Eurocopter Joins Turkey's Light Helicopter Race

[Lankan Ranger]

Eurocopter Joins Turkey's Light Helicopter Race

Top European helicopter maker Eurocopter announced Wednesday that it will seek to become Turkey's key foreign partner in a program, worth more than $1 billion, to design, develop and manufacture hundreds of light utility helicopters, both military and civilian.

"We want to partner with Turkey in one of their top programs. The light utility helicopter program is a key project," said Thomas Hein, Eurocopter's vice president for sales and customer relations in Europe.

Light utility helicopters generally weigh between 4,500 and 5,500 kilograms. "We are developing our product range, and we would like to produce, with Turkey, a chopper from scratch," Hein said.

Under two multibillion-dollar contracts, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is co-producing with Italy's AgustaWestland 59 T-129 attack helicopters and jointly is making with Sikorsky Aircraft more than 100 T-70 utility helicopters, with a single copter weighing about 10,000 kilograms. To meet its heavy-lift helicopter needs, Ankara earlier this year signed a nearly $400 million contract with Boeing to buy six CH-47 Chinook choppers.

Therefore, light utility helicopters are the last major copter type Turkey wants to produce with a foreign company.

"In my personal view, all major helicopter producers in the world will seek this cooperation with Turkey," Hein said.

Formed in 1992 through the merger of the helicopter divisions of France's Aerospatiale and Germany's DASA, Eurocopter sold 20 AS 532 Cougar utility helicopters to Turkey's military and then co-produced with TAI 30 other Cougars. But since 2006, the company has been silent about major Turkish helicopter deals, and Wednesday's remarks by Hein, who is responsible for ties with Ankara, means Eurocopter is back in the Turkish market.

Although it mainly is a defense project, the light utility program also will manufacture many private and commercial copters. But the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), Turkey's procurement agency, has not formally announced the program. The Turkish government is expected to select a foreign partner in 2013. As a result, the number of helicopters to be produced and the financial size of the program are not clear, although the cost is expected to exceed $1 billion.

Although Eurocopter has developed tens of helicopter types in several categories, SSM insists on the development of a new type, and Hein said Eurocopter is ready to produce a new light helicopter with Turkey.

Eurocopter is part of European defense giant EADS.

Eurocopter Joins Turkey's Light Helicopter Race - Defense News

 

[cabatli_53]

Turkish missiles in Europe helicopter


Europe's giant helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter, announced in the coming period, to use the Turkish missiles.



Google Translation:
EC-635 helicopters produced by French, German and Spanish partners will be equipped by ASELSAN's imaging systems and Roketsan'n "Javelin" rocket. Thomas Hein in charge ofCompany's European marketing and sales vice president said that we trust Turkish defense industry. Hein said we want to buy other similar products from Turkey, "I continued to have discussions.". We wanted to throw a new step into our relations with Turkey For a long time, Hein explains what they want to accomplish in the coming period as related to the project :"weapons systems tests of The helicopters are performed in South Africa. The new goal is to move it to Turkey . Eurocopter as the need for new engineers We are. on this subject would like to cooperate with Turkish universities. "European-based Eurocopter, the annual turnover is 4.8 billion euros. On the other hand, Eurocopter, General Directorate of Security of the tender will receive 15 helicopters from AgustaWestland and the Italian companies of the American Bell race.

Ekonomi Avrupa helikopterine Türk füzesi ZAMAN

---------- Post added at 07:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:23 PM ----------

All foreign eyes are on success of Roketsan Cirit missile that is the first 2.75 Inch missile passed into serial production phase in World.

 

[cabatli_53]

Cirit Seeker heads

Accuracy of Cirit (Javelin)

WArhead

Hitting an armoured vehicle

---------- Post added at 07:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:31 PM ----------

Additional note:


In Trials, Cirit successfully engaged a moving target travelling at 60 km/h while the platform (AH-1W Super Cobra) it was fired from was moving at 220 km/h (120 knots)

 

[Saithan]

Here is another source to the same news

Eurocopter partners to use Turkish missiles on newest chopper

Eurocopter's latest attack chopper will feature missiles and visual displays manufactured by Turkish firms, officials at the aviation powerhouse said earlier this week.


Eurocopter, a joint venture of French, German and Spanish aerospace firms, plans to equip the EC-635, a light multipurpose attack helicopter, with “Javelin” missiles produced by the Turkish firm Roketsan. The craft's cockpit will also feature visual displays by Turkey's state defense firm ASELSAN.

Thomas Hein, Eurocopter's vice president of sales and customer relations in Europe, said the firm has been pleased with the quality of products offered by Turkish defense firms and hopes for further business with Turkish partners. “We are in ongoing talks regarding this,” Hein told Today's Zaman, and stated that Eurocopter is currently working to transition away from producing a “finished product” within the confines of its own defense companies, planning instead to expand cooperation with Turkish and other defense contractors.

Hein said plans for expanding business in Turkey may also include a project that would see testing grounds for the firm's helicopters moved from their current location in South Africa to Turkey. The growing firm, Hein said, has also considered signing deals with Turkish universities, which might answer the company's need for more aerospace engineers.

More business in Turkey by Eurocopter, which last year saw $4.8 million in defense contracts, would give a sizeable boost to the Turkish defense industry, which presently exports just under $1 million worth of defense products abroad. Eurocopter is also currently in competition with America's Bell and Italy's AgustaWestland firms for a 15-helicopter contract with Turkey's National Police Department.

source: Eurocopter partners to use Turkish missiles on newest chopper

 

[skymn494]

since Turkey has adequate human resources, guess the light heli project it can be developed fully indigenous indeed.