A U.S. Army CH-47F Chinook touched down without any pilot input during a flight test earlier this month, completing the first fully automated approach and landing in the aircraft’s 60-year operational history.
Boeing’s Approach-to-X (A2X) autonomy software executed the maneuver, commanding the helicopter’s upgraded Digital Automated Flight Control System (DAFCS) through final approach and touchdown with all four wheels on the runway.
The milestone, announced April 16, marks the first time the aircraft has completed a fully hands-off landing under real-world flight-test conditions.
Since its first flight aboard a U.S. Army CH-47F in January 2026, A2X has accumulated more than 150 approaches across a range of final altitudes, from a 100-foot hover to full ground contact.
The system works by allowing pilots to select a landing zone, final altitude, approach angle, and start speed. The software then handles all control inputs required to reach that point. Pilots retain the ability to adjust course and glideslope mid-approach in response to a changing tactical environment.
Boeing has not publicly disclosed a precise position error figure but described the landings as “precise and repeatable,” framing the system as a supervised autonomy tool designed to reduce pilot workload in high-demand environments without removing crew authority over the aircraft.
Lifting the future of Chinook Block II.
We’re working on new #Chinook autonomous capabilities that will give operators the flexibility to tailor crew size to the mission.
Take a look at what’s possible.👇 #26Summit pic.twitter.com/T0BawO21tO
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) April 16, 2026
The autonomous landing milestone arrives alongside a broader modernization push for the Chinook fleet. The Army formally accelerated procurement of the CH-47F Block II in September 2025, authorizing purchases in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 to outfit two Combat Aviation Brigades.
Boeing received a $461 million contract in October 2025 for nine Block II aircraft featuring upgraded open-systems avionics. The Block II raises the aircraft’s maximum gross weight to 54,000 pounds and extends its range, addressing the standoff distances required by contested logistics environments.
The A2X system is designed for Block II integration. Boeing has positioned the Chinook as the only aircraft in the American inventory capable of meeting heavy-lift demands through 2060, with supervised autonomy serving as a core component of that long-term roadmap.
You might want to look up the history of the NASA/Army VALT program circa 1977 conducted at NASA Wallops Flight Test Center. We did a full lift to hover, lap around the circuit, back to hover and land at point of departure, unassisted by pilots. NASA 737, 66-19138, a B model Chinook. I was the crew chief on board..
Now let’s see it fly to a fire support base, drop its load, hook up to a multiple load of dirty laundry, empty blivets and nets and slings, fly then to the appropriate destination and put them where they belong without human intervention.
Or put a piggy back sling of 105 ammo down, sidestep a bit and drop a 105 howitzer on its pre-prepared firing pad, then land and offload the gun crew.
personally I think they have gone to far with with automation. & it’s turning opeople off 100% . the human body is a beautiful thing, Antropic & AI won’t help any of them at all. hurting people with software is not going to gain anyware