Boeing has been awarded a $240 million contract to remanufacture another five MH-47G Block II Chinook rotorcraft for the US Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOAC).
“With this award, the army now has a total of 51 MH-47G Block II aircraft under contract,” Boeing says. Work on updating the entire USASOAC fleet is due to conclude in early 2030, it adds, with the latest batch of helicopters to be returned to service from 2027.
“USASOAC has unique and complex mission requirements, so it’s vital we provide the enhanced capabilities of the MH-47G Block II as quickly as possible,” says Boeing Defense, Space & Security cargo programmes vice-president Heather McBryan.
The company says the remanufacturing activity will improve the command’s “global reach… for decades to come”, thanks to “a reinforced airframe, redesigned fuel tanks, state-of-the-art avionics and a design that enables future affordable modernisation efforts”.
