Future Heavy Lift - CH47 Chinook Replacement

[GTX]

Army Confirms It’s Exploring Requirements For A New Heavy-Lift Helicopter To Replace Chinook

A CH-47 Chinook replacement remains a major unknown when it comes to the U.S. Army's Future Vertical Lift vision.

www.twz.com

 

[yasotay]

This is my expected results of this endeavor. But hey, maybe the fifth time they will get it right.

 

[Colonial-Marine]

Unfortunately these days I don't have much faith in the Army to get it right. Though maybe they'll mix things up this time and actually get to the prototype phase before cancelling the program as is their habit for scout helicopter. Usually the heavy lift programs die well before that point.

I know at least one prior effort featured a lot of investigation into large quad tiltrotor type designs. Did the Air Force start to cause a fuss about that? I entirely appreciate the need for a separate Air Force but any major advancement in heavy vertical lift is likely to result in another round of interservice bickering. Once something like this gets too large and plane-like for them they will take issue with it.

 

[Scott Kenny]

All I'm expecting out of this is something that looks a lot like a CH-47, but has the engines from an Osprey or the King Stallion and a pair of 4-bladed rotors.

 

[yasotay]

Any aircraft that will cost >$100M will not survive to prototype. Until the U,S. Army budget sees real growth, one new aircraft is the best we should expect.