MH-47 Chinook Helicopter

Fact Sheet

The MH-47 Chinook helicopter conducts overt and covert infiltration, exfiltration, air assault, resupply, and sling-load operations over a wide range of environmental conditions. The aircraft can perform a variety of other missions including shipboard, platform, urban, water, parachute, forward arming and refueling point, mass casualty, and combat search and rescue operations. Using special mission equipment and night vision devices, MH-47 aircrews can operate in hostile mission environments over all types of terrain at low altitudes during periods of low visibility and low ambient lighting conditions with pinpoint navigation accuracy.

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) currently operates two variants of the Chinook Helicopter.

The MH-47E Chinook is a heavy assault helicopter based on the CH-47D airframe, but specifically designed and built for special operations aviation missions with a totally integrated avionics subsystem. This avionics package combines redundant avionics architecture with dual mission processors, remote terminal units, multifunction displays and display generators to improve combat survivability and mission reliability. The “Echo” model also has an aerial refueling probe for in-flight refueling, an external rescue hoist, and two L714 turbine engines with a Full Authority Digital Electronic Control that provides more power during hot or high-altitude environmental conditions.

The MH-47G Chinook is a heavy assault helicopter based on the MH-47E airframe. Maintaining the same basic fuselage, fuel system, power train, engines and performance standards as the “Echo” model, it has further structural modifications including a new cockpit with an extended nose and technological enhancements for special operations missions. It is the first 160th helicopter equipped with the Army special operations aviation specific Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS). The fully integrated digital CAAS avionics package combines upgraded software and hardware, including active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs), data processing units and control display units, to provide a high-tech, standardized communication and navigation system in SOAR aircraft. The “Gulf” model also has multi-mode radar to navigate challenging environments and dangerous terrain; a Fast Rope Insertion Extraction System (FRIES) for insertion of personnel and equipment and extraction of personnel; a defensive armament system with two M-134 “Minigun” machine guns and one M-60D machine gun; and an external rescue hoist.
 

MH-47D and MH-47E Performance Characteristics

Normal cruise airspeed:  120 knots
Maximum dash airspeed:  170 knots
Normal fuel burn rate:  2750 lbs per hour
Maximum altitude:  20,000 feet