Pakistan enters contract with Turkey to manufacture Attack Helicopters T-129

[Adnan Jumean]

Turkey always does joint defence deals with pakistan like the miglem corvette also.

 

[Adnan Jumean]

My point was you are very complacent when it comes to product development.

Also it is assembled, not manufactured.

much of the helicopter is going to be manufactured in pakistan, turkey always shares its technology with them

 

[gslv markIII]

much of the helicopter is going to be manufactured in pakistan, turkey always shares its technology with them

Not possible for such a small order & they don't have the industrial base to absorb the technology.

 

[WolfPack86]

TURKEY, PAKISTAN SIGN $1.5 BILLION DEAL FOR 30 ATAK HELICOPTERS

The deal is Turkey's biggest defence export in history
Turkey will export 30 ATAK helicopters to Pakistan after both the countries signed a $1.5 billion deal, reported Yeni Safak.

The deal is Turkey’s biggest defence export in history. According to Turkey’s Undersecretary for Defence Industries Ismail Demir, the deal would be officially announced next week.

In November 2017, Pakistan’s defense minister said that 90 percent of the sales period of the 30 ATAK helicopters and four warships was completed, and that the payment options were being worked on.

Turkish and Pakistani heads of state are expected to officially sign the deal at a ceremony.

As per the news report, the “T129 ATAK" Multirole Combat Helicopter has been optimized for specific hot & high performance requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The tandem seat, twin-engine, NATO-interoperable attack helicopter is optimised for attack, armed reconnaissance, and precision strike and deep strike missions at day and night in all environments and regardless of weather conditions.
http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2018/05/turkey-pakistan-sign-15-billion-deal.html

 

[Illusive]

So the Chinese helicopters that were tested not upto the mark. This is quite an expensive deal.

 

[WolfPack86]

So the Chinese helicopters that were tested not upto the mark. This is quite an expensive deal.

Chinese helicopter engines are not upto the mark and failed regularly.

 

[WolfPack86]

Pakistan signs for T129 attack helos

Pakistan has formally signed for 30 TAI T129 attack helicopters from Turkey, it was disclosed on 24 May.

The confirmation of the anticipated sale to Pakistan was made in the political manifesto that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) has released ahead of the general election scheduled for June. The manifesto states that “a very short while ago a contract for the sale of 30 attack helicopters was signed with Pakistan”. No further details were disclosed and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.

Pakistan is known to have evaluated the Turkish-built version of the AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta as part of an ongoing effort to procure a new attack helicopter for the country’s army. With the Pakistan Army having already ordered 12 US-built Bell AH-1Z Vipers, it had since 2014 been trialling the Chinese-built Z-10 and since 2016 the T129.

Speaking earlier in the year to Jane’s and other defence media, Pakistan Army Aviation commander Major General Nasir Shah said only that a number of platform options were being considered to augment its current Bell AH-1 Cobras, the four recently received Mil Mi-35s, and its soon to be delivered AH-1Z Viper platforms.

“Army Aviation has plans to further enhance its attack helicopter fleets, and various options are currently being considered and evaluated,” Gen Shah said on 31 January at the IQPC Military Helicopter conference in London. “The [current 32] AH-1 helicopters have provided effective close support for our ground forces engaged in counterinsurgency [COIN] operations, but they cannot be employed effectively in high-altitude operations above 8,000 ft,” he added.
http://www.janes.com/article/80336/pakistan-signs-for-t129-attack-helos

 

[WolfPack86]

Pakistan are getting NATO attack helicopter.

 

[Srinivas_K]

Pakistan are getting NATO attack helicopter.

India is getting Apache helicopters, India is also assembling them locally.

 

[nongaddarliberal]

India is getting Apache helicopters, India is also assembling them locally.

Are we getting total 22 apache or 39? Even if its 39, the number seems too low. They should have gone for a minimum 80.

 

[Srinivas_K]

Are we getting total 22 apache or 39? Even if its 39, the number seems too low. They should have gone for a minimum 80.

LCH is also a capable helicopter, I think India is going to get 39.

 

[nongaddarliberal]

LCH is also a capable helicopter, I think India is going to get 39.

I haven't heard any news about LCH for a long time. Is it in trials? Is it about to be inducted anytime soon?

 

[Wisemarko]

T-129 is a capable platform with proven basic design of Augusta Mangusta with up-to-date electronics, weapons and EW. It benefits mostly from Turkey being a NATO member. It also has a high operating ceiling of 20,000ft ideal for Himalayas.

LCH looks good on paper and did well on some test runs but considering track record of HAL, no guarantees can be made on delivery date, rate and quality.

Fortunately for India, Boeing is on its way to deliver few Apaches soon.

India is held hostage to government owned enterprises that have zero penalties for failures and tardiness. For example, a decade ago I heard of IJT-36, and nothing since then. I bet HAL spends more time on drawing on paper than actually making anything.

Obviously, Indians don’t hate (or don’t care) much about these organizations and continue to reward them with new contracts.

 

[porky_kicker]

Having a high service ceiling does not mean a helicopter will do well in high altitudes ops.

Many helicopters have high service ceiling but there is big difference in operating over plains at 15000+ feet high and over mountains at 15000+ feet high.

LCH has been purpose built for high altitude ops over the Himalayas. And that makes a big difference compared to other helicopters.

What LCH has gone through during trials in the Himalayas I doubt T129 has gone through such conditions till date be it during testing or operations.

 

[Wisemarko]

Having a high service ceiling does not mean a helicopter will do well in high altitudes ops.

Many helicopters have high service ceiling but there is big difference in operating over plains at 15000+ feet high and over mountains at 15000+ feet high.

LCH has been purpose built for high altitude ops over the Himalayas. And that makes a big difference compared to other helicopters.

What LCH has gone through during trials in the Himalayas I doubt T129 has gone through such conditions till date be it during testing or operations.

According to TAI (via MSI Turkish Defence Review)[1], the Pakistan Army evaluated the T129 P6 in hot temperature conditions, high-altitude and, for a specific period, with limited logistics support. In Multan, it was 47° Celsius, while in Pano Aqil (another area where the T129 P6 was flown) it was 50° C. During its deployment test, the helicopter was put in a hangar in Quetta, an area where it did not drop below 48° C, through the night. The TAI team did not have access to spare parts and ground support equipment (GSE). From there, TAI flew the T129 to Himalayas, where the P6 was successfully flown at 14,000 ft at 23° C. It returned to Quetta, spending another night without its GSE. The final major test required TAI to directly fly the T129 from Quetta to Multan – i.e. 480 km – without any refueling.
Source: Quwa

Honeywell press release:
The prototype T129 ATAK first flew in September 2009 and, with CTS800 engines, has successfully completed ‘hot and high’ performance tests up to 15,000 feet.

“The T129 ATAK had to be optimized to equal and exceed the ‘hot and high’ performance required for harsh geographical and environmental conditions,” said TAI’s director of helicopter programs, Sunar Oktay. “This required an engine like the LHTEC CTS800 turboshaft which is a class-leading, high-technology engine.”

T-129 was specifically designed for hot and high performance as Anatolia is a high mountainous region where Turks plan to use it.

 

[patriots]

I haven't heard any news about LCH for a long time. Is it in trials? Is it about to be inducted anytime soon?

Bhai we will see lsp of lch soon ...10 for iaf ..5 for army total 15 lch ....and full production in 2020 ...

 

[WolfPack86]

Apache attack helicopter with Stinger missile can easily hunt down T-129 Akak attack helicopter.

 

[WolfPack86]

T-129 Atak attack helicopter.

 

[WolfPack86]

T-129 Atak attack helicopter.

 

[Armand2REP]

U.S. crisis snags Turkey's record $1.5 billion helicopter deal
Aug 04 2018

Turkish plans to sell 30 ATAK helicopters to Pakistan for $1.5 billion, a deal lauded by the government as the country’s single biggest export order, is being threatened by a diplomatic crisis with the United States, Hurriyet newspaper reported.

The agreement will be delayed unless Turkey gets export permission from the U.S. Department of Defense by November, Hurriyet’s Eray Gorgulu wrote citing unidentified sources in the defence industry. Washington holds a veto over exports of the aircraft due to the helicopters’ engines.

The United States imposed sanctions on Turkey this week for its failure to release U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson and other Americans from custody on terrorism charges. The U.S. government is also considering excluding Turkey from a preferential duty-free trade deal and Congress may block the sale of F-35 jet fighters to the country.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) owns the rights to the whole platform of the T129 ATAK helicopter, based on the Agusta A129, originally designed and produced by Italian firm Agusta. But the United States holds an export veto because TAI produces the helicopter’s LHTEC CTS800-4N engines under license.

https://ahvalnews.com/us-turkey/us-crisis-snags-turkeys-record-15-billion-helicopter-deal