June 29 (UPI) -- Boeing has been awarded an $80 million contract to build four new MH-47G Chinook helicopters for the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, is a cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order and will fulfill an urgent need for more aircraft due to increased Special Operations Forces operational demands.
Fiscal procurement funds amounting to more than $80 million will be obligated at the time of the award. A majority of the work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.
The twin-rotor aircraft has been in use since its first iteration, the CH-47, was introduced in 1962 to transport troops and large payloads at high speed and long ranges.
The MH-47G, the most recent upgrade of the helicopter, has been in use by the 160th "Nightstalker" Special Operations Aviation Regiment since the first model was delivered in 2014.
