CH-47F Chinook, the Spanish Army's heavy helicopters seen up close

The Spanish Army Airmobile Forces (FAMET) are one of the oldest users of the Boeing Vertol CH-47 Chinook.

Boeing delivers 17th CH-47F Chinook helicopter to Spain and announces one more unit
The parade of FAMET helicopters that could not be seen on October 12 in Madrid

The first helicopters of this type arrived in Spain in 1973. The Army received a total of 19 Chinooks (10 CH-47C and 9 CH-47D), of which two (one CH-47C and one CH-47D) were lost in accidents. After modernizing the remaining CH-47Cs to the Delta version, Boeing has recently completed the modernization process of this fleet to the Foxtrot version, the CH-47F, a process in which all possible components of those 17 helicopters have been used.

The unit that brings together the FAMET Chinooks is the V Transport Helicopter Battalion (BHELTRA V) , which operates from the "Coronel Maté" Base in Colmenar Viejo, Madrid. The CH-47Fs are the largest and heaviest helicopters in the Spanish Armed Forces. They can transport up to 55 soldiers, or 24 stretchers if used in medical evacuation missions. They are used as aircraft for parachute jumps and can also deploy boats thanks to their amphibious capacity. In addition, they can transport external loads using slings, up to a total of 12.7 tons.

These helicopters are a very valuable asset for Spain and they have proven this in different missions. Currently, the FAMET have two CH-47Fs deployed in Iraq with the Task Force "Toro", being the most remote mission that these aircraft have taken on. A few days ago, V1 Aeronautics (a very interesting YouTube channel that I recommend you subscribe to) published an interesting video showing these giants of the Spanish Army up close: