Army to buy more CH-47 aircraft

August 26, 2008 by Dagpotter · Comment
Filed under: Boeing, Contract Awards, Military Aviation, U.S. Army, production program 

The Army awarded Boeing a 5 year contract for CH-47F cargo helicopters. The number procured is 181 with 10 options. There will also likely be some FMS sales from this contract. The CH-47F is the latest variant of the helicopter with sophisticated avionics and improved capabilities. 48 have been built to date. The CH-47F is one of the programs that was birthed from the Comanche termination. The others being the UH-60M, UH-72A and the JCA fixed wing aircraft. The CH-47F is especially effective in Afghanistan due to its high altitude and temperature capabilities.

To see the press release go to the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch here.

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CH-47 said vandalized

May 20, 2008 by Dagpotter · Comment
Filed under: Boeing, Military Aviation, U.S. Army, crime, production program 

Bump - Boeing employee arrested for vandalizing aircraft. Story is here.

In a way this is good news. If it had been a quality issue then it might delay restarting the production line as they worked out new procedures and where they had gone wrong. The other good thing is they discovered the damage before they were fielded. The CH-47 is being used a great deal in Afghanistan and Iraq, as are all Army aviation assets, but in Afghanistan it is key due to the high altitude which limit smaller helicopters.

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