U.K. reaches $2 billion deal to upgrade Chinook fleet
By Dan Parsons | May 13, 2021
Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 49 seconds.
The U.K. has reached a deal worth nearly $2 billion to upgrade 14 of the Royal Air Force’s H-47 Chinook helicopters with a beefed-up airframe and modern avionics over the next decade.
Announced May 13, the £1.4 billion ($1.96 billion) order is part of a larger £85 billion ($119 billion) investment in military equipment over the next four years to reform and renew the U.K. armed forces.
RAF Chinooks during Exercise Decisive Manoeuvre in 2019. U.K. Ministry of Defence Photo
All 14 aircraft will be purchased from the U.S. through the foreign military sales (FMS) program including development and manufacture over the next decade.