The helicopters of the Greek Armed Forces were presented at the DEFEA 2021 exhibition held in Athens. What are they and what are their capabilities?
The flying weapons that were on display were the S-70B Aegean Black Hawk, the 0H-58D Kiowa and the AH-64DHA Longbow Apache .
S-70B Aegean Black Hawk
The S-70B is one of the biggest "boasts" the Greek Navy has (despite the fact that it is a naval force) and has eleven S-70 helicopters.
The S-70 helicopter is made by the American company Sikorsky, has two engines, a basic four-blade propeller, an auxiliary power unit (APU), radar, and automatic flight control system (AFCS).
Its weapons package includes torpedoes and missiles.
The main missions of the S-70 are ground war defense (ASuW), submarine war defense (ASW), and supervising.
The S-70 Navy helicopters are a special variant of the USN SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters, codenamed "Aegean Hawk".
It is worth noting that since 1995, the Greek Navy has completed over 35,000 flight hours without accidents.
0H-58D Kiowa
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine military helicopters used for fire observation and direct support.
Built for the United States Army, it was replaced in 2017.
The latest model, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, functions primarily as an armed reconnaissance role in support of ground troops.
Apart from Greece, OH-58 has been exported to Austria, Canada, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, among others.
AH-64DHA Longbow Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an attack military helicopter originally built by McDonnell Douglas.
It made its maiden flight in the mid-1970s.
Depending on the army that it serves, there is a corresponding version.
Apart from Greece, it is used by the United States military, but also serves in other countries such as Japan, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
To date, more than 1,000 such helicopters have been produced.
The AH-64 Apache is a twin-engine, single-rotor, four-bladed helicopter with a crew of two. It has a sensor system mounted on the nose of the aircraft for target acquisition and night vision.
It also has a dual and triple backup system to improve the viability of the aircraft and crew, and has more chances of survival for pilots in the event of a collision.
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