US clears $8.5 billion Chinook sale to Germany, skis included

TAMPA, Fla. — The US government today approved a potential sale of 60 CH-47F Chinook helicopters and related equipment to Germany in a deal worth up to an eye-watering $8.5 billion.

The proposed sale “will improve Germany’s heavy lift capability,” the State Department said. “Germany intends to use this enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats.”

The Boeing helicopters would come with a laundry list of add-ons, from electronic counter-measures and missile warning systems to skis and life rafts. Notifications of potential foreign military sales are not final, and it’s always possible the unit numbers and price points could change in further negotiations. The sale can also be blocked by Congress, though in the case of a sale of this size to a close ally like Germany, that’s very unlikely.

Berlin announced in June 2022 it had chosen the Chinook for its future heavy-lift capability, beating out Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky’s CH-53K King Stallion. The competition for the heavy-lift helo had been canceled once before, in 2020, because Germany thought both Boeing and Lockheed’s offerings were too expensive, according to Defense News.

“With this model we are strengthening our ability to cooperate in Europe. It’s modern, proven & already being used by NATO partners,” the German defense ministry tweeted in June.

In January Reuters reported the German government had allocated some $6.47 billion for the buy, but cited another report claiming the price had ballooned to potentially more than $12 billion. Today’s announcement suggests the price did jump, but not as high as feared.