of the fiscal year 2027 budget released by the White House earlier this month significantly cut aircraft procurement numbers for the army and notably included no funds for Block II Chinooks.
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, who represents the district of Pennsylvania where Boeing’s Chinook assembly plant is located, told Aviation Week on 15 April that she believes this move is a ploy get lawmakers in Congress to take responsibility for funding the programme.
On several occasions legislators have inserted a small number of one-off Block II Chinook purchases into the army’s annual budget.
Failure to secure a long-term production contract from its biggest customer will have an adverse impact on Boeing’s vertical lift business. Under the administration of former US President Joe Biden, the Department of the Army had assured Boeing such a deal was coming.
However, the army is now downplaying that, saying that Boeing has enough work for the moment.
Boeing still has the army’s 18 remaining Block II aircraft to churn through, in addition to ongoing MH-47G orders from SOCOM and the 14 examples going to the RAF. The company