Blue Marlin
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indeed it can open an industry but you must ask yourself this. how many will pakistan buy? and how many can it realistically sell? the answer to the first question is about 90 max. as for the second part most of the gcc are going for ah-64e's and upgrades from the 64d to the 64e. who's left? no one. can pakistan afford to have a helicopter industry (financially) possibly?IMO that as it may, it might be a lost opportunity to not grab this program. Denel's language on the Rooivalk Mk2 suggests the door to partner are open, and in turn, so are the benefits on offer (e.g. ToT). We might assume China and Turkey will provide ToT, but South Africa is promising it in the open and in a very general way (e.g. "set up an attack helicopter industry in the buying country").
china can help pakistan with choppers, money and more importantly a huge degree of tot. can south africa help pakistan to the degree of the chinese? no
the way i see it is:
- 15 to 36 ah1-z (depending on how the new zulu's perform)
- 90 z10 (back bone)
- ~fennecs scounting/light attack
- 20 mil-35 border attack/assault