Germany will buy 60 CH-47F Chinook helicopters from Boeing, worth about $ 5 billion (US), as it upgrades its military equipment, Bildreported onSunday, citing government sources.
The helicopters will be funded by a special 100 billion Euro military fund announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the newspaper reported. Helicopters could be introduced in 2025/26 initially and will replace the 50-year-old CH-53G helicopters manufactured by the US-based Sikorsky wing of Lockheed Martin.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht will inform parliament of the decision next week, the newspaper reported.
Competitors in this agreement included Lockheed Martin’s CH-53K King Stallion. But the cheap Boeing model and the fact that many NATO allies are also traveling with Chinook are reasons to decide on the CH-47F, Bild said.
A spokesman for the Department of Defense said no decision had been made regarding the purchase of a helicopter.
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