Ingo Gerhartz, Chief of the German Air Force, says Germany will now own the second-largest fleet of helicopters in NATO with 60 “Chinook” machines, which it acknowledged buying last month. As reported by Reuters, this will give Germany the position of having the second-largest fleet of helicopters in NATO.
The German government has purchased the CH-47F Chinook model, which comes equipped with the ability to refuel in the air.
According to a story from Reuters published one month ago, Germany will buy 60 “Chinook” helicopters from Boeing as part of a package deal that may cost as much as 8 billion euros and will include the infrastructure required for the helicopters.
Gerhartz told the Air and Space Power Journal publication, “We will be the second-largest helicopter nation in NATO after the USA.”
Gerhartz says about fifty “Chinook” helicopters will be stationed in Holzdorf/Schoenwalde in Eastern Germany, where an additional one thousand soldiers would be stationed.
He said that the Schoenwalde base would play a distinctive and vital role in the Air Force, the entire Bundeswehr, and the security of Germany.
The Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom is currently the second-largest Chinook operator. The Royal Air Force’s fleet will decrease from its present number of sixty airframes to about fifty-one.
South Korea is now the third-largest operator of Chinook helicopters and possesses approximately 43 aircraft.
After 2027, the CH-47F Block I will no longer be manufactured or delivered, but work to upgrade the Chinook will continue with the H-47 Block II programme.
