Boeing awarded $264M contract for MH-47 support

July 19 (UPI) -- Boeing has received a $264 million contract for engineering support services for the MH-47 Chinook helicopter.

The contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, comes under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command. Under the agreement, Boeing is to provide labor, services, personnel, data, transportation, equipment, facilities and materials for the MH-47.

The CH-47 Chinook is a twin-engine tandem rotor heavy-lift transport helicopter used by the U.S. Army and many allied nations, including the Netherlands and Turkey. Its primary mission is to transport troops and large payloads at high speed and long ranges.

It is primarily used for troop and cargo transport, including sling-load operations like placing artillery and battlefield resupply. The CH-47 series has been in use since its introduction in 1962, and has been upgraded and refurbished many times.

The MH-47 has upgraded digital avionics and flight control systems, a stronger monolithic airframe and is designed for easier transportation by cargo aircraft.

The first model was delivered to Special Operations Command in 2014 and is used by the 160th "Night Stalkers" Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The initial order on the contract, a $120,497 task order, has been obligated from fiscal 2017 procurement funds, the Pentagon said.

The contract is expected to last five years, with the majority of the work being conducted in Ridley Park, Penn.