The Royal Air Force (RAF) will add 14 new extended-range Chinook (CH47-ER) helicopters, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps recently confirmed.
The new Chinooks significantly enhance the UK’s strategic mobility through their ability to operate in harsh environments. From the desert to the Arctic, the new helicopters will have twice the range of a standard Chinook and are capable of mid-air refueling, carrying up to 55 people or 10,000 kg of cargo over long distances.
With a top speed of 300 kilometers per hour, the new helicopters will feature a number of new capabilities, such as an advanced digital cockpit and a modernized airframe for increased stability and survivability.
As part of the agreement, UK companies will also produce critical components for the manufacture and maintenance of the Chinooks, supporting jobs in areas such as avionics and aircraft electrical power, supporting skills development and UK industry in general.
The purchase of these 14 aircraft had been agreed by London and Washington in March 2021, but the economic impacts on the UK economy caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit prevented it from being finalized.
The new Chinooks will gradually replace the aging fleet of 60 CH-47 heavy helicopters currently operated by the UK armed forces (the first of which was delivered in November 1980), but there is a strong indication that this will not be on a 1:1 ratio.
