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Pakistan Army Aviation Corps - Updated

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Aircraft Details

Aircraft: Mi-17-1V (upgrade by Pakistan)
Manufacturer:

Registration: 58602
CN: 586 M02

Operator: Pakistan Army Aviation

Mi17_AP_58602_1.jpg
 
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Pakistan extends Turkey’s deadline to deliver T129 helos
By: Burak Ege Bekdil   January 14
Watch a T129 helicopter perform a dizzying series of moves at the 2019 Paris Air Show.

ANKARA, Turkey — Pakistan has extended the deadline for Turkish Aerospace Industries to deliver 30 T129 helicopter gunships on order, amid U.S. reluctance to grant Turkey technology export licenses.

With the American move now seriously jeopardizing the sale, the Turkish government has tasked Tusas Engine Industries, TAI’s sister company, with developing an indigenous engine for the T129.

“Pakistan has agreed to give us another year [to resolve the problem]. We hope we will be able to develop our indigenous engine soon to power the T129,” Ismail Demir, the head of Turkey’s top procurement agency, said Jan. 6. “After one year, Pakistan may be satisfied with the level of progress in our engine program, or the U.S. may grant us the export license.”

In 2018, TAI signed a $1.5 billion agreement to sell a batch of 30 T129 helos to Pakistan. However, the company needs to secure U.S. export licenses for any export deal with a third country. TAI produces the 5-ton attack helicopter, which is based on its predecessor, the A129 Mangusta.

The T129 is a twin-engine multirole attack helicopter produced under license from the Italian-British company AgustaWestland. It’s powered by two LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines. Each engine can produce 1,014 kilowatts of output power. The T800-4A is an export version of the CTS800 engine. LHTEC, the maker of the engine, is a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce.

A procurement source told Defense News on Jan. 10 that Pakistan is also lobbying the U.S. to support the deal.

But U.S. diplomatic sources in Ankara said it’s unlikely Washington will issue the license given the cold nature of U.S.-Turkish defense procurement ties. The U.S. last year suspended Turkey’s membership in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program in response to Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.

But industry sources warn that any successful engine development program would take at least five to 10 years.

TAI recently delivered its 56th helicopter gunship to the Turkish military.
 
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January 18, 2020: The mid-2018 deal in which Pakistan agreed to buy 30 ATAK (T129) helicopter gunships from Turkey has been in danger for months. Pakistan has given Turkey one year to clear it up or the sale will be canceled. That deal is being held up because of disagreements between the U.S. and Turkey. In short, the U.S. has refused to approve the export license for the CTS800 engines that power the ATAK gunships. While substitute engines can be obtained from France, Poland or a few other countries, modifying the ATAK to handle a similar, but not identical, engine would delay getting the ATAK gunships operational. The helicopters, minus the engines, have already been delivered to Pakistan.

The T129 is a license built version of the Italian A-129. The Pakistan deal is partly driven by the 2018 Turkish purchase of 52 Pakistani MFI-395 Super Mushshak training aircraft. This was the largest export order to date for Pakistani built aircraft. Pakistan will pay about $1.5 billion for the T129s in a deal that will include training, spare parts and technical support.

Gossip from Strategy Page, a devout anti-Pakistan blog.
 
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Pakistan Army attack helicopter options
Published in Show Daily 2018 - Day 3

By
Asian Military Review
-
December 7, 2018






The future of the Pakistan Army’s attack helicopter fleet has been uncertain in recent years. Its fleet of around 20+ Bell AH-1F/S Cobras has done a great job supporting the Army fighting militants on the ground in the western reaches of Pakistan.

The aircrews and maintenance personnel have performed miracles working with such old systems. However, these vintage attack helicopters do not boast the smart technologies the modern gunships needs to fight today’s wars. So it’s not surprising that a replacement helicopter has been on the top of the Pakistan Army Aviation’s (PAA) agenda for some time.

Unfortunately, things have not gone as smoothly as they could have done. Initially, an order for three AH-1Zs in August 2015 led to the aircraft being handed over to the PAA in the United States. By the end of 2017 they were being used to train PAA pilots. A subsequent deal in April 2016, saw the US Department of Defense (DoD) award a $170 million contract to Bell to produce another nine AH-1Z Viper helicopters which would have been built by September this year.

However when the US government cancelled $300 million in military aid in late August, it also included the three airworthy AH-1Zs and the remaining nine. The Vipers are now stored at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona where the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) also known as the Boneyard, is located. In 1991, when the US Government embargoed the sale of 71 Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds bound for the PAF along with three Pakistan Navy P-3Cs, it led to many of the F-16s and the Orions being flown into store at Davis Monthan AFB. It is unlikely the AH-1Zs will be delivered, despite unofficial comments coming from Bell that once the row blows over the AH-1Zs could find their way to Pakistan.

Following the stance of the US, there has been speculation that this could affect the sale of the Turkish Aerospace T129 ATK attack helicopter to the Pakistan Army. In late-May, Pakistan formally signed a deal for 30 T129s after years of discussions between the two parties. The helicopters are powered by the LHTEC800 turboshaft engine, produced by LHTEC a joint venture between Rolls Royce and Honeywell a US company, which could see the engines sanctioned.

However, a Turkish Aerospace official told Asian Military Review at the Bahrain International Airshow in mid-November, “delivery of T129 attack helicopters to Pakistan depends upon the US export licensing process and we know it is underway. We received the US advisor’s opinion before discussions with Pakistan and after we signed the deal, we asked for the export license.” He added, “We see no problem. Pakistan is not getting a new capability as they were getting AH-1Zs anyway.”

The official went on to add that production of the aircraft was already underway. “The first ten T129s are being be diverted off the Turkish Army production line and could be delivered within 2-3 months of the US giving the go ahead.”

The Turkish Land Forces has 59 T129s on order, with 41 delivered so far. They have been heavily involved in anti-terror operations in south-eastern Turkey since being delivered back in 2013. They are supporting military operations in southeast Turkey, northern Iraq and northern Syria.

Back in May, 2015, Turkish Aerospace sent its factory T129, P6 to Pakistan where it was involved in a technical evaluation. As part of that procedure, the T129, spent ten days undergoing hot and high evaluation trials where it operated in temperatures of 52° C and was flown by a PAA pilot alongside a TAI test pilot. During the trials in the Hindu Kush in the Himalaya mountains, the T129 ATAK flew over 14,000 feet. A source said, “the helicopter is the best fit for all the Pakistan Army’s requirements.”

The T129s are expected to replace all the AH-1 Cobras currently housed at Multan, although the PAA does have a forward operating base at Peshawar. The aircraft are regularly flown up to heights well over its ceiling limits to keep out of the way of man portable air defence systems (MANPADS). According to crews who are flying them, they can hear the helicopter creaking caused by the thinning air pressure operating at heights the old airframes were never designed for.

 
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Mi-35M – modernized legend
By
Asian Military Review
-
March 19, 2019






Mi-24 helicopters (in NATO classification called Hind, and in Russia nicknamed Crocodile of its fighting capability) were and are effectively operated in flashpoints all over the world where they have proven their indispensability as a reliable and universal weapon. Helicopter operators especially value Mi-24 for its powerful and high precision armament and reliable armor.

Mi-24 type helicopters have unique experience of operation in high temperature conditions. They are reliable, easy to maintain, provided with an impressive weapon variety and also extraordinary suited for operation in extreme climate conditions. For example in Africa after a long monsoon rains period the helicopters frequently stored outside special hangars were easily started and sent for operations. Not all combat helicopters have as big safety factor.

People make legends about indestructibility of Russian “Flying tank” on African continent. Many compare its reliability and easy maintenance with famous Kalashnikov machine gun. For decades the fearful “Crocodiles” have been participating in all serious armed conflicts on African continent. This list includes: civil wars in Angola and Côte d’Ivoire, conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea where the 24th’s were vastly applied by both parties, Second Congolese war in which Congo, Ruanda, Namibia and Zimbabwe have participated. So, in a word, the list of African states, which have their own fleet of 24th’s, is quite impressive.

15-Rostvertol-Mi-35M.jpg


The 24th’s have participated in practically all UN peacekeeping operations in Africa. The activity of Russian helicopters has received high international evaluation. The most noted parameters were their combat effectiveness and operational reliability. The task of combat helicopters was providing security for UN personnel by means of land convoys air escorting, performing search and rescue missions, patrol and reconnaissance flights, airmobile operations of UN military contingent. From 2000 to 2005 Russian military contingent, consisting of 100 pilots, operators, specialists of engineering staff and four Mi-24 was maintaining peace in Sierra-Leone and Republic of Chad. In the course of next years a small Russian air force helicopter squad was solving peacekeeping tasks in Sudan.

The analysis of information received from experience of 24th’s operation allowed to perform further improvement and modernization of this legendary helicopter. Despite a habit to operate 24th’s the African continent is now shifting for purchase of new Russian weapons, and in particular a deep modernization of Mi-24 into Mi-35M variant.

Mi-24th’s modification and successful implementation of this idea provided for an opportunity for a legendary aircraft to seep into the new millennium and find a decent place in modern combat aviation. All-weather Mi-35M helicopter is being manufactured serially at the Rostvertol plant (Southern Russia) which is a part of Russian Helicopters JSC since 2010.

The Mi-35M is an attack helicopter complex equipped with modern high-precision weapons of round-the-clock application.

The aircraft has been designed to destroy armored vehicles, provision of fire support to land forces. Mi-35M has several application versions: attack, troop carrier, ambulance and transport. This makes it capable to effectively perform a big scope of tasks. As a troop carrier, it can accommodate up to 8 fully armed paratroopers in the cargo cabin. As an ambulance helicopter, it can provide for transportation of 2 stretcher cases and 2 seated wounded casualties accompanied by one medical attendant. During cargo transportation, Mi-35M can transport up to 1500 kg inside the cargo compartment or 2400 kg on external sling.

Technologies used on the new-generation Mi-28N helicopter were incorporated in the design and manufacture of Mi-35M helicopter. As a result, the Mi-35M has received a new rotor system with composite-material blades. The advanced blade profile improves the helicopter performance and the composite materials provide for the longer life and higher combat survivability. X-shaped tail rotor provides the helicopter with higher controllability together with lower noise level. Mi-35M has a shortened wing equipped with a built-in cargo hoist and new store racks.

Helicopter combat survivability and crew protection are provided due to steel plates armouring of:

  • Cockpit.
  • Accessory drive gear box.
  • Oil tanks of engines.
  • Main gear box section.
  • Hydraulic units.
  • Partition between Pilot’s and Operator’s compartment.
  • Pilot seat: armoured backrest and armoured headrest.
  • Windshields.
The undisputable advantage of the Mi-35M is its round-the-clock combat application. The helicopter is equipped with a modern navigation complex and electronic indication with multi-functional colored displays, surveillance-sight system. Mi-35M helicopter Lights system is adopted for application of night vision goggles by the crew.

Mi-35M is equipped with a modern armament complex which includes non-removable flexible gun installation with two barreled 23mm gun, guided missile armament (anti tank missile complex with Shturm and Ataka missiles), unguided rocket armament (B8V20-A pods carrying 80 mm C-8 type airborne rockets), suspended gun armament (up to two UP-23-250 containers with 23mm guns).

09-Rostvertol-Mi-35M.jpg


Optional equipment can be installed on the helicopter depending on missions and operational conditions:

  • Upgraded ОPS-24N-1L surveillance-sighting system
  • Аtаkа anti-tank guided missiles with laser guidance system;
  • Strelets complex with Igla-S air-to-air missiles
  • Equipment for air routes and instrument landing system.
  • S-13 unguided rockets
  • President-S countermeasure system.
The first purchaser of this helicopter was Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Later on Mi-35M were purchased by Brazil. Combat helicopters are used in Latin America to patrol the air space and provide an air support in fighting the border intruders. Apart from Latin America, Mi-35Ms are supplied to the Middle East countries, CIS and Russian MOD. Many other countries show their interest in these aircraft
 
.
fatman17 said:
Mi-35M – modernized legend
By
Asian Military Review
-
March 19, 2019






Mi-24 helicopters (in NATO classification called Hind, and in Russia nicknamed Crocodile of its fighting capability) were and are effectively operated in flashpoints all over the world where they have proven their indispensability as a reliable and universal weapon. Helicopter operators especially value Mi-24 for its powerful and high precision armament and reliable armor.

Mi-24 type helicopters have unique experience of operation in high temperature conditions. They are reliable, easy to maintain, provided with an impressive weapon variety and also extraordinary suited for operation in extreme climate conditions. For example in Africa after a long monsoon rains period the helicopters frequently stored outside special hangars were easily started and sent for operations. Not all combat helicopters have as big safety factor.

People make legends about indestructibility of Russian “Flying tank” on African continent. Many compare its reliability and easy maintenance with famous Kalashnikov machine gun. For decades the fearful “Crocodiles” have been participating in all serious armed conflicts on African continent. This list includes: civil wars in Angola and Côte d’Ivoire, conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea where the 24th’s were vastly applied by both parties, Second Congolese war in which Congo, Ruanda, Namibia and Zimbabwe have participated. So, in a word, the list of African states, which have their own fleet of 24th’s, is quite impressive.

15-Rostvertol-Mi-35M.jpg


The 24th’s have participated in practically all UN peacekeeping operations in Africa. The activity of Russian helicopters has received high international evaluation. The most noted parameters were their combat effectiveness and operational reliability. The task of combat helicopters was providing security for UN personnel by means of land convoys air escorting, performing search and rescue missions, patrol and reconnaissance flights, airmobile operations of UN military contingent. From 2000 to 2005 Russian military contingent, consisting of 100 pilots, operators, specialists of engineering staff and four Mi-24 was maintaining peace in Sierra-Leone and Republic of Chad. In the course of next years a small Russian air force helicopter squad was solving peacekeeping tasks in Sudan.

The analysis of information received from experience of 24th’s operation allowed to perform further improvement and modernization of this legendary helicopter. Despite a habit to operate 24th’s the African continent is now shifting for purchase of new Russian weapons, and in particular a deep modernization of Mi-24 into Mi-35M variant.

Mi-24th’s modification and successful implementation of this idea provided for an opportunity for a legendary aircraft to seep into the new millennium and find a decent place in modern combat aviation. All-weather Mi-35M helicopter is being manufactured serially at the Rostvertol plant (Southern Russia) which is a part of Russian Helicopters JSC since 2010.

The Mi-35M is an attack helicopter complex equipped with modern high-precision weapons of round-the-clock application.

The aircraft has been designed to destroy armored vehicles, provision of fire support to land forces. Mi-35M has several application versions: attack, troop carrier, ambulance and transport. This makes it capable to effectively perform a big scope of tasks. As a troop carrier, it can accommodate up to 8 fully armed paratroopers in the cargo cabin. As an ambulance helicopter, it can provide for transportation of 2 stretcher cases and 2 seated wounded casualties accompanied by one medical attendant. During cargo transportation, Mi-35M can transport up to 1500 kg inside the cargo compartment or 2400 kg on external sling.

Technologies used on the new-generation Mi-28N helicopter were incorporated in the design and manufacture of Mi-35M helicopter. As a result, the Mi-35M has received a new rotor system with composite-material blades. The advanced blade profile improves the helicopter performance and the composite materials provide for the longer life and higher combat survivability. X-shaped tail rotor provides the helicopter with higher controllability together with lower noise level. Mi-35M has a shortened wing equipped with a built-in cargo hoist and new store racks.

Helicopter combat survivability and crew protection are provided due to steel plates armouring of:

  • Cockpit.
  • Accessory drive gear box.
  • Oil tanks of engines.
  • Main gear box section.
  • Hydraulic units.
  • Partition between Pilot’s and Operator’s compartment.
  • Pilot seat: armoured backrest and armoured headrest.
  • Windshields.
The undisputable advantage of the Mi-35M is its round-the-clock combat application. The helicopter is equipped with a modern navigation complex and electronic indication with multi-functional colored displays, surveillance-sight system. Mi-35M helicopter Lights system is adopted for application of night vision goggles by the crew.

Mi-35M is equipped with a modern armament complex which includes non-removable flexible gun installation with two barreled 23mm gun, guided missile armament (anti tank missile complex with Shturm and Ataka missiles), unguided rocket armament (B8V20-A pods carrying 80 mm C-8 type airborne rockets), suspended gun armament (up to two UP-23-250 containers with 23mm guns).

09-Rostvertol-Mi-35M.jpg


Optional equipment can be installed on the helicopter depending on missions and operational conditions:

  • Upgraded ОPS-24N-1L surveillance-sighting system
  • Аtаkа anti-tank guided missiles with laser guidance system;
  • Strelets complex with Igla-S air-to-air missiles
  • Equipment for air routes and instrument landing system.
  • S-13 unguided rockets
  • President-S countermeasure system.
The first purchaser of this helicopter was Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Later on Mi-35M were purchased by Brazil. Combat helicopters are used in Latin America to patrol the air space and provide an air support in fighting the border intruders. Apart from Latin America, Mi-35Ms are supplied to the Middle East countries, CIS and Russian MOD. Many other countries show their interest in these aircraft
Click to expand...
PAA looking more for these birds??
 
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