Image source: topwar.ru
Germany will purchase American CH-47F Chinook helicopters, it was this helicopter that won the tender for heavy transport helicopters. Another contender for victory was the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion. The results of the tender were announced on June 1.
According to preliminary information, the Bundeswehr intends to purchase from 45 to 60 Boeing-made CH-47F Chinook helicopters, which in the future should replace the obsolete CH-53G/GS/GA/GE Stallion helicopters in service with the German army. According to reports, the entire fleet of transport helicopters of the German Armed Forces has already approached the 50-year mark and needs to be replaced.
As explained by the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, General Eberhard Zorn, the choice of the Germans in favor of the CH-47F Chinook was due to the large number of customers of this helicopter, while its competitor CH-53K King Stallion was ordered only by the US Marine Corps and Israel.
Previously, deliveries will begin no earlier than 2025-2026, although some sources call the beginning of deliveries in 2023 and the end of 2029.
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American heavy military transport helicopter of the longitudinal scheme. It is developed on the basis of the CH-46 and has been widely used since the early 1960s. Designed to carry 55 paratroopers or 24 pairs of stretchers with wounded and three doctors, or from ten to 12 tons of cargo. It is in service with more than 20 countries of the world. The CH-47F has been supplied to the troops since 2008.
From 2023, the US military will begin receiving a new version of the helicopter - the CH-47F Chinook Block II. The new helicopter differs from the basic version with a higher payload capacity, it received new blades created using composites, more powerful engines, updated on-board electronics, generators and a new fuel system.
