HELLENIC PAVILION at AUSA 2023 ANNUAL MEETING AND EXPOSITION IN WASHINGTON

October 9 – 11, 2023
Walter Washington Convention Center
801 Mt Vernon Pl NW, Washington DC, 20001, USA

The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce organized for the the 10^th consecutive year the Hellenic Pavilion at the Association of the US Army (AUSA) 2023 Annual Meeting, under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense, in collaboration with the General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments (GDDIA) and with the support of Enterprise Greece, Greece’s official state investment and trade promotion agency.

Sixteen Greek Defense Industries demonstrated impressive defense equipment and promoted their capabilities by participated at the Hellenic Pavilion during AUSA 2023. Hellenic Defence Systems, Theon Sensors, Scytalys Interoperability Systems, Aeroservices, AMS Aero, Lambda Automata, Spirit Aeronautical Systems and at the common HASDIG-SEKPY booth: Akmon, Althom, Altus-LSA, DEFEA, DPM Systems Technologies, Elfon, Hertordshire Engineering Ltd./Hellenic Technology of Robotics, Integrated Systems Development και. T4i engineering.

We thank them all for their participation and contribution to this year’s success!

Held every October in Washington, D.C., AUSA is the largest land warfare exposition forum in North America. Visitors to this year’s exhibition exceeded 39,000, filling the corridors of the exhibition and the impressive exhibition stands from the worldwide defense community. Senior officials from the Department of Defence, members of Congress, industry leaders and foreign dignitaries visited the exhibition and attended numerous presentations and events. AUSA has become a flagship event for the modern Army and an outstanding platform for Greek defense companies to meet potential new clients and strategic partners, build international brand exposure, and demonstrate their exceptional capabilities and their reliability as a valuable partner and supplier of advanced technology defense equipment to USA and other Allied Countries.

Nikolaos Bakatselos, AmChamGR President, stressed that the Greek-US relations are at an all-time high, and as the United States and its allies further strengthen their defense and security capabilities and cooperation. We stand firm in our belief that the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition gives participating companies a unique opportunity to showcase their products and capabilities and connect with a host of defense and security stakeholders including industry representatives and senior defense leaders from across the United States and its considerable network of allies.

Marinos Giannopoulos, CEO of Enterprise Greece, stated that it is obvious that Greece’s defense sector is entering a new era, defined by growth, innovation, and global collaboration and that is why each year there is a growing number of Greek companies who participate at the Hellenic Pavilion.

Aristeidis Alexopoulos, Director General of GDDIA-Ministry of National Defence declared that, considering technological superiority as a key factor for strategic superiority, the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence is constantly investing to enforce the defence industry’s technological base and R&D outcome. Special focus is given on defence industry innovation by elaborating new R&D models, even at cross-border level and promoting collaboration across commercial actors, government sector and academia. Recognizing as well, the dual use of modern technologies and applications (civil and military) and the fact that Research Centers and Research & Technology Organizations (RTOs) can act as innovation accelerators, by fostering technology spin-in from the civil to the military sector and facilitating the creation of clusters of entities in specific technological areas, we are adjusting defence planning and funding on that direction. The General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments stands ready to assist every effort directed toward a strong defense industry, he said.

The Inauguration – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the Hellenic Pavilion was held Monday, October 9, and was attended by high-ranking military executives and representatives from the worldwide defense community. AmChamGR President Nikolaos Bakatselos conducted the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Hellenic Pavilion together with General Andrew Poppas, Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command, Theodore Bizakis, Charge d’ Affairs a.i. of the Embassy of Greece in Washington, Lieutenant General Andreas Koronakis, Deputy Chief of Staff of the HNDGS, Ministry of National Defence, Aristeidis Alexopoulos, Director General of the General Directorate for Defense Investment and Armaments and Dr. Marinos Giannopoulos, CEO, Enterprise Greece.

The 1^st exhibition day was ended by the Official Hellenic Pavilion Dinner, hosted by AmChamGR President Nikolaos Bakatselow to honor the Hellenic Pavilion exhibitors and the Hellenic MoD delegation.

During the 2^nd day of the exhibition, October 10, the Greek Innovation Day Event was held for the 2^nd consecutive year and was marked with great success attracting the attention of the U.S. and worldwide defence industry. Theon Sensors, Scytalys, AMS Aero, Spirit Aeronautical Systems, Althom, Altus-LSA and T4i engineering presented their innovative products and capabilities to a highly specialized audience. The event ended by a DEFEA 2025 presentation inviting the participants to visit Greece and present their U.S. products and services to the Greek audience on May 6-8, 2025!

The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce is dedicating this year’s Hellenic Pavilion at AUSA 2023 to the memory of Dennys Plessas, VP Global Pursuits Initiatives for Greece, Italy, the Americas and Africa at Lockheed Marting Aeronautics International.