July 21st, 2012
Following on from my previous post on the US Army Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopter, I just had to post these photos of what is the ultimate “Beast” version of the Chinook, the MH-47G!
I saw this MH-47G at the Joint Base Lewis McChord Air Expo 2012. It is operated by the US Army 4-160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (the “Night Stalkers“). They are used for the insertion, extraction and resupply of Special Forces troops.
Bristling with 2 x M240 7.62mm machine guns (rear windows), 2 x M134 7.62mm mini-guns (gatling guns in front windows), LCD “glass cockpit”, special avionics (including near real-time intelligence data, secure communication devices, a personnel location system to find downed pilots and Forward Looking Infrared), multi-mode radar, a rescue hoist winch, a missile warning system, heat suppressors on the engines, infrared/radar jamming devices and chaff/flare dispensers for defence against missiles.
The MH-47G is also equipped with a ramp that can be lowered on water (it has a special water-dam configuration), along with the Fast Rope Insertion Extraction System (FRIES) that can lower/lift 8 soldiers at the same time, a rope ladder and a refuelling boom for long-range missions. All that extra equipment slows it down a bit (top speed is 259 kmph compared to the standard variants 315kmph) but it is the ultimate modification of the standard Chinook!
