Egypt Takes Delivery of Its First Boeing CH-47F Chinooks

Egypt’s air force has taken delivery of its first five Boeing CH-47F Chinooks, the opening batch of a 12-helicopter order the country signed in January 2023. The handover was marked at the El Alamein air show, which ran from September 8 to 10, 2026, at El Alamein International Airport on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. The delivery was first reported by FlightGlobal.

The order and where it fits

Boeing announced the sale on January 3, 2023, describing it as a $426 million foreign military sale for 12 new CH-47F aircraft to replace Egypt’s older CH-47D fleet. The company said at the time that deliveries were expected to begin in 2026.

The contract is one part of a larger authorization. In May 2022 the US State Department cleared the possible sale of up to 23 CH-47F helicopters to Egypt, with an estimated value of $2.6 billion. The signed deal covers the first 12, leaving an option on 11 more. Washington has moved several regional rotorcraft packages recently, including an $800 million Bell package for Iraq.

Boeing material at the show put Egypt’s current rotary fleet at 43 AH-64D Apaches and 18 CH-47D Chinooks. Independent tracking sites count the Chinook force closer to 19 airframes, a mix of 1980s CH-47C helicopters later brought up to D standard and four CH-47Ds delivered in the late 1990s.

Either way, the order renews Egypt’s heavy-lift fleet rather than enlarging it.

What the F model brings

The CH-47F is the current production Chinook from Boeing’s rotorcraft division. It has a fully integrated digital cockpit built around the Common Avionics Architecture System, a digital automatic flight control system, and updated cargo handling. Boeing also says the airframe is designed for easier maintenance than the D model.

The gain is less about lifting more and more about flying the same loads in worse conditions. The digital flight control system steadies the helicopter in the hover, in brownout dust clouds, and during sling-load work, which is most of a heavy-lift Chinook’s job on troop moves and disaster relief.

“The F-model aircraft will enhance Egypt’s Chinook capabilities and help effectively accomplish its heavy-lift objectives,” Ken Eland, Boeing’s H-47 program manager, said when the contract was announced. Boeing says the F model now serves with the US Army and 19 other operators, a combined fleet of more than 950 helicopters, which gives Egypt an established supply chain for parts and future upgrades.

The sale continues a Boeing relationship with the Egyptian military that dates to 1979 and the F-4 Phantom II.