Chinook gets better missile protection
Newly acquired Boeing Chinook CH-47F heavy-lift helicopters supplied to the royal Netherlands air force are to be fitted with a state-of-the-art modular po

Newly acquired Boeing Chinook CH-47F heavy-lift helicopters supplied to the royal Netherlands air force are to be fitted with a state-of-the-art modular pod designed to protect it from missiles fired by hostile ground forces. Developed by Terma and building on its previous experience in protecting Apache helicopters in a similar way, the pod solution has been tailored to the needs of forces operating in the difficult environments found in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dubbed the Chinook Aircraft Survivability Equipment (CHASE), the system comprises three missile sensors and one laser turret installed on each side of the helicopter. This not only provides a 360-degree spherical coverage but also a mechanical integration between the missile warning sensors and the Directed Infra-Red Countermeasures (DIRCM) produced by Northrop Grumman.