anymore of those SOF pictures???? i love their helmets/SBOs and
rifles.. how i wish SAF can change the present SBO...
Originally posted by LazerLordz:
Boeing MH-47E Special Operations Chinook
The MH-47E combines many proven Chinook systems and features.
Notable among these are fuels tanks providing twice the capacity of
the CH-47D and an in-flight refueling system. MH-47Es are
remanufactured in the CH-47D production line, with most E-model
systems installed during the final stages of completion.
Many of the MH-47E's technologies, such as its integrated cockpit
displays, FLIR and multimode radar, were flight-tested in the
Boeing Model 360 Advanced Technology Demonstrator. They continue to
be tested in the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
The MH-47E was upgraded to "G" configuration and the first "G"
Chinook was delivered on the 7th July 2004.
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[b]Boeing Delivers First MH-47G Special Operations
Chinook
(Source: Boeing Co; issued May 7, 2004)
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. --- The Boeing Company delivered the first MH-47G
Special Operations Chinook helicopter to the U.S. Army Special
Operations Command Thursday during a ceremony in
Philadelphia.
The MH-47G is the seventh and most capable iteration of the worlds
most advanced heavy lift helicopter. Boeing will produce at least
37 G-models, which will significantly increase the inventory of
Special Operations Chinooks. The delivered aircraft is one of three
modernized under the U.S. Armys Reconstitution Program to replace
operational losses of MH-47Es. Under the U.S. Armys Cargo
Helicopter Modernization Program, plans call for Boeing to
remanufacture and deliver 58 additional MH-47Gs by 2011 to help
meet urgent Special Operations requirements.
The delivery of the first MH-47G marks the beginning of years
worth of Chinook production and support work for Boeing and its
suppliers, said Pat Shanahan, vice president and general manager,
Boeing Rotorcraft Systems. All of us at Boeing are extremely proud
of the Chinook and its record of service with the U.S. Army, Army
Special Operations and our allies around the world for more than
four decades. Now its time to begin a new chapter that will carry
the Chinook forward for many more decades.
The MH-47G features a number of upgrades over earlier models,
including more efficient engines, improved avionics, reduced
interior vibration and improved air transportability. Also, the
aircrafts fully integrated digital Common Avionics Architecture
System (CAAS) will enable Special Operations aviators to integrate
global communications, navigation, survivability and situational
awareness capabilities.
As magnificent as this aircraft is, its only as good as the
people who plan it, design it, build it, fly it and support it in a
number of ways, said Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger, commanding
general, U.S. Army Special Operations Command to Boeing employees
gathered at the event. Whatever piece, small or large, is yours in
the Armys acquisition of the MH-47G, you are making a direct
contribution to the global war on terrorism.
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command uses its current fleet of
34 Special Operations Chinooks23 MH-47Es and 11 MH-47Dsto
complete clandestine exfiltration and infiltration missions at low
level, day or night, in all weather conditions. The Army plans to
modernize these aircraft to the G-model configuration to better
support its Special Operations mission.
Boeing builds the Chinook in Philadelphia, where more than 4,600
employees use state-of-the-art Lean manufacturing and engineering
methods to generate efficiencies and cost savings in all stages of
development and production. Boeings longest running continuous
production program, the Chinook first entered service with the U.S.
Army in 1962 and has been used in countless military, civilian and
humanitarian missions around the world.
Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a
$27 billion business that provides systems solutions to its global
military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading
provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the
worlds largest military aircraft manufacturer; the worlds largest
satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based
communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile
defense; NASAs largest contractor; and a global leader in launch
services.
[/b]
