Boeing has offered Poland a preliminary contract for a batch of CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.
At the International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO), Boeing announced that it had formally offered the CH-47F Chinook Block II heavy transport helicopter to Poland.
The move follows a series of discussions that have taken place over the “past several months” between the manufacturer and Polish officials, according to Adam Hodges, head of helicopter business development at Boeing.
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a heavy-lift military transport helicopter of longitudinal design, originally developed by the American company Vertol, which began work in 1957 on a new helicopter with a tandem rotor arrangement, designated as the Vertol Model 107 or V-107.
Around the same time, the U.S. Department of Defense announced its intention to replace the aging Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave piston-engined helicopters with a new turbine-powered helicopter. In June 1958, the U.S. Army ordered a small number of V-107s from Vertol under the designation YHC-1A; after testing, some Army officials considered it too heavy for attack missions and too light for transport purposes.
While the lighter YHC-1A was upgraded and accepted by the US Marine Corps as the CH-46 Sea Knight, the Army sought a heavier transport helicopter and ordered an enlarged derivative of the V-107 designated the Vertol Model 114. Initially designated the YCH-1B, the pre-production rotorcraft made its first flight on 21 September 1961.
In 1962, the HC-1B was redesignated CH-47A to comply with the 1962 United States Tri-Service helicopter and aircraft designation system. The first batch of Boeing CH-47A Chinooks were equipped with three-bladed all-metal rotors and two Textron Lycoming T55-L-11E turboshafts.
Later, more powerful Honeywell T55-L-712 engines with 3 hp each were used, which were intended for CH-750D helicopters, the old propeller blades were replaced with fiberglass ones with a chord increased to 47 mm (previously the chord was 640 mm) and a titanium nose. The new blades were easier to maintain and allowed for an increase in service life to 513 hours.
The CH-47D helicopter has been in widespread use since the early 1960s. It replaced the H-37 helicopter in the US Army, and later the CH-54. It is in service with more than 20 countries.
The largest number of CH-47 Chinook helicopters has always been in service with the US Army. Initially, it received 354 CH-47A helicopters. In May 1967, the improved CH-47B version began to enter service, with a total of 108 of these machines delivered.
In early 1968, the army began to receive CH-47C helicopters. 270 helicopters were purchased, and in 1985, 11 more machines were purchased, manufactured under license by the Italian company Agusta. Four CH-47A helicopters were converted into heavy fire support helicopters ACH-47A Gunship and used in Vietnam. Since 1982, the US Army began to accept into service the improved CH-47D helicopters, which are modifications of the CH-47 A, B, C. A total of 472 machines were converted.
In the 1980s, MH-47D helicopters entered service with special forces units. In the 1990s, 26 MH-47E helicopters were added to them. Currently, Boeing is implementing a program for the serial production of CH-47F helicopters under contract with the US Army, which should become the most advanced in the Chinook family.
In addition to the USA, it has been produced since 1970 in Italy (more than 200 helicopters), and in Japan, 54 helicopters were produced by Kawasaki. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces are armed with CH-47JA helicopters equipped with a search radar, AAQ-16FLIR thermal direction finder and fuel tanks with increased capacity for longer flights.
In 1999, these helicopters began to enter service with the Western Helicopter Squadron of the Ground Self-Defense Force, based in Takayubaru, where they began to replace the aging Kawasaki Vertol KV-107-2 machines. Currently, there are about 45 CH-47JA helicopters in service, stationed at air bases in Naha, Utsunomiya, Somagara and Kisarazu. A training squadron is located in Aheno.
It is not yet known how many CH-47F Chinook Block II helicopters Warsaw will purchase, if it will decide to order these helicopters at all, or whether broader industry competition will begin in the near future.
If the competition goes ahead, Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky could compete with the Chinook against its CH-53K King Stallion, the backbone of the U.S. Marine Corps helicopter fleet. That scenario would effectively be a repeat of Europe’s last major heavy-lift helicopter acquisition, when Germany decided to order 60 CH-47F Chinook Block IIs. Berlin’s commitment means it will be the first export customer for the Block II configuration.
Meanwhile, Hodges put off questions about the number of helicopters in the contract relating to the Polish effort and the scale of the demands from the Polish Defense Ministry.
Indra Dulvenoorde, Boeing's director of government services for Europe, Israel, Canada and Latin America, said negotiations on compensation requirements had not yet taken place, adding to the sense that Warsaw was in the very early stages of a new heavy-lift helicopter program.
The Chinook is “a huge asset that the Polish military could use and align with NATO partners,” Hodges said, referring to the alliance’s eight helicopter operators. Germany has also placed an order for 60 of the helicopters and is set to become the first export customer for the CH-47F Block II.
Poland has ordered 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for its Kruk programme, while the manufacturer is also lobbying Warsaw to sell fourth-generation F-15EX fighters under an air dominance requirement that calls for 32 aircraft.
The CH-47F Block II project was once on the verge of being canceled, but appears to have a secure long-term future thanks to a full-rate production contract scheduled to be awarded in late fiscal year 2025 if all goes according to plan, according to a senior U.S. Army official.
Boeing said in a statement that Block II provides greater “lift and range” than the older Block 1 helicopter. The CH-47F Block 2 upgrade program has been ongoing since 2020.
The CH-47F Block 2 is capable of lifting a 22 lb (000 kg) payload to 10 ft (000 m) at 4 °F (000 °C) with high and hot hover performance, eventually increased to 1 ft (200 m) to carry the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle; maximum takeoff weight will be increased to 95 lb (35 kg).
It features 20% more powerful Honeywell T55-715 engines, along with an Active Parallel Actuator System (APAS) to improve the digital Advanced Flight Control System, providing precise torque split between the rotors for greater efficiency. A new fuel system combines the three flexible fuel tanks in each sponson into one larger fuel cell and eliminates the need for in-cell fuel transfer equipment, reducing weight by 90 kg (200 lb) and increasing fuel capacity.
Electrical power is augmented by three 60 kVA generators. The Chinook Advanced Rotor Blades (ACRB), derived from the cancelled RAH-66 Comanche project, were intended to improve lift capability in hot/high altitude conditions, producing 2 pounds (000 kg) more thrust (lift); however, the US Army ultimately decided not to implement the ACRB due to persistent vibration found during testing, Boeing denied the claim that the vibration was a safety hazard and believed it could be addressed with dampers.
The Army plans to upgrade to the Block 3 version after 2025, which could include a new 6-horsepower (000-kW) engine with increased power transmission and drivetrain developed under the Future Affordable Turbine Engine (FATE) program and a stretched fuselage. The Future Vertical Lift program is scheduled to begin replacing the Army's rotorcraft fleet in the mid-4s, initially focusing on medium-lift helicopters.
Thus, the CH-47 is planned to operate beyond 2060, more than 100 years after it first entered service.
Information