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Boeing Awarded US Army Contract for 191 CH-47F Chinook Helicopters

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

August 26, 2008

thomas

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The Boeing Company (NYSE:
BA) has been awarded a five-year U.S. Army contract valued at $4.3 billion
for 181 CH-47F Chinooks and 10 additional Chinooks under Fiscal Year 2008
supplemental funding. There are options in the award for an additional 24
aircraft over the course of the contract.

“This multiyear award will yield a cost savings of more than $449
million for the U.S. Army and taxpayers,” said Jack Dougherty, vice
president, Boeing H-47 Programs. “This also builds security into our
production schedule for the next five years, stabilizing the work force for
Boeing and for our supplier partners in more than 45 states.”

“The Army is committed to providing an outstanding CH-47F Chinook
aircraft to our soldiers in the field,” said Col. Newman Shufflebarger,
Army project manager for Cargo Helicopters. “This multiyear award not only
allows the Army to field this important aircraft at a substantial savings,
but enabled the contractor to enter long-term agreements for specialty
metals, to include titanium, which significantly reduced long-lead times
for these critical materials. The Army was able to reduce the lead time
associated with a new-build aircraft by six months.”

Also from the U.S. Army, Lt. Col. Thomas H. Todd III, product manager
for CH-47F, said, “This multiyear settlement is the result of the tireless
efforts of government and Boeing representatives. It ensures that our
soldiers will maintain a technological advantage over our adversaries when
it comes to heavy-lift missions.”

“A long-term contract commitment is good for the warfighter, the Army
customer and U.S. business,” said Ken Eland, chief engineer for Boeing
Tandem Rotor Programs and capture team leader for the company’s CH-47F
multiyear pursuit. “This award enables Boeing and our Team Chinook partners
to make capital investments to reduce lead times for parts and components,
improve parts availability and provide for a more accurate delivery
schedule, which will enable greater precision in fielding the Chinook to
U.S. Army units.”

Boeing Rotorcraft Systems has delivered 48 CH-47F helicopters to the
U.S. Army to date and has fully trained and equipped two units, with a
third unit scheduled to stand up in August. Since the aircraft received its
combat-ready certification from the Army in 2007, the F-model has completed
several thousand flight hours, including deployments to Liberia in support
of U.S. President George Bush, and is currently undergoing its first
deployment to Iraq.

As with its predecessors, the CH-47F continues to excel across the full
spectrum of operational missions, including air assault, combat re-supply,
humanitarian relief, search and rescue, and transport operations.

Built at the Boeing Rotorcraft Systems facility in Ridley Township,
Pa., the CH-47F helicopter delivers greater mission-critical capability for
the warfighter with a newly designed, improved airframe, a Rockwell Collins
Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) cockpit, and a BAE-designed
Digital Advanced Flight Control System (DAFCS).

The CAAS greatly improves aircrew situational awareness, and DAFCS
provides dramatically improved flight-control capabilities through the
entire flight envelope, significantly improved performance and safety in
the harshest of environments.

CAAS also incorporates an advanced digital map display and a data
transfer system that allows storing of preflight and mission data. Improved
survivability features include the Common Missile Warning and Improved
Countermeasure Dispenser systems.

Powered by two 4,733-horsepower Honeywell engines, the new CH-47F can
reach speeds greater than 175 mph and transport more than 21,000 pounds.
The CH-47F, with the Robertson Aviation Extended Range Fuel System, has a
mission radius of more than 400 nautical miles.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one
of the world’s largest space and defense businesses specializing in
innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St.
Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.1 billion business with
71,000 employees worldwide.

SOURCE Boeing Integrated Defense Systems

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