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The broken US helicopter deal by the German armed forces is profound insight
| Reading time: 3 minutes
Offer canceled for new US helicopters.
The CH-53G heavy transport helicopter has been in service with the Bundeswehr since 1972. Two US companies have submitted offers for new helicopters. The Defense Ministry has now labeled it uneconomic.
One of Germany’s most important arms deals has broken out. For now, the Department of Defense has given two major US companies a chance to replace the veteran CH-53G transport helicopter. The move suggests a strategic pullback.
meIt’s a cheap blow for the American defense industry hitting it from Berlin. Procurement of replacements for the old Bundeswehr heavy transport helicopters with an American model from Boeing or Sikorsky-Lockheed will stop in their current form.
The Defense Ministry announced that the offers submitted were evaluated as uneconomic. It was recognized that “it is unlikely that the project will be carried out within the planned financial framework with the simultaneous fulfillment of all requirements”.
This is probably a way of saying that the offers are too expensive. Replacement and maintenance costs were initially estimated at € 5.6 billion by 2031 for an estimated 45 to 60 helicopters. It is one of the largest weapons projects in the Bundeswehr.
The selection freeze comes after detailed negotiations with both suppliers over who should deliver the new, larger helicopters to the Bundeswehr. However, there is time pressure to finally replace the large CH-53G helicopters.
The Bundeswehr has used this model since 1972, that is, for almost 50 years. Because there is no comparable helicopter in Europe and previous Boeing / Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) cooperation ideas failed, the MoD wanted to buy the basic helicopter in the US due to a lack of sensible alternatives. It should be delivered from 2024.
In the race was Boeing’s modernized CH-47F “Chinook” version with its idiosyncratic shape and two rotors near the cockpit and aft. The competitor was the newly developed CH-53K “King Stallion” by Sikorsky of the Lockheed Martin group. The first offers were submitted in January. The details were then negotiated.
The ideas of the Department of Defense and the American industry differed by miles as to how many helicopters can be obtained, at what cost and with what capabilities.
Unconventional shape: Boeing’s CH-47F (I) “Chinook”
Quelle: Hindustan Times via Getty Images / Hindustan Times
Both American manufacturers had partnered with German companies so the offer also included a German component. For example, there was an alliance between Sikorsky and Rheinmetall, MTU Aero Engines and other companies.
Now the ministry is pulling the strings, giving him freedom of action. As they say, the old CH-53G has yet to be replaced “in time.” A contract can no longer be achieved in 2021.
The 2018 Sikorsky CH-53K “King Stallion” on approach to land in Düsseldorf. At the time, it still looked like the deal could go through.
Source: pa / — / Rheinmeta
There is speculation in industry circles as to whether the order could now be awarded directly to one of the two US suppliers with the largest share of German or European companies.
Years ago, Airbus complained that it was not involved in the project. The idea at the time was to “Germanize” the American helicopter.
An Airbus manager said literally in 2017: “Only by turning to national equipment suppliers and suppliers will it be possible in the future to fully guarantee the sovereignty of Germany and its armed forces.”
Indirectly he warned against total dependence on the United States. At the time, Airbus’s attempt to at least participate in the maintenance contracts for the large American helicopter failed.
As they say in the industry, there are various national requirements and peculiarities that lead to high costs. Anyway, a token purchase of the helicopter off the US shelf without changes is not possible.
