Boeing [BA] and its UK subsidiary said flight testing began Dec. 9 for the first Chinook Mk4 helicopter for the Royal Air Force.
“Project JULIUS, as the Mk4 program is known, will modernize the current Royal Air Force Chinook fleet–essentially giving us new aircraft,” said Chris White-Horne, Mk4 project teeam leader for the U.K. Ministry of Defence.
Project JULIUS will modify 38 Mk2/2A Chinooks into the Mk4/4A configuration. Eight Mk3 Chinooks will be modified into the Mk5 configuration. All the helicopters will be delivered to RAF Odiham.
A major part of the modification for both the Mk4/4A and Mk5 aircraft is the Thales TopDeck cockpit. Thales is under contract to Boeing to supply its Cockpit Display System/Mission Avionic System, which will provide improved situaitonal awareness, increased safety and options for capability improvement. The upgraded and integrated cockpit display includes four multifunction displays, two stand-by flight displays, updated communications interfaces, and two new air data computers.
“The first of the modified JULIUS Chinook helicopters is expected to be available to commanders before the end of 2011,” said David Pitchforth, managing director, Boeing UK Rotorcraft Support. “The entire Mk2 fleet will be fitted with the JULIUS cockpit by early 2015, followed by Mk2A and Mk3 modifications by 2015 and 2016, respectively.”
The modifications also include the addition of a third crew-member seat and an update of Airworthiness & Safety Certification and Qualification for the modernized Chinook. The aircraft are being modified at the Gosport Fleetlands facility by Vector Aerospace
Boeing’s principal subcontractor for deep support of the RAF Chinook fleet, Vector Aerospace, has set up a dedicated production line at Fleetlands to support the JULIUS program, with special components manufactured by one of its facilities in Scotland.
Boeing UK Rotorcraft Support, working with Boeing Global Services & Support’s Rotorcraft Support business, is focused on providing increased capability to the U.K. military rotorcraft fleet. UK Rotorcraft Support has employees in Afghanistan, the United Kingdom and the United States supporting RAF Chinooks and British Army Air Corps AH-64 Apache fleets.