Image: U.S. Army via RTX ©
The US Army has awarded Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, a contract worth up to $472 million to support the modernisation and sustainment of its CH-47 Chinook helicopter fleet, as per a recent press statement.
The engineering services deal will deliver avionics upgrades designed to integrate new capabilities more efficiently. It will also address obsolescence issues and strengthen the aircraft’s avionics architecture, helping to maintain mission readiness amid an increasingly complex operational environment.
Jenny Miller, vice president and general manager of Vision and Sensing Systems at Collins Aerospace, commented: “Collins equips the Chinook with advanced avionics that integrates communication, navigation and mission subsystems into a flexible, interoperable cockpit built for today’s operational demands.”
She added: “Our longstanding avionics partnership with the US Army ensures the fleet continuously evolves to support the warfighter and meet future operational demands.”
The contract also supports the Army’s broader push for platform commonality across its aviation enterprise. By advancing open, reusable avionics architectures that can be applied across multiple aircraft types, the approach aims to streamline technology insertion and reduce integration complexity. It should also help drive cost and schedule efficiencies as the service continues to modernise its rotary-wing fleet.
The CH-47 Chinook remains a cornerstone of US Army heavy-lift aviation, supporting troop transport, logistics and battlefield resupply missions worldwide. Sustained investment in its avionics systems reflects the platform’s continued relevance to current and future operations.
Work under the contract will take place in Huntsville, Alabama, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Learn more on RTX’s website
