SOCOM wants Block III Chinooks, even as US Army remains uncommitted to Block II fielding

US Special Operations Command officials are planning for the future while still procuring the Block II MH-47G variant of the Chinook heavy-lift type.

Even though US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is still purchasing Boeing MH-47G heavy-lift helicopters, procurement officials are already looking for a successor.

Speaking at the annual SOF Week conference in Tampa on 20 May, officers from SOCOM's rotary-wing procurement office said they are exploring features for a Block III configuration of Boeing's CH-47F twin-rotor. The MH-47G is derived from the latest Block II configuration of the Chinook.

“We do not currently have what the Block III looks like,†says Colonel Aron Hauquitz. “But that aircraft's not going anywhere. It's going to have to get upgraded over time, and so we do foresee having a Block III sometime in the future.â€

SOCOM has contracted with Boeing to acquire at least 56 MH-47Gs for the US Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment – the sole US operator of the Chinook variant that includes speciality features like aerial refuelling probes, terrain-following radars and extra fuel capacity.

Additional orders are expected, with Boeing predicting it will finish fulfilling SOCOM orders around 2030.

The US special operations community is considering Block III Chinooks even before the US Army has fully committed to fielding the Block II aircraft to its conventional aviation units. For now, the army plans to acquire 24 CH-47F Block IIs to evaluate the type.

“We can get those out in the field, get the feedback from the field and see what the next procurements could be, to give the army decision space,†Brigadier General David Phillips, the army's head of aviation procurement, said in April.

The army made a commitment in 2024 to pursue a full-rate production deal with Boeing for the Block II Chinook. The service's fleet of Block I CH-47Fs includes more than 400 aircraft.

A draft version of the fiscal year 2027 defence budget released by the White House in April would significantly cut aircraft procurement numbers for the US Army and notably includes no funds for Block II Chinooks.

Even as the conventional army wavers on the Block II, SOCOM is pressing ahead with new advancements for the type.

One of the command's most-significant initiatives with the MG-47G is rolling out the Active Parallel Actuator Subsystem (APAS).

Developed in collaboration with Boeing, APAS is an advanced flight control system that provides significant automation with the aim of reducing pilot workload and enhancing safety. The technology can assist aviators in degraded visual environments and prevent them from exceeding Chinook airframe tolerances.

“It provides tactile feedback to the pilots as they fly, when they're about to approach a limit,†says Sean Godfrey, SOCOM's MH-47 programme manager. “APAS allows you to stay outside where the mission is and actually feel that feedback when you might be getting close, and by doing that, we take away pilot workload.â€

That system is also available for the conventional Block II variant of the CH-47F.