© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Chinook helicopter flies over the city center during a military parade marking Greece’s Independence Day, in Athens, Greece, March 25, 2022. REUTERS / Louiza Vradi
(This June 1 story aims to read ‘CH-53’ (not ‘CH-53K’) in section 1)
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany wants to buy 60 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing (NYSE 🙂 to replace its aging CH-53 fleet, putting an often-delayed decision to bed in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
“With this model, we are strengthening our ability to cooperate in Europe,” said German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht without elaborating on how much the helicopters would cost during a speech to the lower house of the Bundestag in parliament on Wednesday.
According to previous planning data, the Bundeswehr was to procure 45 to 60 heavy-lift helicopters for about 4 billion euros ($ 4.29 billion), to be delivered between 2023 and 2029.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised a major political shift for the country in February after decades of depletion of the armed forces to sharply increase defense spending and inject 100 billion euros into the Bundeswehr, after Russia invaded Ukraine.
With the 100 billion euros, Scholz aims to bring the Bundeswehr’s weapons and equipment back to standard after decades of wear and tear after the end of the Cold War.
The bulk of the special funds, about 40 billion euros, will be spent on air capabilities, according to a draft seen by Reuters and defense sources.
A crucial argument for Chinook was its global use, German Defense Chief Eberhard Zorn told reporters.
More than 500 Chinooks are in use by the U.S. Army and Forces in Europe, meaning spare parts are readily available so helicopters can be operated for a long time.
The CH-53K is used only by the U.S. Marines and Israel, Zorn said.
The decision marks a blow to Boeing’s rival Lockheed Martin (NYSE :), which had also competed for the order.
Boeing, with its trademark tandem rotor Chinook, and Lockheeds Sikorsky, with its CH-53K, are the only Western companies offering this type of military helicopter.
In recent years, the Bundeswehr has repeatedly postponed its decision to buy new heavy-lift helicopters.
It relied heavily on the old CH-53, which it had flown since the 1970s, for its mission in Afghanistan.
The operation revealed the shortcomings of the aging helicopter, with a lot of maintenance work needed to keep it afloat.
($ 1 = 0.9323 euros)
