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An agreement for strategic cooperation between the Hellenic Defence Systems company and the U.S. company of ATK was signed on Wednesday by CEO Sotiris Christoyanis and Vice President of ATK Dan Olson, during the special event organised by the Ministry of Defence, in the presence of political and military leaders.

According to the information, the agreement provides the following:

• co-production of 94,669 live ammunitiosn and 14,448 training ammunitions for the Greek Apache helicopters to the amount of € 12.7 million.

• ATK’s implementation of the agreement together with the U.S. government for the production of forty mm 40L60 missiles, for the purposes of the U.S. Air Force. The five-year programme is underway and will bring the Hellenic Defence Systems company $ 13 million annually.

According to the same information, the future programmes comprise:

• co-production of ammunitions from 20 to 30 x 173 mm for the needs of the international market

• co-production and presentation in the U.S.A. of 40 x 53 mm ammunitions

For the ammunitions of 40 x 53 mm, the Hellenic Defence Systems company has been recently certified and now has the right to export to Germany and France.

Also, metal parts of ATK weapons will be produced for the needs of the international market.

The Minister of Defence, Dimitris Avramopoulos, together with the Executive Director of the Greek company, Sotiris Christoyanis, and the Vice President of the American company, Dan Olson

Centre for the Balkans and the Middle East
According to the information, the U.S. company intends to use the facilities of the Hellenic Defence Systems company in Egio as a transportation hub for servicing freight flows to the Balkans and the Middle East.

In turn, Hellenic Defence Systems seeks to obtain certificates of the Apache ammunition casings as a second provider worldwide.

In his brief address ,the  Minister of National Defence, Dimitris Avramopoulos, noted that the efforts of recent years have led to a constructive agreement mutually beneficial to both parties and the defence industry as well as for the bilateral relations between Greece and the United States.

The U.S. Ambassador in Greece, David Pierce, spoke about the good news during the economic crisis and underlined the high level of cooperation between the two countries in the defence and security sector.

Vice President of ATK, Dan Olson, described the agreement as the culmination of a long process of negotiations and talked about successful cooperation. He acknowledged that the agreement will increase the power of Hellenic Defence Systems, and expressed full satisfaction with the quality of work.

Deputy Minister of the National Defence, Fofi Genimata, stressed that the Hellenic Defence Systems company is exiting the crisis, sending a message of competitiveness and reliability.

Chrisantos Lazaridis, a deputy and assistant to the Prime Minister, talked about the vital importance of the significant step which Greece has made to strengthen the defence industry by adopting ambitious agenda for progress in the sector.