Saudi to get $3.5 bln worth CH-47F Chinook copters on US Congress nod
Will boost Kingdom’s heavy lift capability and help strengthen its homeland defense
The US State Department has last week informed Congress of the administration’s intent to sell 48 Chinook cargo helicopters to Saudi Arabia in a deal worth $3.5 billion.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of a sale of CH-47F Chinook helicopters.
Congress has to approved the deal before it can go through.
The deal is for 48 Boeing CH-47F heavy lift helicopters, 112 Honeywell T55 engines, 116 Global Positioning System (GPS) Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), 58 missile warning systems, 48 M240H machine guns, along with spare parts, armor and other related components.
The deal will also include training and logistics support.
According to Boeing, “The CH-47F Chinook is the most capable, advanced medium-to-heavy lift helicopter in the world and we look forward to continue working with our US government customer ...”
The proposed sale of the CH-47F aircraft will improve Saudi Arabia's heavy lift capability and help strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats, according to the DSCA official press release.
