Boeing is in discussions with the State Department for supplying used US Army CH-47E Chinook Helicopters to Libya, according to Raymond Haddad, Boeing Head of Chinook Sustainment.

The announcement was made last week during a briefing at a Boeing helicopter facility in Millville, New Jersey.

Developed by Boeing, the CH-47 Chinook medium transport helicopter has been sold to 16 countries with the US Army and United Kingdom Royal Air Forces are the largest operators.

Over 1 100 CH-47 Chinook helicopters are built to date. Over 600 of them are still in service.

The CH-47 Chinook was first introduced in 1962. The initial models A, B, and C were used during Vietnam War. In 1982 an improved CH-47D entered service with the US Army and remained in production till 1994. It is an easy upgradeable helicopter, and the US Army is going to maintain its Chinooks until 2018, when the CH-47F will enter a full-scale production.

The CH-47 Chinook is a transport helicopter that facilitates heavy airlifting. It is capable of taking on multiple missions. Primary objective for this helicopter is to carry artillery, troops, ammunition and other supply materials. It is also capable to recover aircraft and conducting search and rescue missions.

The future CH-47F will have an improved airframe, number of structural enhancements, improved avionics and communication systems, advanced flight control system. It will also have up rated 4 900 shp engines and a number of other improvements.

Chinook is powered by two engines, delivering power to two contra-rotating rotors. Such arrangement made a vertical tail rotor unnecessary. This helicopter has a top speed of 315 km/h.