Chinook programme reaches 50 year milestone
Boeing has marked the 50th anniversary of delivering the first H-47 Chinook military helicopter, having delivered more than 1,200 Chinooks to 18 operators around the world since delivering the first to the US Army in 1962. The company made the announcement on 16 August.
Boeing said that global demand for the latest model of the Chinook aircraft, the CH-47F, remains strong, with the company nearing completion of a $130 million renovation of its production line near Philadelphia that will help it meet this demand.
More than 800 Chinook helicopters are in operation today, conducting combat, cargo transport and humanitarian relief missions. Chinook is Boeing’s longest continuously running production programme, and the production line updates will enable Boeing to continue to ‘affordably increase’ Chinook production rates.
Boeing is scheduled to deliver nearly 60 Chinooks this year and has submitted a multiyear, firm fixed-price proposal to the Department of Defense to provide 155 CH-47Fs to the US Army with deliveries beginning in 2015.
Col Bob Marion, US Army cargo helicopter programme manager, commented on the milestone, saying: ‘The latest F-model has ushered in a new era of heavy-lift capability for the US Army. With continued technology insertions, I fully expect that 50 years from now there will be a centennial celebration for Chinooks still in service.’
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