Boeing [BA] has received a new $271 million order to deliver six more MH-47G Block II Chinook heavy-lift aircraft for U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOAC).
The Dec. 8 award arrives as the Army nears a Milestone C decision before the end of the year to move the larger Block II Chinook modernization program into full-rate production.
“The Chinook has been a key player in the special operations domain for many years. USASOAC and international allies have used the unique capabilities of the Chinook to complete the most daring missions around the globe,” Heather McBryan, Boeing’s vice president and program manager for cargo programs, said in a statement on Monday. “With the modernized MH-47G, USASOAC soldiers are well-suited to meet today’s challenging environment.”
The MH-47G is the Special Operations variant of the Chinook platform, with Boeing now under contract for the 42 of the aircraft.
A Boeing spokesperson confirmed to Defense Daily that over 20 MH-47G Block IIs have been delivered to date, with the USASOAC to begin receiving the first aircraft under the new order in 2025.
Boeing is also currently under contract with the Army for six CH-47F Block II production aircraft, with an additional seven aircraft on advanced procurement.
McBryan told Defense Daily in November that Boeing remains on track to deliver the first CH-47F Block II to the Army in early 2024, and that she’s “very optimistic” a Milestone C decision will be made to move forward on the program (Defense Daily, Nov. 13).
“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 at the time. “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 included funding for some MH-47Gs but no 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 has 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.”