Croatia approves OH-58D buy

[Zarvan]

Croatia has approved plans to buy 16 OH-58Ds that have been retired from US Army service. Source: US Army
Croatia has approved the procurement of 16 surplus OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopters from the United States, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 25 February.

The plan to buy a squadron of OH-58D helicopters and three simulators is valued at HRK286 million (USD41 million), of which HRK100 million will be funded through US government support funds and the remainder by the Croatian government's 2016-20 budget.

Croatia had originally wanted to receive surplus Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters through the US Excess Defense Article (EDA) programme, whereby military equipment is gifted to allies for the cost of refurbishment, shipping, and support once in service. Talks were held in late 2014 and early 2015 between the Croatian MoD, the US military, and Sikorsky. The plan was that Croatia would receive the UH-60s and in turn donate its Mi-8/17s to Ukraine, though not much progress was made.

With the proposed UH-60 sale not going anywhere, Croatia instead decided to acquire the 16 OH-58Ds through the EDA system. This deal passed the US Congress in late summer 2015. Croatia already fields seven Bell 206B JetRanger helicopters, on which the OH-58D is based, and so already has much of the training and support infrastructure in place.

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