
Army officials are defending the decision to “halt” buying the Block II version of the CH-47F Chinook as they consider developing an eventual replacement for the tandem-rotor helicopter. Service acquisition chief Bruce Jette on May 1 said the Army plans to buy the minimum number of Block II Chinooks — all Special Operations Command G-models — manufacturer Boeing [BA] needs to build to keep the line open. The production halt will give the service time to “make assessments” of whether…