Boeing CH-47F Chinook Fielded by US Army's 10th Mountain Division

RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa., Aug. 3, 2010 -- The Boeing [NYSE: BA] CH-47F Chinook helicopter was fielded July 30 by the U.S. Army's B Company, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. The 10th Mountain Division is the sixth Army unit to be trained and equipped with the aircraft.

"I am extremely excited that Boeing and the New Equipment Training Team were able to field and train the company on the F model Chinook so quickly," said Capt. Michael Farrell, Company B commander. "With such a short period of time between deployments, this really helped us focus on collective training."

With fielding complete, the unit will begin advanced mission training in the new aircraft, conducting simulated assault, troop-transport and cargo-movement exercises. The 10th also will practice high mountain operations that use the advanced features of the CH-47F.

"Fielding and training the 10th Mountain Division is a proud moment for all of us at Boeing," said Leanne Caret, vice president, Boeing H-47 Programs. "Everyone on the program is focused on the needs of the warfighter, and that is reflected in the aircraft we build and deliver every day."

The Chinook is built at Boeing’s Ridley Township, Pa., facility and features a newly designed, modernized airframe, Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) cockpit and Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS). The CAAS greatly improves aircrew situational awareness, and DAFCS provides dramatically improved flight-control capabilities through the entire flight envelope, significantly improved performance, and safety in the harshest of environments.

Source: BOEING