60 new machines for missions
Bundeswehr should get new helicopters
4/24/2022 1:52 am
According to a media report, the federal government found what it was looking for in its search for more modern helicopters for the military. The cost of purchasing 60 new Chinook CH-47F helicopters from Boeing is five billion euros.
According to a newspaper, the federal government has opted for the “Chinook” CH-47F from Boeing as the new transport helicopter. The Ministry of Defense wants to buy 60 machines, the “Bild am Sonntag” reported in advance, citing government circles. The estimated costs are around five billion euros, which should be financed from the 100 billion package for the Bundeswehr.
This means that the Sikorsky model CH-53K is left behind. The new helicopters could be delivered in 2025/2026 at the earliest. Airbus should take over the maintenance, the report said. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense told Reuters when asked that no decision had been made. So far, the Bundeswehr has been flying an older version of the CH-53, which is to be retired by 2030 at the latest.
Originally, the Bundeswehr wanted to replace the machines that were used in Afghanistan, among other places, with a new development. However, these plans were abandoned due to high costs. This repeated the bidding competition of the 1960s, when the Bundeswehr had to choose between the CH-53 and the “Chinook”.
Soldiers should be better equipped
At the beginning of April, the Ministry of Defense announced that it also intends to accelerate the procurement of soldiers’ personal equipment and increase general defense capability in the current threat environment. By the end of 2025, a further 305,000 Mobast protective vest systems, 150,000 sets of combat clothing, 122,000 combat helmets and 250,000 backpacks could be delivered, the ministry wrote to the defense politicians in the Bundestag. This means that an “advanced full equipment of the active troops” can be achieved.
The total financial requirement for this equipment amounts to almost 2.4 billion euros. “The Federal Ministry of Finance is currently examining the existing financing options before the law establishing the Bundeswehr special fund comes into force,” the letter to the officials said. If this goes well, the Ministry of Defense intends to commission the conclusion of corresponding procurement contracts “immediately for reasons of particular urgency”.