CHAPS programme will see US Army use foreign sales of used helicopters to finance purchase of updated models
Scores of used Boeing CH-47D Chinooks could be offered to foreign buyers under a new plan allowing the US Army to use the proceeds to buy new-build CH-47F models, according to service and industry officials.
Assistant secretary of the army for acquisition Claude Bolton has approved a proposal to launch the CH-47 cargo helicopter airframe procurement support (CHAPS) programme, which is intended to provide a new funding stream for CH-47F production. Several details, such as pricing for and numbers of used CH-47Ds involved in the sale, must be approved as part of a final package to be reviewed by Bolton in January or February.
CHAPS appears to be modelled on a similar programme adopted by the US Air Force a decade ago to sell hundreds of Lockheed Martin F-16s deactivated after the first Gulf War. That effort, called the coalition force enhancement programme, had mixed results, with few, if any, immediate deals signed but groundwork laid for future sales of new F-16s, such as Poland's 2002 order for 48 Falcons.
The army proposal addresses a new acquisition strategy adopted earlier this year. The army has scrapped a plan to modernise more than 300 CH-47Ds to the -F standard, featuring new cockpits and nose sections, through a remanufacturing programme. Instead, Boeing has revamped its production system to provide new-build CH-47Fs for the same cost as a remanufactured airframe. The new-build model also includes a new main cabin supplied by Crestview Aerospace in Florida and a new empennage built by a Boeing plant in Macon, Georgia.
An army official says the service intends to sell each used CH-47D to foreign customers for a price equivalent to Boeing's reduced cost for the new-build CH-47F. A separate deal may be needed to sell the Chinook's engine to foreign customers.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
