On the sidelines of the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition 2024, which opened today (December 19), Mr. Dale McDowall, Vice President of Business Development for Southeast Asia, Defense, Space and Security at Boeing, shared that people often know Boeing for commercial aircraft, but Boeing also has a defense portfolio, surveillance aircraft such as maritime control aircraft and even drones.

At the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition 2024, Boeing introduced for the first time 4 defense and security products, combining search and rescue capabilities.

Two of them are for maritime use, the ScanEagle unmanned aerial system and the Wave Glider unmanned boat. The remaining two, the MH-139 Grey Wolf multi-mission helicopter and the CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, are for ground operations.

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Chinook CH-47 heavy-lift helicopter. Photo: Boeing

Notably, the Chinook CH-47 - a heavy-duty helicopter considered a "sky monster", can lift a load of more than 8 tons, while a normal lift helicopter can only lift 3-5 tons.

“The Chinook is well suited for humanitarian support missions. Meanwhile, Vietnam has a lot of mountainous terrain and many islands do not have airports or large airports; often suffer from storms, earthquakes, floods, ...”, said Mr. Dale McDowall.

This helicopter can lift 8 tons, and when performing rescue operations, it does not need to land, but only needs to stop at the beach or mountain peak to reach the victim.

In addition, Boeing also introduced the ScanEagle unmanned aircraft - a type of aircraft that has been well-proven with 1.5 million flight hours worldwide. It can fly continuously for 18-19 hours, at an altitude of 5,800m and has the ability to carry equipment, so ScanEagle is convenient for performing maritime security, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

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ScanEagle drone. Photo: Boeing

Along with that, the company also supports the Vietnam Coast Guard in installing aircraft and conducting test flights; supporting English and technical training for aircraft operation and maintenance.

On the afternoon of December 18, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received a delegation of aerospace, defense, and security businesses from the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) attending the 2nd International Defense Exhibition.