First Chinook helicopters delivered to Turkey

The aircraft was manufactured in the U.S. and shipped to the Aegean port of İzmir, where it was assembled before being flown to Ankara. The initial handover date of the helicopter that will be used by Army Aviation Command was planned for April 2016. 

Ankara had signed a contract worth nearly $400 million in 2011 with Boeing to buy six CH-47 Chinooks. The first three aircraft will be delivered by the end of August, the remaining three by November. 

There is another package of five choppers planned to be delivered in 2018. Four of the helicopters in the second package will be used by Special Forces and one will be given to the Defense Ministry. 

The CH-47F Chinook are able to carry fully equipped 55 troops or 22 stretchers and will be used in heavy transportation particularly needed in southeastern Turkey. The two-engine helicopter can reach a speed of 315 kilometers per hour and can carry up to 10,886 kilograms of load. 

Produced by U.S. space and security company Boeing, the CH-47F Chinook aircraft is described as a “multi-mission, heavy-lift transport helicopter” on its own website. The choppers’ primary mission is moving troops, artillery, ammunition, fuel, water, barrier materials, supplies and equipment on the battlefield, while its secondary missions include medical evacuation, disaster relief, search and rescue, aircraft recovery, firefighting, parachute drops, heavy construction and civil development.