Germany Picks Chinook as its New Heavy-Lift Helicopter

Germany has announced its decision to procure Boeing’s CH-47F Block II Chinook to satisfy the need for a modern heavy-lift helicopter.

Under its “Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH)” or Heavy Transport Helicopter program, Germany wants to purchase 60 F-model Chinooks in the Block II standard configuration with air-to-air refueling capability. Block II includes a toughened airframe, improved drivetrain and avionics upgrades to the CH-47F Block I.

There is no official letter of agreement yet. Germany’s parliament must still approve the decision to enter a U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program to replace its current fleet of Sikorsky CH-53G helicopters that have been in service since the 1960s.

Boeing has confirmed the development. “The German Government today announced that Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook has been selected for its heavy-lift helicopter requirements (STH) for the German Bundeswehr,” the company said in an official statement.

“We look forward to working with the U.S. and German governments to finalize this sale under the Foreign Military Sales process. Together with our Chinook Deutschland Team --- AERO-Bildung, Airbus Helicopters, CAE, ESG, Honeywell, Lufthansa Technik and Rolls-Royce Deutschland --- we are committed to delivering maximum operational availability to the German Bundeswehr for decades to come,” the company said.