Where were Iran's and Libya's Chinooks built?

The Chinook has not been built only in the United States. Boeing granted manufacturing licences to foreign companies, such as Agusta in Italy, later AgustaWestland and now Leonardo, and Kawasaki in Japan. The Italian line became the export route to countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The CH-47Cs, the version that was exported, had more powerful engines and transmissions than the early models. In Japan, Kawasaki had produced 61 units by April 2001.

In the 1970s, Iran and the United States maintained a close relationship, and the Iranian armed forces were being modernised with American equipment. Following an agreement between Boeing and Agusta, the Imperial Iranian Air Force bought twenty Agusta-built CH-47Cs in 1971, and the Imperial Iranian Army Aviation acquired another 70 from Agusta between 1972 and 1976. In late 1978 Iran ordered 50 more from Elicotteri Meridionali, but the order was cancelled right after the revolution; only 11 were delivered, following repeated Iranian requests.

In 1976, the Libyan Air Force bought 24 Italian-built CH-47Cs; 14 of them were transferred to the Libyan Army in the 1990s. Libya hired Western pilots and technicians to operate the fleet, which in the 1980s carried out transport and support missions for Libyan ground forces deployed in Chad, and at times carried special forces in raids in the north of that country. In 2002 Libya sold 12 helicopters to the United Arab Emirates, and it is unknown how many remained operational during the civil wars that began in 2011.