The U.S. Army now plans to spend north of $1 billion to modernize its fleet of venerable CH-47 Chinook helicopters in order to keep them flying into the 2060s.
RTX on Tuesday announced that the Army awarded Collins Aerospace a contract worth up to $472 million for avionics upgrades designed to keep the platform mission-ready well into the future. Combined with its October 2025 award of more than $870 million to Boeing for up to 60 CH-47F Block II variants, the Army’s spending on Chinook modernization could climb to ten figures.
RTX said Collins will provide avionics engineering services designed to “address obsolescence.” The workhorse, tandem-rotor cargo helicopter has provided heavy-lift capabilities to the Army for more than six decades.
The company said the avionics could be integrated across multiple different aircraft, describing them as “open” and “reusable.” Common architectures across Army platforms will reduce the complexity of introducing new technologies fleetwide and help the service keep costs and schedules in check, RTX said.
Jenny Miller, vice president of vision and sensing systems for Collins, said the avionics “integrates communication, navigation, and mission subsystems into a flexible, interoperable cockpit.”
The work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Chinook Modernization Continues
Some 460 to 470 Army Chinooks are undergoing modernization by Boeing via the manufacturer’s hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract, which calls for up to 60 CH-47F Block II deliveries through 2035.
According to Boeing, the Block II Chinooks increase the rotorcraft’s gross weight from 50,000 to 54,000 pounds, owing to an improved drivetrain and reinforced airframe. An enhanced fuel system extends mission radius. Per the Army, these enhancements will allow the Block II variant to fly missions that in the past may have required multiple aircraft.
The redesigned and simplified fuel system, along with a more reliable rotor system, also reduces the Block II Chinook’s maintenance burden. The helicopter is designed to accommodate future technology upgrades at an affordable price.
Boeing delivered the first Block II CH-47F to the Army in mid-2024. In October, the service awarded two more procurement contracts valued at $461 million, increasing the number of aircraft under contract to 18. In May, it spent $326 million to acquire a further six Block II aircraft, for a total of 24 on order.
Boeing estimates that the Army will field the first Block II Chinook in mid-2028. However, officials plan to postpone the full 60-aircraft procurement until personnel get a chance to fly it, per FlightGlobal. Originally, the Army wanted to field the upgraded helicopters only with special operations rather than active forces in order to fund its Future Vertical Lift (FVL) fleet.
Boeing since January has been testing further upgrades in the form of its Approach-to-X (A2X) technology that enables the Chinook to make automated approaches and landings. A2X uses a Digital Automated Flight Control System (DAFCS) that is designed to reduce pilot workload. Pilots pick a landing zone, final altitude, approach angle, and start speed, and the software handles inputs to guide the aircraft to that point. Pilots can also provide input to adjust course.
Boeing after further flight testing plans to release a final version of A2X for the Army to begin installing on its CH-47 fleet.
“The Army wants to add layers of optimally crewed capability quickly, and we’re working side by side with them to make those upgrades a reality,” said Heather McBryan, vice president and manager of Boeing Cargo Programs, in an April news release.
DefenseNews in 2023 reported that the Army is studying a possible FVL heavy-lift successor or replacement for the Chinook. Still, officials aim to keep the iconic dual-rotor chopper flying for several more decades.