WASHINGTON — Boeing hopes to land 150 new international sales for its Chinook cargo helicopter by 2022, an ambitious target for the popular design.
Stephen Parker, Boeing's vice president for cargo helicopters and H-47 Chinook program manager, told reporters at the annual Association of the United States Army conference that here he is "very confident" the company will keep the production line going "in good numbers into the 2030s" due to a combination of international sales and the Block 2 upgrade program.
"There's foreign military sales of F models, there's also direct commercial sales," Parker said. "We see a mixture of FMS and DCS sales, to give you a range, of over 150 Chinooks between now and 2022. So that's the potential we see for customers we are talking to."
The Chinook program now has 19 customers, with India's decision to procure 15 making it the most recent operator.
Col. Rob Barrie, the US Army's project manager for cargo helicopters, said there is a "laundry list of folks" who have expressed interest in buying more Chinooks. He noted that there are 30 options remaining for potential foreign military sales on the Chinook multiyear contract, which expires at the end of fiscal year 2017.
"It's safe to say we anticipate we will exhaust those 30 options in the remaining two years," he said.
A target of 150 foreign Chinook sales by 2022 is certainly ambitious.
Randy Rotte, Boeing's head of business development for cargo helicopters, said the reliability and cost-effectiveness of the rotorcraft has helped sales abroad, as foreign operators are willing to tell other partners about positive experiences with the Chinook line. The price of each aircraft, he said, also aids in foreign sales.
"In these constrained times, it helps, especially with international customers who don't have 400 aircraft," he said of the price. "The fact it is cheaper to operate at least entices them."
While declining to name specific countries that may look to purchase the cargo rotorcraft, Rotte did acknowledged that unrest in both Europe and the Middle East is increasing interest in Chinooks.
"It's fair to say that world events, when things happen, people are more prepared to buy, especially if it happens in your backyard," Rotte told Defense News after the news conference. "Yeah, you get a lot more interest than you might have seen five years ago."
He again said that the benefit of having customers operate Chinooks during joint operations with other nations is a major selling pointroute-clearing robots — essentially free advertising for the platform.
Notably, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt operate the Chinook in the Gulf; all three have taken part in operations against the Islamic State militant group, often referred to as ISIS or ISIL.
Email: amehta@defensenews.com
Twitter: @AaronMehta
Aaron Mehta was deputy editor and senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense News, covering policy, strategy and acquisition at the highest levels of the Defense Department and its international partners.
