12th Combat Aviation Brigade receives brand new CH-47F MYII Chinooks

1 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Hotel Company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, park at a local German airport for refueling in the new MYII models Aug. 21, 2015. The new helicopters will provide 12th CAB with the latest and mos... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

2 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Hotel Company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, take off after refueling at a local German airport in the new MYII models Aug. 21, 2015. The new helicopters will provide 12th CAB with the latest ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

3 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Hotel Company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, fly in a convoy formation in the new MYII models Aug. 21, 2015. The new helicopters will provide 12th CAB with the latest and most cutting-edge CH-... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

4 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Hotel Company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, fly over Germany in the new MYII models Aug. 21, 2015. The new helicopters will provide 12th CAB with the latest and most cutting-edge CH-47F platf... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

5 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pilots and crew members from Hotel Company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, load up onto a new MYII model after dropping off their past fleet at Bremerhaven, Germany, Aug. 21, 2015. The new helicopters will provide 12th CAB w... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

12th Combat Aviation Brigade receives new CH 47F MYII Chinook Helicopters — 6 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Austin Anderson, a CH-47 helicopter repairer for hotel company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, served as a crew chief during the exchange of the Chinook helicopters at Bremerhaven, Germany, Aug. 21, 2015. The new helico... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

7 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Chinook Pilots from the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade received a class on the new CH-47F MYII models at Katterbach Army Airfield, Ansbach, Germany, July 30, 2015. The new helicopters will provide 12th CAB with the latest and most cutting-edge CH-47F ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

8 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Capt. Philip J. Leathead, the company commander of hotel company, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Adam Marshall, a Maintenance Test Pilot for hotel company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade and Mr. Matthew Carmichael, a CH-47 Systems Tr... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

9 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Ryan W. Azevedo, a CH-47 Helicopter Repairer and Company Standardization Instructor for Hotel Company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, observes the shipping port inside the new CH-47F MYII over Bremerhaven, Germany... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

10 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The final CH-47F MYII helicopter arrives at Katterbach Army Airfield, Ansbach, Germany, Aug. 21, 2015. The new helicopters will provide 12th CAB with the latest and most cutting-edge CH-47F platform to-date that will ensure combat readiness, which i... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

11 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Hotel Company 1-214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, take off enroute to Bremerhaven port, Aug. 21, 2015. The new MYII helicopters will provide 12th CAB with the latest and most cutting-edge CH-47F pl... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ANSBACH, Germany (Aug. 25, 2015) -- The first five of nine CH-47F MYII Chinook helicopters arrived at Katterbach Army Airfield, here, Aug. 21. The MYII Chinook is the latest and most cutting-edge CH-47F platform to-date which allows pilots to fly the airframe "through the clouds" or in degraded visual environments; increasing the combat readiness of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade.

The new helicopters also increase the 12th CAB's freedom of movement throughout the European theater. The upgrades to the avionic instruments now adhere with European mandates for GPS capabilities in rotary wing aircraft. This ensures the 12th CAB can participate in any NATO operation and project heavy lift capability anywhere in Europe.

"It's a step in the right direction towards the future of instrument flight operations," said Capt. Philip J. Leathead, the company commander for Hotel Company 1st Bn., 214th Avn. Regt. "We can fly with the use of instruments integrated with the GPS whereas before we were limited with the older systems."

The outgoing aircraft logged a substantial amount of hours during the past four years at Katterbach. These hours came from two rotations to Afghanistan and numerous NATO operations.

"These new aircraft do not require the amount of maintenance the older ones did," said Staff Sgt. Ryan W. Azevedo, the company standardization instructor for Hotel Company, 1st Bn., 214th Avn. Regt. "The unit can actually start fresh."

Among the many upgrades, the new cargo loading system features will provide a way to quickly load and unload cargo. "We can go from transporting cargo to passengers in a matter of minutes," said Staff Sgt. Jason L Tabansky, a flight engineer instructor for Hotel Company, 1st Bn., 214th Avn. Regt. The aircraft floors in the new Chinooks are similar to Air Force cargo planes. The floor panels can be flipped over to use the rollers.

Other notable upgrades to the MYII include but are not limited to, the Common Missile Warning System, Extended Range Fuel System II and the Digital Automatic Flight Control System.

The Chinook, the Army's only heavy-lift helicopter, is a critical asset for transporting troops, supplies, and providing various combat support and combat service support operations.