But The Army Does Not Seem To Be Particularly Interested In The Helicopter

Congress has increased procurement funds for the latest variant of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter over the objections of the U.S. Army.

Defense News reports that the Army had decided to not buy the latest "F" variant of the venerable Chinook back in April, but Congress went ahead and added $28 million to the FY20 budget for "advance procurement", which is the first step to restore CH-47F Block II deliveries to the Army.

The Army had cut the number of "G" Special Operations variant Chinooks it planned to acquire to 69. The service had planned to acquire 473 "F" Block II helicopters for the active force, according to the report.

The $28 million in the FY20 budget would help shore up the supply chain for the "F" Block II helicopters, which would not be on the assembly line until 2021. The original Army plan would have five of those aircraft delivered in 2023, based on Boeing's normal lead times for building an airframe.

It is unclear if the funding increase approved by Congress would move the Army to restore those five aircraft in the FY21 budget request. What is also not known is how many of the "F" model parts could be repurposed into "G" variant aircraft.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report