MIDDLETOWN, Del.–There are 830 Boeing [BA] H-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in national inventories around the world, and more are expected to be added to the fleet over time, company executives said.
Boeing currently is in negotiations with India over the company’s proposed 15 CH-47F helicopters, selected over Russia’s Mi 26, said Mark Ballew, director of Business Development on the H-47, as part of India’s heavy-lift competition. Those negotiations are likely to wrap up toward the end of this year or early in 2014.
Russia also recently lost out on a buy of 22 combat helicopters, as India chose the Boeing AH-64D Apache over the Russian Mi-28N.
Ballew said there are also 293 aircraft on order, with 214 for the U.S. Army, and eight for U.S. Special Operations Command. The United Kingdom has 14 Ch-47F models on order, and Italy 16. Others are on order from Turkey, Japan and Australia.
The Middle East is very interested in the new F model, and the United Arab Emirates has 12 on order, Ballew said. The company is involved in campaigns in Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, where more than 24 F models are at stake.
Boeing does more than propose its helicopters; it also seizes opportunities to help advance indigenous industry via collaborations and partnerships. For example, Boeing has a Research and Technology Center in Bengaluru, India, the third such facility outside the United States. Its goal is to advance aerospace innovation. There is also a Boeing Analysis and Experimentation Center, providing defense experimentation and decision support services to India’s armed forces.
Rotorcraft support is a global presence, said Raymond Haddad, director of Chinook Rotorcraft Support, here during a media visit.
For example, the new Canadian Chinook being delivered here already has a Boeing support system in place, with co-located offices and Canadian industry partners, even though the full complement of 15 CH-47F Chinooks is yet to be delivered. The first new Chinook was delivered to Canada in June.
Haddad said Chinook fleet support is available in the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Egypt, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Australia. Rotorcraft support globally is in 24 locations, and there are more than 20,000 active contracts for Boeing helicopters that include the Apache, the AH-6i, and V-22, as well as work with special operations fleets.