Home Air Boeing gets $578M for work on Block II Chinooks for Royal Air...

Boeing gets $578M for work on Block II Chinooks for Royal Air Force

Chinook helicopter
Photo: Boeing

The US Special Operations Command has awarded Boeing a $578 million Foreign Military Sales contract for the delivery of 14 extended-range Chinook helicopters to the UK Royal Air Force (RAF).

The UK is buying new extended range Chinooks to replace some of the older airframes in service.

“These Chinooks are the future of heavy-lift, built on an existing foundation of advanced capability and life cycle affordability,” said Andy Builta, Boeing vice president and H-47 program manager. “This contract for Block II aircraft sets the stage for the next 60 years of Chinook excellence on the battlefield.”

Boeing and the RAF recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first Chinook delivery to the UK. Boeing will also celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Chinook’s first flight later this year.

The United Kingdom will be the first international operator of a Block II Chinook. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2026.

The new H-47(ER) variants that the UK is buying will have a range of new capabilities, including an advanced digital cockpit, a modernized airframe to increase stability and improve survivability, and a digital automatic flight control system to allow pilots to hover in areas of limited visibility.