RAF Boeing H-47ER 2 billion deal agreed
 

So it’s agreed for the Boeing H-47ER 2BN purchase deal.

https://www.seattletimes.com/busines...k-helicopters/

Exciting time ahead for Odiham and Benson

Leta get cracking with AAR oh hang on we retiring the Herk,

cheers

And now

https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles...Fv9jpyMFrINUMI

A £1.4 billion contract to modernise the Chinook fleet over the next 10 years has been agreed. The deal will see British forces benefit from 14 of the latest iconic heavy-lift helicopters.

Proven in battle and operated in every major conflict since the Falklands War, the Chinook is a highly-versatile aircraft. The helicopter can operate in a diverse range of environments, from the desert to the arctic, and transport up to 55 personnel or ten tonnes of cargo.

With a top speed of 300 kilometres per hour, the new H-47(ER) aircraft will have a range of new capabilities, including:

- an advanced digital cockpit
- a modernised airframe to increase stability and improve survivability
- a digital automatic flight control system to allow pilots to hover in areas of limited visibility

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “From assisting emergency repairs to UK flood defences, providing vital logistics support during COVID-19 to its warfighting role on Afghan battlefields, the Chinook has been the workhorse of the Armed Forces for over 40 years. The cutting edge H-47 (ER) will be at the forefront of our specialist requirements in dealing with threats and logistic support. Our £1.4 billion investment will mean we will be one of very few air forces with this capability.”

Full story: https://bit.ly/2QaFcKg

Although...
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8742eefdf8.jpg

Well done Airbus - Nice to see the rotorheads still attached.

In a while….

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021...full-delivery/

LONDON — Britain has confirmed it will acquire 14 Boeing-made Chinook helicopters, but the government has prolonged the delivery schedule over the next decade years due to budget issues.

The deal was made through the U.S. Defense Department’s Foreign Military Sales process and will see Britain pay £1.4 billion (U.S. $2 billion) for the helicopters and associated equipment. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2026 and be completed in 2030.

That’s about three years behind the original plan, as the British Defence Ministry has prioritized more pressing modernization needs ahead of the helo acquisition….

My maths is quite flaky but 100 million a helicopter seems quite a lot even if it does include support equipment.

I’m well out of the loop these days on these things, but a genuine question over costs. The Seattle Time article notes the US Army is saving close to $1Bn by cutting 28 cabs, yet we’re paying close to $2Bn to buy 14?
What am I missing because they seem very expensive for SH at those prices.

When did £1.4B become “close” to £2B? I’ve heard of inflation, but that’s ridiculous….

I would imagine the contract includes spare engines, spares, software, manuals, support, training etc, plus the UK extras such as radar - But for details we will have to wait for the FMS contract to be published.

£1.4Bn isn’t close to £2Bn, but it is far closer to $2Bn US - which is my question.

But I await with interest to see where the rest of the charges come from. As one of the biggest CH-47 operators in the world, it’s not like we’re starting from scratch here.

I think it's been known for a while that the US costs per airframe and UK programme costs are formulated totally differently, so you're definitely not comparing fruit with fruit with that comparison - UK often includes support, training and spares costs in the same overall bill, sometimes along with simulators, whereas I'm not even sure the US considers the rubber on the tyres in what they say the airframe cost is!

Also, you're not comparing the same type of aircraft there, if you look at the options list that was in the FMS approval the H-47(ER) referred to above is definitely not a standard off the shelf F-model as used by the US Army.​​​​

Plus there will be the 7 years of storage costs and the demodding of the cockpit to consider. ;)

...and when looking at costs, don't forget to price in a new Sim with 20+ years through-life support. They are not cheap (but worth every penny IMHO)

FMS delivery order via US Special Operations Command for 14 x Chinook Block 2 for UK at $580,598,636 to be delivered by July 2026

MediaRoom - News Releases/Statements

Been approved by his goodself

https://www.forces.net/technology/we...-fly-twice-far

cheers

We have been discussing the H-47ER deal including today's announcement on the SDSR thread. Mods, just wondering if it makes sense to move the relevant posts here?

Start from about here:
https://www.pprune.org/11608713-post1368.html

ASRAAM - Have a look at the DSCA note when this deal was agreed. Take a gander at the complexity of the role equipment and work out which birds these are….worth every dime…https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/maj...nd-accessories

With the government buying 14 new ones does that mean they will retire the current fleet.

Plan is to retire some of the older aircraft, but these are specifically SF configured aircraft. Think MH-47G-like

I think that was the case before £350 million was magically shaved off the contract cost. I can't imagine where they got such a saving without watering down some of the SF configuration.

As always, there's a bit of a mystery on the air to air refueling part. DE&S in its post notes the ER is capable of refueling in flight. This is only true-true if the probe is fitted; we were not expecting it to be. Wonder if renegotiation included a rethink on that somehow...?

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ae7f6097fb.png

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....aefe2df50b.png
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