4-Feb-2011 Source: HeliHub.com
Canada’s National Defence has put their fleet of five CH-47D Chinooks – known locally as the CH-147 – up for sale. The helicopters are currently serving in Afghanistan, and allied countries serving in the war-torn country have been sounded out as potential customers, thus far without apparent success. The five aircraft are committed in-theatre until July this year, and without a potential customer on site, they will need to be packaged up and returned home according to Brig.-Gen. Charles Lamarre.
Canada has 15 CH-47F model Chinooks on order, and the five 47D models have long been planned for retirement or sale as part of the process when the new models are delivered. However, Rob Huebert of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary has put forward suggestions that the older models should be kept to free up some of the F models for Arctic operations.