The State Department approved a possible $830 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of 10 CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the sale on Nov. 7.
(Photo: U.S. Army)
The UAE’s request covers the 10 Chinooks as well as 26 T55-GA-714A engines; 24 Embedded Global Positioning Systems with Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS), 12 AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS), 20 M134D-H Mini Guns, 20 M240H Machine Guns, and various other elements on aircraft survivability equipment and various logistics and program support.
The primary contractors are Boeing [BA], Honeywell [HON], and Science and Engineering Services based in Huntsville, Ala.
UAE will use the Chinooks to expand its helicopter fleet and “enhance the UAE’s operational and defensive capabilities to better defend U.S. and UAE national security interests in the region, and increase the UAE’s contributions to any future joint or coalition efforts requiring helicopter support,” DSCA said.
The agency also noted this sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide partners in the Middle East with modern systems to enhance interoperability with U.S. forces.
Implementation of the proposed sale would require 10 U.S. government and contractor representatives to travel to UAE for up to 60 months for equipment de-processing, fielding, system checkout, training and technical logistics support.
In June, then-Under Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said he was working to finish new deals to sell the Chinook to the UAE and U.K. He said it would help Boeing’s Chinook production line as the Army plans to cut its buys of the aircraft (Defense Daily, June 21)
The Army’s FY 2020 budget request covered the Chinook Block II as one of 186 programs getting cut as the service is looking to shift $33 billion to future weapons development over the next five years.
Last year, the State Department approved a $3.5 billion sale of 16 H-47 Extended Range Chinooks to the U.K. (Defense Daily, Oct. 19, 2018).