CH-47F Chinook
The digital Chinook — glass cockpit, digital flight controls and a stiffer monolithic airframe · First flight 2001 · First production aircraft 2006
The CH-47F began as the US Army's Improved Cargo Helicopter programme. The first engineering and manufacturing development prototype flew at Boeing's Philadelphia plant on 25 June 2001, and the first production aircraft flew in October 2006. Compared with the D it introduced Honeywell T55-GA-714A engines, the Common Avionics Architecture System glass cockpit, a digital automatic flight control system and a new machined monolithic airframe intended to cut vibration and maintenance.
The F can carry 33 to 55 troops or about 24,000 lb (10,886 kg) and has been bought in large numbers: the US Army had 465 in January 2025, and export customers include Australia, Canada (CH-147F), the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (as the HC6), India, Singapore and Germany, which has ordered 60.
The CH-47F Block II adds the T55-715 engine with about 20% more power and raises maximum take-off weight to 54,000 lb (24,500 kg), with a payload goal of 22,000 lb, plus three 60 kVA generators. The Advanced Chinook Rotor Blades developed alongside it were not adopted.
