The program manager for Luftwaffe’s heavy transport helicopter project says the shortlisted candidates for the competition are Boeing CH-47F Chinook and the CH-53K King Stallion from Sikorsky.
Photo: Sikorsky
Maj Thomas Knäpper says the choice is obvious as the project’s requirement is to select a rotor-craft that is already in production.
“We want to buy a product already on the market. You could assume that Bell Boeing would come back with the [V-22] Osprey, but it is not as big,” he says.
A winner will be selected around 2018 and delivery of the first helicopter is targeted for 2022.
Knäpper also touched on in-flight refueling capability of the new rotor-craft as it will be used for supporting special forces operations and combat search and rescue missions. He added that Airbus will have overcome A400M’s technical difficulties to refuel helicopters in flight.
“We insist on it [in-flight refueling], so they will have to deal with the problem over the next seven years,” he says. If Airbus cannot provide the required performance level on the A400M, Berlin may instead have to rely on tankers from allies such as France or the USA.”