Immediately before he takes office, the bad news for the new Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) does not stop: According to a media report, the planned purchase of 60 CH-47F Chinook heavy transport helicopters will apparently be twice as expensive as planned. There was also a crisis meeting of the Luftwaffe in Berlin on Wednesday, reports the Business Insider portal, citing government and industry circles.
Germany wants to buy 60 Chinook helicopters from the US manufacturer Boeing. After six billion euros had originally been planned for this, the US Army has now signaled, according to Business Insider, that the German request package will cost up to twelve billion euros. The reason is inflation and expensive extra requests from Germans. In addition, according to the report, the first helicopters should be able to be delivered from 2026 – but not with the desired equipment.
The purchase of the helicopters was announced last summer by Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), who has since resigned. Her successor Pistorius will take up his new post on Thursday.
