Greece received 70 Bell OH-58D Kiowa helicopters.

Just 16 months from signing a Letter of Offer and Acceptance between the United States and Greece, the Security Assistance Command has delivered 70 Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopters and one Boeing CH-47D Chinook heavy-lift helicopter.

OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter (Picture source: US Army)

“This is the fastest turnaround for an EDA case that I’ve seen in my 15 years working security assistance programs,” Dimitrios Arkoumanis, a foreign military sales specialist working in the Office of Defense Cooperation Greece, said.

“Typically from the Letter of Request to the LOA takes about two years,” Arkoumanis said. “This one was signed in 11 months.”

The LOR was submitted in February 2017, and the LOA was signed in January 2018.

The procurement of the Kiowa helicopters by Greece helps build partner capacity by covering an immediate gap in Greece’s attack or observation helicopter requirement and will further the Hellenic army’s goal of establishing two operational aviation brigades, said Andrew Neushaefer, USASAC’s country program manager for Greece.

Arkoumanis, a retired Greek army officer who flew UH-1H Huey helicopters, said, “After flying Hueys for 18 years, I can easily understand the importance of introducing a ‘War Dog’ (the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior) into the Greek army inventory.”

The total package included 36 fully operational Kiowa helicopters, 24 incomplete models to be used to train Hellenic army pilots, and 10 airframes that will be used for spare parts, and the Chinook helicopter