헬리콥터 독일, 중수송헬기로 CH-53K 대신 CH-47F 선택

[위종민]

독일이 중수송헬기로 CH-47F를 선택했습니다. 물량은 60기로 공중재급유 능력도 갖추고 있다고 합니다. 

CH-53G 70기를 대체할 예정입니다. CH-53K보다 저렴해서 낙찰됐다는 뉘앙스인데, 최근 이집트에 CH-47F 23대와 부대장비를 26억 달러에 팔았는데 킹 스탈리온 해외 판매가는 더 비싼 모양이네요... ㄷㄷ ( https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/egypt-ch-47f-chinook-helicopters )

디펜스뉴스 기사를 보니 60기에 43억 달러이고 2023년부터 인도될 예정이라고 합니다. 대당 7천만 달러네요.  

미해군이 CH-53K 2대를 주문했는데 1억 8570만 달러입니다. 아직 저율생산인 걸 보면 가격이 떨어질 가능성도 있었을 텐데요. 물론 총운영유지비는 킹 스탈리온이 훨씬 높았을 가능성도 있겠습니다만. 

https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/31185-germany-chinook-heavy-lift-helicopter-tender

Germany selects Chinook in heavy-lift helicopter tender

Germany selects Chinook in heavy-lift helicopter tender

2-2 minutes

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Germany has selected the Chinook CH-47F as its new heavy-lift transport helicopter for the German armed forces, the defense ministry announced.  

“We weighed up the pros and cons and the risks and then unanimously decided on this model. The Chinook is modern and proven,” Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement on June 1, 2022.  

The CH-47F Chinook was competing against Sikorsky’s CH-53K King Stallion for the German heavy-lift helicopter (STH) bid.  

The order comprises 60 Chinook helicopters in the Block II range with air-to-air refuelling capability. The lower price meant more of the heavy-lift helicopters could be procured, the ministry added.   

“With it, we are strengthening our cooperation abilities in Europe. Furthermore we are gaining a larger fleet with more flexibility,” Lambrecht said. The Chinook is already used by NATO partners, the ministry added. 

Manufacturer Boeing, which teamed up with Airbus for the bid, welcomed the decision.  

“We look forward to working with the U.S. and German governments to finalize this sale under the Foreign Military Sales process,” Boeing commented. “We are committed to delivering maximum operational availability to the German Bundeswehr for decades to come.”   

The Chinooks will replace Germany’s fleet of 70 Sikorsky CH-53G Sea Stallion helicopters. Germany commenced the tender in 2017 before suspending it in late 2020. It was revived in January 2021. 

Germany is presenting details of a new defense budget plan on June 1, 2022. Chancellor Scholz earlier promised to send the IRIS-T SL air defense system to Ukraine. 

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/06/01/boeing-wins-bid-for-germanys-multibillion-dollar-helo-program/

Boeing wins bid for Germany’s multibillion-dollar helo program

Boeing wins bid for Germany’s multibillion-dollar helo program

By Sebastian Sprenger Jun 2, 12:38 AM

3-3 minutes

U.S. Army soldiers hold on to the cargo during a sling load operations training exercise with a Chinook helicopter, Feb. 9, 2022, at Fort Carson, Colorado. Germany is in line to buy 60 of the helicopters. (Scyrrus Corregidor/Army)

WASHINGTON — The German government will purchase 60 Boeing Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to equip the armed forces in a deal reportedly worth upwards of $4 billion, according to a Ministry of Defense announcement on Wednesday.

The CH-47F Block 2 “Standard Range” variant aircraft are refuelable during flight, a key requirement for the German armed forces, the statement said. They are slated to replace the Bundeswehr’s fleet of aging CH-53, made by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky.

Lockheed also had put in a bid for the contract, offering its CH-53K King Stallion. The Chinook’s lower per-unit price made the difference, according to the Ministry of Defense, as it would allow Berlin to buy the maximum number of aircraft out of a range previously billed as 45 to 60 copies. That, in turn, would increase “operational flexibility” with a helicopter type used widely among NATO partners.

Officials stressed interoperability benefits with the Netherlands, in particular. The Bundeswehr already works closely with the neighbor’s armed forces across a variety of operational domains.

Citing government planning data, Reuters reported Wednesday the Boeing deal would be worth roughly $4.3 billion, with deliveries starting in 2023 and lasting through 2029.

The Chinook pick caps a years-long saga for Germany to buy a new Schwerer Transporthubschrauber, or STH, as the heavy-lift chopper program is called in German. Officials initially wanted a no-frills workhorse to support troops, but developmental frills were nevertheless added, resulting in offers so expensive that the government walked away and initiated a redo in 2020.

The strategy since then has been to prepare a purchase that would require little to no national modifications. Officials have previously said they want to award a contract by the end of the year. Spending money on off-the-rack hardware from the United States could help quickly turn an expected spike of defense cash into modernized equipment with little risk, according to analysts.

Sebastian Sprenger is Europe editor for Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multinational investments in defense and global security. He previously served as managing editor for Defense News.

https://seapowermagazine.org/navy-orders-two-ch-53k-helicopters-for-marine-corps/

Navy Orders Two CH-53K Helicopters for Marine Corps  - Seapower

Navy Orders Two CH-53K Helicopters for Marine Corps 

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor

U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 taxi in a CH-53K King Stallion after its first operational flight at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, April 13. U.S. MARINE CORPS / Lance Cpl. Elias E. Pimentel III

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has placed an order for two more CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters for the Marine Corps. 

The Naval Air Systems Command awarded a $185.7 million contract modification to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Lockheed Martin company, to add two CH-53Ks to low-rate production Lot 6, the Defense Department said May 31. 

These two helicopters were in the Marine Corps’ fiscal 2022 unfunded priorities list and were added to the 2022 budget appropriation by Congress. Lot 6 originally included nine CH-53Ks under a Feb. 3 contract award for $685 million.  

The King Stallion achieved Initial Operational Capability in April 2022 when Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 received its fourth CH-53K. 

The Marine Corps program of record is 200 CH-53Ks to replace the fleet of CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters. The Lot 6 helicopters are expected to be completed by December 2025. 

[강준구]

비젤을 싣고 다니던 CH-53이었는데, 이젠 캐빈에 레토나만한 차량을 겨우 싣는 수준으로 활용되겠네요.

[강준구]

대당 7천만불 수준(현재 환율이면 약 1000억원 수준)이면, 우리군에서 1.4조 정도로 20대 가량 도입하겠다는 생각은 이제 접어야겠네요. 14대면 목표 수량의 2/3 수준이구요.