Croatia receives first OH-58 Kiowa helicopters
http://www.janes.com/article/62690/croatia-receives-first-oh-58-kiowa-helicopters
The donated helicopters, the first of 16, and around 30 tonnes of additional equipment were delivered by a US Air Force Reserve Command Lockheed C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft. This is the first such shipment (at least one more is expected), fulfilling intergovernmental talks started in early 2015, and fully formalised in early 2016. The Croatian side of the deal was completed by March, with the Croatian government providing the funding on 25 May.
After the OH-58Ds were pulled out of US service as part of the '2013 Aviation Restructure Initiative', all 340 became available through EDA and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programmes. Croatia was the first country to show interest, picking out 16 lightly used aircraft formerly attached to the US Army 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (Fort Bragg, North Carolina) in November 2015. A formal letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for the aircraft was signed in mid-February 2016.
Besides the helicopters and initial training donated by the United States, Croatia also bought three OH-58D simulators, as well as a package of spare parts and armament.
Although the full value of the donation was estimated at around USD218 million, the contract value of the deal is set at USD29.14 million. Half was paid by the United States, and the rest is to be covered by Croatia between 2016 and 2020. All in all, Croatia will spend HRK188.4 million (USD27.9 million) on this new capability, with taxes included.
Croatia's first five Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters were delivered to Zemunik Air base on 30 July.
Croatia's first five OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters were delivered by a USAF C-5 Galaxy on 30 July. (Croatian Ministry of Defence)
Ora bem, em minha opinião tinha sido porventura, há falta de meios para comprar melhor opção, uma boa escolha para substituir os nossos AL III, digo eu, pois quem não tem cão com gato caça........nós que nem dinheiro temos para mandar cantar uns......... até ficávamos bem servidos.
Abraços