Boeing lands new contract for special ops MH-47G helicopters

Key Points
  • Boeing received an $877.7 million firm-fixed-price order to supply MH-47G helicopters for U.S. Special Operations Command.
  • The majority of the work will be performed at Boeing’s facility in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, with completion expected by November 2030.

The U.S. Special Operations Command has placed an $877 million order with Boeing for additional MH-47G Chinook helicopters to support its rotary-wing operations through 2030.

The Boeing Company, based in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a firm-fixed-price delivery order valued at $877,742,891 for the procurement of MH-47G helicopters.

The aircraft are being purchased to support the operational needs of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

- ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW -

According to the Department of War, the work will be conducted primarily at Boeing’s Ridley Park facility. The order is tied to contract numbers W9121516G0001 and H9224122F0073. Completion is expected by November 2030.

The MH-47G, manufactured by Boeing and operated by U.S. Special Operations Command, is a variant of the CH-47 Chinook tailored for special operations missions. It features in-flight refueling capability, advanced avionics, and extended-range fuel tanks, enabling low-level, long-range, nighttime operations in contested environments.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, officials noted the aircraft are designed to support high-risk missions requiring rapid infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply under difficult conditions. The helicopters are routinely used by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), known as the “Night Stalkers.”

The order reinforces Boeing’s long-term role in producing and maintaining heavy-lift rotorcraft for U.S. forces. Ridley Park, where most of the work will take place, is the company’s main production center for Chinook helicopters and related modifications.

Readers who wish to follow our weekly coverage can subscribe to the Weekly Defense Roundup.

If you wish to report a grammatical or factual error in this article, please let us know by using the online form.

Executive Editor

Support The Defence Blog

Independent reporting takes resources. Join us on Patreon.

Become a patron

More Like This

U.S. Marines get unmanned ship-killer missiles in Okinawa

The U.S. Marines stationed on Okinawa, Japan, can now sink enemy warships from land and shoot down drones from the back of a truck,...

South Korea’s missile shield is home — but are the missiles with it?

All six truck-mounted launchers belonging to the U.S. Army's only THAAD battery in South Korea have returned to their home base in Seongju County,...

Indian truck-mounted cannon enters the U.S. Army artillery race

An Indian-made artillery gun is now in the running to equip the U.S. Army, after AM General, the Michigan-based military vehicle maker best known...

U.S. Navy research chief: stop copying what industry builds

The U.S. Navy is overhauling how it moves research from laboratory to warship, with its top science official announcing a new strategy that strips...

U.S. Marines launch spy drone from warship deep in the South China Sea

A surveillance drone that needs no runway, no catapult, and no dedicated launch infrastructure lifted off from the deck of a U.S. Navy warship...