Design and configuration
The front and rear rotor pylons frame a nearly constant-section cargo cabin. Engines are mounted high beside the rear pylon, leaving the ramp available for loading.1
FORCETALLY
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HelicoptersIn serviceProfile in progress
The CH-47F uses tandem rotors to lift cargo without a conventional tail rotor. The wide cabin and rear ramp support troops, freight and vehicle transport.
United StatesU.S. Army paratroopers assigned to Attack Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, conduct sling load operations with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, from 6-101 GSAB, 101 CAB, Illesheim, Germany, during exercise Eagle Talon, Monte Romano, Italy, Jan 20, 2021. (U.S. Army photo by Elena Baladelli) Historical equipment reference photograph. It does not establish current availability or every detail of the named variant.
Elena Baladelli (according to Exif data) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source ↗ · ModifiedNo check recorded yet.
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Transport helicopter
United States
Boeing Defense, Space & Security
In service
United States Army Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Royal Saudi Air Force See Operators for others
Over 1,200 as of 2012
1962–present
1962
21 September 1961
Vertol Model 107
Boeing Chinook (UK variants)
Boeing Vertol BV-347
3 (pilot, copilot, flight engineer or loadmaster)
33–55 troops or 24 stretchers and 3 attendants or 24,000 lb (10,886 kg) payload
98 ft 10.7 in (30.142 m)
12 ft 5 in (3.78 m) (fuselage)
18 ft 7.8 in (5.685 m)
24,578 lb (11,148 kg)
54,000 lb (24,494 kg)
1,080 US gal (899 imp gal; 4,088 L)
2 × Lycoming T55-GA-714A turboshaft engines, 4,733 shp (3,529 kW) each
2 × 60 ft (18 m)
170 kn (200 mph, 310 km/h)
157 kn (181 mph, 291 km/h)
400 nmi (460 mi, 740 km)
165 nmi (190 mi, 306 km) (combat radius)
1,216 nmi (1,399 mi, 2,252 km)
20,000 ft (6,100 m)
1,522 ft/min (7.73 m/s)
51 ft 2 in (15.6 m)
5,600 sq ft (520 m 2 )
root: Boeing VR-7; tip: Boeing VR-8
9.5 lb/sq ft (46 kg/m 2 )
0.28 hp/lb (0.46 kW/kg)
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The system in detail
The front and rear rotor pylons frame a nearly constant-section cargo cabin. Engines are mounted high beside the rear pylon, leaving the ramp available for loading.1
Digital cockpit and flight-control improvements distinguish the F standard. Internal cargo and external sling arrangements serve different load types and are subject to separate limits.1
This record covers CH-47F; Block II changes and special-operations MH-47G equipment must remain separate. Published lengths may include or exclude the turning rotors.1
Compare lift at a specified altitude and temperature. A maximum external load at one condition is not a general cabin payload figure or guaranteed lift at high elevation.1
CH-47 Chinook equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
AustraliaArmy exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Reported count for Boeing CH-47F Chinook. Service scope: Australian Army; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Excludes retired/reserve/on-order rows. Count column(s): number: 14. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
CanadaJanuary 2026 reported holdings of CH-147F CHINOOK. Covers the named Canadian fleet across its reported variants. The overview does not separate active, stored or maintenance status; this is not a readiness or deployable-strength count.
EgyptEgyptian CH-47D Chinook fleet reported by Boeing on 7 September 2026. Holdings of the current D fleet only; future CH-47F orders are excluded. Not a readiness count.
Germany
GreeceArmy exact named equipment holdings: CH-47D Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
IndiaReported count for Boeing CH-47 Chinook · CH-47F (I). Service scope: Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): in service: 15. Origin: USA. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2026), not the article revision. 2026 cited source edition. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
IranArmy exact named equipment holdings: CH-47C Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
ItalyReported count for CH-47 Chinook · CH-47C / CH-47 Chinook · ICH-47F. Service scope: Italian Army Aviation; does not replace a national total. 2 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): in service: 5 / in service: 16. Origin: USA Italy. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2026), not the article revision. 2026 cited source edition. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
JapanReported count for Boeing CH-47 Chinook · CH-47J. Service scope: Japan Air Self-Defense Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Excludes retired/reserve/on-order rows. Count column(s): in service: 17. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2026), not the article revision. 2026 cited source edition. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
LibyaDated directory active-fleet estimate for CH-47C, grouped under CH-47 Chinook. Only the explicitly listed service/role Active cells are included. Ordered, stored and upgrade aircraft are excluded. This is the directory coverage of these source types, not a national total, complete owned-fleet census or readiness count.
MoroccoAir Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-47D Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
NetherlandsAir & Space Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Saudi ArabiaArmy exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
SingaporeAir Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
South KoreaArmy exact named equipment holdings: CH-47D Chinook; MH-47E Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
SpainArmy exact named equipment holdings: CH-47D Chinook (HT-17D). Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
TaiwanDirectory active-fleet estimate for the source types CH-47SD, grouped under CH-47 Chinook. Sums only the listed service and role rows; includes training and special-mission versions where explicitly listed. Excludes the separate Ordered column, aircraft in storage, aircraft undergoing or awaiting upgrades, and the directory's other exclusions. This is the dated directory coverage of these types, not a complete owned-fleet census or a readiness count.
TürkiyeSpecial Forces Command exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
United Arab EmiratesJoint Aviation Command exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
United StatesUS Army exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
United States Army Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Royal Saudi Air Force See Operators for others
Equipment reference ↗Air Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-47 Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Air Force holdings of the exact named CH-47 Chinook component; source lower bound; upper bound not specified. Active, reserve operational and training units, excluding equipment in store. This is a service-scoped observation, not a national total or combat readiness. Any explicit leased subset is included in, not added to, the quoted total. No parent-design or sibling-variant count inherited.
Reported count for Boeing CH-47 Chinook · CH-47C. Service scope: Iranian Army; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): quantity: 38. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. 2025 cited publication year. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Army exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Ground Self-Defense Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-47D Chinook (CH-47J). Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Air Self-Defense Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-47J Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Reported count for CH-47 Chinook. Service scope: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): quantity: 66. Origin: United States Japan. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. 2025 cited source edition. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Reported count for CH-47 Chinook · CH-47D. Service scope: Royal Moroccan Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): in service: 10. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2024), not the article revision. 2024 cited source edition. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Reported count for Boeing CH-47 Chinook · CH-47F. Service scope: Saudi Arabian Army; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Excludes retired/reserve/on-order rows. Count column(s): quantity: 48. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
Air Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-47D Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Reported count for CH-47 Chinook · CH-47F. Service scope: Spanish Army; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): quantity: 17. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. 2025 cited source edition. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Army exact named equipment holdings: CH-47F Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Reported count for Boeing CH-47 Chinook · CH-47F. Service scope: Turkish Land Forces; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): quantity: 10. Origin: United States Turkey. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. 2025 cited publication year. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Reported count for CH-47 Chinook · CH-47C / F. Service scope: United Arab Emirates Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): in service: 28. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. 2025 cited publication year. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
US Army Special Operations Command exact named equipment holdings: MH-47G Chinook. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: HELICOPTERS / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Reported count for MH-47 Chinook. Service scope: United States Army; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): quantity: 36. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2021), not the article revision. Cited source 2021-09-01. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.