{"id":214458,"date":"2024-07-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=214458"},"modified":"2024-07-01T15:30:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T15:30:28","slug":"army-conducts-user-demonstration-on-modernized-chinook-helicopter-at-operation-lethal-eagle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=214458","title":{"rendered":"Army conducts User Demonstration on modernized Chinook helicopter at Operation Lethal Eagle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Soldiers of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade load personnel into the CH-47F Block II.
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\n A 101st Combat Aviation Brigade Flight Engineer conducts pre-flight checks of the Chinook CH-47F Block II.
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\n Flight engineers and crew chiefs conduct loading and tie down of vehicles in the Chinook CH-47F Block II.
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FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0Screaming Eagle Soldiers of the 101st\u00a0Airborne Division completed testing a modernized version of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter during the recent exercise, Operation Lethal Eagle (OLE).<\/p>\n

Mr. James Adams, with U.S. Army Operational Test Command\u2019s Aviation Test Directorate, said the purpose of the Cargo Helicopters Project Office-hosted User Demonstration was to operate the CH-47F Block II in a realistic operational environment and leverage the data gathered to inform future operational testing, evaluation, and development.<\/p>\n

\u201cAircrews of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade provided valuable input while testing the aircraft in a wide variety of common mission tasks, pushing the full capabilities of the system. Performing operational test events during large scale operations and exercises offers an opportunity to augment standard test events, at minimal cost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To ensure the warfighter experiences new and modernized products in the most operationally-sound battle conditions, the testing community looks to leverage events such as Operation Lethal Eagle.<\/p>\n

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Nick Koeppen, 101st\u00a0CAB Standardization Pilot and test participant, said the User Demonstration allowed him and his crew to observe the aircraft\u2019s performance under actual operational conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a dynamic and invaluable experience, offering a stark contrast to the constraints of conventional, controlled testing environments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The benefits of leveraging the unit\u2019s exercise include a significant cost savings, improved resource availability, and operational quality in comparison to conducting separate independent test events which add undo strain to defense budgets and military units.<\/p>\n

Collecting data and unit feedback during OLE avoided a stand-alone operational test.<\/p>\n

Mr. Paul Zimmer, Deputy Director of the Aviation Test Directorate said, \u201cOperational testing holds inherent truths, as Army leadership uses the results from such events to mitigate risks associated with product fielding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evaluation of test articles doesn\u2019t solely rest with the testing community but also incorporates input from the intended end-users on the battlefield,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese test events are designed to ensure Soldiers have a voice in the acquisition and deployment of new and improved systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another test participant, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jordan Brooks, a 101st\u00a0CAB Maintenance Test Pilot said, \u201cWhile this testing environment provided limitations on nuanced data collection by lacking multiple iterations of similar tasks with different control variables, performing a myriad of mission set tests during OLE allowed us to provide feedback on a larger collection of missions and task types.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued,\u00a0\u201cI feel as if this experience was the perfect storm for us to give our true thoughts and help shape the future of CH-47\u2019s for the Army. The feedback from this User Demonstration will influence decisions regarding the future fielding of the modernized CH-47 to Army units.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lt. Col. Walter Thomas with the Army Evaluation Center (AEC) said the opportunity to conduct the unique operational event is a product of thorough developmental testing and program maturity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Block II has undergone hundreds of hours of component and flight testing by Redstone Test Center Experimental test crews as well as multiple hardware and software updates throughout the program,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis previous testing enabled a confidence in the performance and safety of the system to allow operational Soldiers the opportunity to provide their feedback in a complex and realistic environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Army Evaluation Center will analyze and report the data collected during the event for the continued development of the CH-47F Block II program.<\/p>\n

The Chinook has been the Army\u2019s Heavy Lift aircraft for the past 62 years and has undergone considerable upgrades over that time.<\/p>\n

It is a twin-turbine engine, tandem-rotor helicopter designed for transporting cargo, troops, and weapons in various environments, including day, night, visual, and instrument conditions.<\/p>\n

According to Lt. Col James B. Hickey, the Army Product Manager executing the CH-47F Block II program, the Block II configuration is the most cost-effective procurement alternative to maintain heavy lift capability and reduce Operation & Support (O&S) costs.<\/p>\n

The Block II restores payload capacity lost through years of mission equipment package (MEP) growth and enhances flight control systems, while delivering improved aircraft performance, reduced maintenance workload, and enhanced crew safety. The upgrade also supports efforts of future Chinook increments to meet combat requirements in anticipation that new MEPs will continue to add weight to the system over time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Soldiers of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade load personnel into the CH-47F Block II. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 \/ 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 A 101st Combat Aviation Brigade Flight Engineer conducts pre-flight checks of the Chinook CH-47F Block II. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214460,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-214458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=214458"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":214465,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214458\/revisions\/214465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/214460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=214458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=214458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=214458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}