Britain Moves Ahead With Plans To Use CH-47 Chinooks

(MoneyWatch)  In the late Nineties the British government ordered eight CH-47 Chinooks heavy lift helicopters to support their special operation troops. Unfortunately they did not purchase the data rights to the aircraft. Normally if a government develops a system they get the data rights, but as the British were buying these aircraft developed by the U.S. they did not. This meant that the British military engineering agency could not certify that the aircraft were safe to operate at night or in bad weather which was a primary mission requirement. To buy the data rights to do this would have cost a great deal up front, and even more after delivery. Since 2001 the aircraft have been limited to day visual operations and sit mostly in storage. In 2007 the Ministry of Defense decided to convert them back to regular troop carrier versions that at least could be used in Afghanistan. The Times reports that this has cost now as much as the initial purchase price. This has to rank as one of the most costly mistakes in military contracting as somebody didn't think the whole program through.