Helis, June 01, 2019 - Last April, the US Army proposed to cut the planned Boeing CH-47F Chinook Block II upgrade arguing that new priorities were focused in possible conflicts against China or Russia where is not longer necessary as it was in Afghanistan.
In 2018, Boeing started building three Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) prototypes with expected delivery for 2023 and eventually upgrade more than 500 Chinooks to the new configuration. The CH-47F Chinook Block II EMD performed first flight on March 2019.
But plans changed and now the Army wants to cut Chinook production for at least 5 years and instead to transfer $962 million from the proposed fiscal funds to other programs such as the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). Specifically, 28 of 68 previously planned Chinook (22 CH-47F and 6 MH-47G) were to be cancelled.
However, in a big victory for Boeing, the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee ruled against the Army changes and directed the service to restore the five-year funding in the fiscal 2021 plan.
According the subcommittee, the “lack of acquisition discipline” caused “a great concerne” and “will have significant negative repercussions across multiple domains”.
The Chinook’ cut is the most controversial part of the Army’s plan to shift as much as $31 billion through 2024 by modifying 186 existing programs into new ones in order to better prepare the service for a potential conflict with China or Russia.
In 2018, Boeing started building three Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) prototypes with expected delivery for 2023 and eventually upgrade more than 500 Chinooks to the new configuration. The CH-47F Chinook Block II EMD performed first flight on March 2019.
But plans changed and now the Army wants to cut Chinook production for at least 5 years and instead to transfer $962 million from the proposed fiscal funds to other programs such as the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). Specifically, 28 of 68 previously planned Chinook (22 CH-47F and 6 MH-47G) were to be cancelled.
However, in a big victory for Boeing, the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee ruled against the Army changes and directed the service to restore the five-year funding in the fiscal 2021 plan.
According the subcommittee, the “lack of acquisition discipline” caused “a great concerne” and “will have significant negative repercussions across multiple domains”.
The Chinook’ cut is the most controversial part of the Army’s plan to shift as much as $31 billion through 2024 by modifying 186 existing programs into new ones in order to better prepare the service for a potential conflict with China or Russia.
See also |
CH-47F Chinook in
US Army Aviation Congress Boeing German CH-47 Chinook
Boeing MH-47G Chinook Block II New Contract
Delivery of First Chinook MH-47G Block II
Six More MH-47G Block II for US Army Special Forces
