The German government announced today that Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook was selected as the winner of its heavy helicopter program to replace the Sikorsky CH-53G Sea Stallion fleet.
As we announced in April, the Boeing CH-47F Chinook emerged as the winner of the STH (Schwerer Transporthubschrauber) competition, competing against the Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion.
Boeing issued a press release stating:
“Boeing is honored the German government has selected the CH-47F Chinook for its STH heavy-lift helicopter requirements. With the Chinook, Germany will operate the most affordable, proven and NATO interoperable heavy-lift helicopter. We look forward to working with the U.S. and German governments to finalize this sale under the Foreign Military Sales process. Together with our Chinook Deutschland Team — AERO-Bildung, Airbus Helicopters, CAE, ESG, Honeywell, Lufthansa Technik and Rolls-Royce Deutschland — we are committed to delivering maximum operational availability to the German Bundeswehr for decades to come.”
As reported by the Spiegel newspaper, the plan is to acquire between 45 and 60 of the heavy transport helicopters for around four billion euros. The aircraft will be delivered to the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) between 2023 and 2029.
One of the salient points that played in favor of Boeing’s product is interoperability with other NATO users, and lower technical and commercial risks.
«In the evaluation, it was particularly important that priority was given to the potential for cooperation for European integration and the choice of a proven, marketable model for risk minimization,» notes Spiegel.
The CH-53K is currently only used by the U.S. Marine Corps and was selected by the Israeli Defense Forces.
See also: Israel signed the contracts for the purchase of 12 CH-53K King Stallion and two KC-46 Pegasus
Other important aspects that guided the choice were the Chinook’s improved characteristics during landings in dusty terrain (critical for deployments to Africa or the Middle East) and that it would come with full in-flight refueling capability.
