The German Air Force Chief, General (Generalleutnant) Ingo Gerhartz, said that Germany will be the second-largest helicopter country in NATO after the United States.
Germany will buy 60 Chinook helicopters from Boeing in a package of up to EUR 8 billion (USD 8.7 billion). Nearly 50 Chinook helicopters will be stationed at the Holzdorf/Schoenewalde facility in eastern Germany, where 1,000 additional troops will also be deployed, Gerhartz said. Adding that the facility in Schoenewalde will play a unique, key role for the German Air Force, the entire Bundeswehr and the security of Germany.
Germany announced it plans to buy 60 heavy Chinook helicopters from Boeing last year to replace its aging fleet of CH-53s. Originally, six billion euros were planned in the budget. In May this year, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), responsible for controlling arms exports, approved the sale of 60 CH-47F Chinook heavy transport helicopters to the Federal Republic of Germany, along with additional equipment and spare parts.
The decision, supported by the appropriate recommendation from the Departments of State, was published on May 11 and applies to 60 CH-47F Chinook Block II helicopters with additional equipment,
The STH program (Schwerer TransportHubschrauber – Heavy Transport Helicopter) programme is aimed at replacing almost 80 Sikorsky CH-53G/GA/GS heavy helicopters that have been operating by the German Armed Forces for over half a century. The aeromobile transport capabilities of the Bundeswehr are based on these helicopters, but despite numerous modernizations, their life cycle is inexorably coming to an end. Even if the contract is concluded in the coming months, and Boeing will be able to fulfil its last year’s promises and deliver the first helicopters to the Bundeswehr as early as 2025, the handover of 60 helicopters and the achievement of operational readiness by the crews will be the beginning of the next decade at the earliest.
