The Army is set to have the first three CH-47F Block II Chinook heavy-lift helicopters by around mid-2024, according to Boeing [BA], with the company still expecting a Milestone C decision before the end of the year to move the program into full-rate production.
“I’m very optimistic they will make a decision and very optimistic that the Block II program will move forward,” Heather McBryan, Boeing Vertical Lift’s vice president and H-47 program manager, told
Defense Daily.
McBryan confirmed Boeing remains on track to deliver the first CH-47F Block II to the Army in early 2024, which will be followed by a second aircraft “roughly two months” later and then a third aircraft delivery another two months after that.
Boeing is currently under contract with the Army for six CH-47F Block II production aircraft, with an additional seven aircraft on advanced procurement.
The upcoming Milestone C decision, which McBryan said is likely to be finalized in December, will establish future plans for the Chinook modernization program.
“From our standpoint, we stressed the importance of the Block II program to both the industrial base and Boeing Philadelphia as well as the impact that it would have on the future sustainment of the fleet. Block II provides the much needed capability improvements that make the Chinook relevant on the battlefield. And over the long term, the Block II offers the Army the ability to provide those further enhanced capabilities to continuously modernize the aircraft. So we really view the Block II as the logical next step in heavy lift modernization efforts,” McBryan said. “Until the Army makes a decision in December, there’s been no specific details on number of aircraft [or] years. I think that’ll all come after this Block II decision.”
The Army has not included funding for CH-47F Block IIs in its recent budget requests as it assesses the path forward for the program, while Congress has added funds in final appropriations bills covering a few of the new aircraft to sustain what Boeing has previously called a “minimum sustaining rate” for the platform (Defense Daily, April 27).
McBryan has previously said that Boeing’s Chinook production level is likely to remain at the “minimum sustaining rate” even after factoring Germany’s plan to procure 60 CH-47 Block II aircraft (Defense Daily, May 24).
“We still view that as a minimum sustaining rate. That’s why we’re working very closely with the Army on the larger Block II program and how we move forward with those aircraft. The Block II domestic program is still very key from a production standpoint for Boeing Philadelphia and the industrial base,” McBryan said. “Ideally, from an efficiency standpoint, we’d be looking to 30-36 aircraft as our goal in the future…for the number of deliveries that we’d like to have each year.”
Germany over the summer approved and signed a Letter of Acceptance for its $8.5 billion deal to procure the 60 CH-47F Block IIs, with Boeing currently working with the U.S. Army on the official contract.
The Army on Oct. 26 awarded Boeing a $125 million deal for “long-lead items,” which McBryan confirmed is advanced procurement funding related to Block II aircraft for a Foreign Military Sale customer.
The U.K. also has a plan to procure 14 extended-range CH-47F Block IIs, with McBryan noting those deliveries are expected to start in 2026 (Defense Daily, June 22 2021).