The U.S. Army awarded Collins Aerospace, a unit of RTX (NYSE: RTX), a contract worth up to $472 million to provide engineering services supporting the modernization and sustainment of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter fleet, according to a press release.

The contract covers avionics upgrades designed to integrate new capabilities, address component obsolescence, and strengthen the aircraft's avionics architecture. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The award also aims to advance platform commonality across the Army's aviation enterprise through open, reusable avionics architectures that can be applied across multiple aircraft types, with the goal of reducing integration complexity and improving cost and schedule efficiency.

Jenny Miller, vice president and general manager of Vision and Sensing Systems at Collins Aerospace, said the company "equips the Chinook with advanced avionics that integrates communication, navigation and mission subsystems into a flexible, interoperable cockpit built for today's operational demands."