Boeing plans to test this year two General Electric-built T408 engines for its CH-47 Chinook helicopters, Rotor & Wing International reported Monday.
Boeing and GE plan to evaluate the engine’s increased payload and other capabilities through a cooperative research and development agreement that started in 2016.
"We're pretty far along in the modifications of the aircraft," said Chuck Dabundo, H-47 program manager at Boeing. "We're getting it ready to fly."
The planned testing of the 7.5K horsepower engine comes as the House Appropriations Committee's defense panel works to reinstate funding for the U.S. Army’s CH-47 Block II program through its spending bill for fiscal year 2020, according to the report.
The committee’s proposed measure includes advance procurement funds worth $28M to support the Block II upgrades in FY 2020.
