The Bundestag’s powerful budget committee approved an increase in the defense budget for 2024, which includes the necessary expenditure for the purchase of 60 CH-47F Chinook heavy helicopters.
In April 2022, the German government announced that the Boeing CH-47F Chinook had been chosen over the Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion as the winner of the Schwerer Transporthubschrauber («Heavy Transport Helicopter») competition, which aimed to purchase between 45 and 60 heavy helicopters to replace the aging CH-53G Sea Stallions of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). Operational and logistical compatibility with other NATO member countries using the CH-47, and its lower unit price, seem to have tipped the balance in its favor.
The next step was for the U.S. Government to approve the potential Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Germany, which it did in May of this year. The package offered, for $8.5 billion, includes the following:
- 60 CH-47F Block II cargo helicopters equipped with customer-specific modifications
- 140 T-55-GA-714A engines (120 installed, 20 in reserve)
- 72 AN/AAR-57 missile approach warning systems (60 installed, 12 in reserve)
- 284 AN/ARC-231A secure communications radios (240 installed, 44 in reserve)
Also included, at Germany’s request, was a large quantity and variety of advanced equipment to enable future German CH-47F Chinooks to perform demanding missions such as combat search and rescue (CSAR) and special forces infiltration/extraction.
Der #Haushaltsausschuss hat heute mehrere 25-Mio-Euro-Vorlagen gebilligt: 60 schwere Transporthubschrauber CH-47F #Chinook, drei Flottendienstboote, große Mengen Munition und mehr. Wir investieren weiter in die Einsatzbereitschaft der #Bundeswehr. pic.twitter.com/rS0QXUOBHU
— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) July 5, 2023
And today, the German Ministry of Defense announced that an important step towards the purchase was taken following the approval of the draft federal budget 2024, which includes budget allocations to finance this and other important defense projects.
See also: Boeing builds last 19 CH-47 Chinook Block I, prepares to start production of Block IIs
With the government’s draft federal budget for 2024 and the financial plan up to 2027, as well as the economic plan for 2024 of the Bundeswehr Special Fund (100 billion euros for defense re-equipment), 2% of gross domestic product will be earmarked for NATO defense spending from next year onwards.
