RAF to get 14 new Chinooks

摘要

THE UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has confirmed the Royal Air Force will receive 14 new Chinooks, Deliveries to RAF Odiham, Hampshire, the home of the RAF Chinook force, will begin in 2026. In a £1.4 billion contract, the helicopters and associated equipment will be acquired through the US Defense Department's Foreign Military Sales process. The UK Government signalled its intention to go ahead with the purchase in the March 2021 Defence Command Paper.Officially announcing the deal in May, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the "cutting-edge H-47(ER) will be at the forefront of our specialist requirements in dealing with threats and logistic support".It has yet to be confirmed how many older Chinooks will be phased out of service, but it is expected the fleet will shrink from the current 60 to 51. The RAFcurrently operates a mix of variants (HC4, HC5, HC6 and HC6A); the HC6 is a UK-specific variant of the CH-47F.