On what was an agreement signed on October 27, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded manufacturer Boeing a new contract to begin production of the 60 new CH-47F Block II helicopters destined for the German Armed Forces, marking the first step toward the realization of the program. According to the document, this is a major deal that will require an investment of 876.4 million dollars, with a timeline extending until October 2035.
Expanding on some details, information published by the U.S. government through official channels indicates that the work will be carried out at Boeing’s facility in Ridley Park, located in the state of Pennsylvania. As the contracting activity, the document lists the U.S. Army Contracting Command based in Alabama, which issued an online solicitation responded to by Boeing. Regarding the financial aspect of the operation, it is highlighted that the purchase will be executed through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, using funds that Berlin had already committed when the contract was awarded.
With respect to the selected platform and the quantities acquired by Germany as part of its Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH) program launched in 2022, it should be noted that these are CH-47F Block II helicopters with aerial refueling capability, intended to replace an aging fleet of 70 VFW-Sikorsky CH-53G Stallions operated by the Luftwaffe. In the competitive process, Boeing’s design prevailed over the offer submitted by Lockheed Martin, which was promoting the CH-53K King Stallion.
Moreover, it is important to highlight that while progress was being made in the procurement of these helicopters, future German pilots of the platform were completing training courses in the United States with support from the U.S. Army. As previously reported in July 2024, an initial group of two pilots received the qualification required to fly the CH-47F after completing two weeks of theoretical and practical training at Fort Rucker., with another group of five pilots expected to do the same during the boreal spring of this year.
Additionally, the Netherlands has also contributed to the training of future German pilots and technicians. In April, a Royal Netherlands Air Force aircraft was made available for use in ground and flight training. Furthermore, the CH-47F was used to assess hangar dimensions and test the remaining infrastructure available to host the platform in German territory, facilitating logistics for its entry into service.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
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No such fort as novosel. It’s fort Rucker.