Delta to Foxtrot?

Army’s Options for Growing Its Chinook Fleet

When Former Defence Minister, Dr Brendan Nelson Quietly Announced in September 2006 That the Liberal-led Coalition Would Approve the Purchase of Three Ch-47f Chinooks for Army if It Was Returned to Power in the 2007 Federal Election, There Were High Hopes That the Medium Term Plans to Increase Army’s Chinook Helicopter Transport Fleet From the Current Six Ch-47ds to an Eventual Total 12 Ch-47fs Would Soon Be Realised.

But It is Now History That the Rudd Labor Government Was Swept to Power in a Landslide, and That Many Major Defence Acquisitions, Including Proposals for Additional Ch-47s, Have Since Become Bogged Down in the Ongoing Defence White Paper Process Which is Looking Increasingly Unlikely to Report Anything Publicly Before May’s Federal Budget.