First FAMET CH-47F
Early September 2021, the first Boeing CH-47F Chinook for the Fuerzas Aeromóviles del Ejército de Tierra (FAMET, Spanish Army Aviation) was photographed during one of the test flights performed from the Boeing Helicopter Company's facility at Ridley Park, Philadelphia (PA).
The Chinook was fully painted, although not in the well-known FAMET camouflage pattern, and coded ET-420. The serial could not be read on the photo, but will most probably be HT.17-20.
In April 2018, the US State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Spain of seventeen CH-47F Chinooks for an estimated cost of USD 1.3 billion. The legacy Spanish CH-47Ds will be transported to Boeing in Ridley Park (PA), where they will be upgraded to F-model configuration alongside US Army Chinooks undergoing the same modernization process. The upgraded Chinooks will receive a digital automatic flight control system, common avionics architecture, and an improved cargo handling capability.
Spain was the first foreign operator of the Chinook helicopter when they received the CH-47C in 1973. Almost fifty years later, they continue to operate the twin-engined, tandem rotor, heavy-lift helicopter with the latest variant. In July 2021, twelve CH-47Ds were noted stored at Colmenar Viejo (Spain) awaiting transportation to the USA. The twelve aircraft were:
The new Chinooks will also be operated by Batallon Helicopteros de Transporte V (BHELTRA V, 5th transport helicopter battalion) at Madrid/Colmenar Viejo.
Photo by Boeing