Boeing has awarded Saxony-based COTESA GmbH a five-year contract to manufacture key components for the H-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter. This is the first Boeing contract award to COTESA.
“We are committed to bringing opportunities to German companies from across the Boeing enterprise and will continue to strive to bring the best of Boeing to industry and the best of industry back into Boeing,” said Michael Hostetter, Defense, Space & Security director of Vertical Lift Programs, Germany. “As a leading production facility for specialty composite parts, COTESA’s expertise will support our efforts to enhance the Chinook helicopter and deliver top-quality, cost-effective solutions to our customers.”
With this agreement, COTESA is joining Boeing’s already established supply chain in Germany, in addition to its global supply chain of more than 20,000 suppliers and partners around the globe. “The contract award to COTESA is a testament to the technology potential we see in Germany and another important milestone in our partnership with German industry,” said Sir Michael Arthur, president, Boeing Europe.
“We are excited to join the Boeing supplier team. This contract award provides an opportunity for COTESA and our employees to demonstrate our expertise in high-performance composite parts,” said Jörg Hüsken, chief executive officer of COTESA.
COTESA will manufacture portions of the Chinook tunnel cover section – a honeycomb-like core that makes up parts of the helicopter’s external skin – for the global Chinook fleet.
“The Chinook is an industry-leading platform and a critical platform for the armed forces of 19 countries around the world,” continued Hostetter. “Its proven ability to meet mission requirements, including humanitarian and disaster-relief operations, makes it even more important for us to continuously bring the best of industry to the platform – and that’s the case with COTESA.”
To date, Boeing has delivered more than 900 H-47 Chinook helicopters that are in operation in 19 countries, including eight NATO nations: Canada, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the U.S., allowing for increased interoperability between NATO nations during joint training and deployment operations worldwide.
