Mr. Kotil said following as well;
- TEI engine will provide 1600shp power for helicopters.
- 6ton ITAR free Atak will make its first flight in this year, then everybody will see its appearance.
- TAI is negotiating with a few countries for partnership on HürJet program.
Mass production of T-129 Atak is being proceeded and US allows TAI to use LHTEC engine for helicopters to be delivered for Turkish Forces. The number of T-129 Atak to be delivered will exceed 90 when the mass production completed. In this situation, If Turkey is developing a new ITAR free and better helicopter based on Atak experience by using Turkish transmission, gearboxes, rotor, engine, gun, landing gears, It means Turkey is planning to overcome the obstrucle by revealing an ITAR free attack helicopter in
mainly export markets because Own requirements have already been filled by T-129 Atak in this class and The number of T-629 to be produced for Turkey will be very limited. In this aspect, I believe Pakistan will receive T-629 helicopters.
@Bilal Khan (Quwa) ..... [NOTE: I know this post will have many 'will, should and IF', so bear with me]
I think we should drop T-129 deal altogether and if this 6 ton gunship appears on the given schedule then should test it here in Pakistan as well which hopefully if succeed would provide an alternative to Ah-1Z as well in this case we can say a final goodbye to US gunship as well .....
This will create a sizeable market for new 6 ton variant in Pakistan which
at minimum would be around 40-50 gunship which further mean we could negotiate for license manufacturing of certain components as offset hence could lay foundation of helicopter industry in Pakistan .... the very first baby set
I think the PA gave Turkey the one-year window to see the T629 fly before making another move.
Ultimately, the key here is that Turkey invited Pakistan into the T625, which basically means T629 since there's a commonality of engine, transmission and other parts.
Yes, one cost with the T629 is waiting another 2-3 years for test-flights and qualification, but with the potential upside of an non-ITAR helicopter that matches the T129's hot-and-high capabilities and endurance.
Moreover, I wouldn't discount the co-production aspect. TAI will move onto the ATAK-2, so the T629 would remain as largely an export-only program. If the PAA commits to a sufficient number, TAI itself may invest in Pakistan to set-up a manufacturing and final assembly line (with the engine and critical parts coming from Turkey).
With a new and modern platform, and a local industry base to source and support it, the PAA could stagger the procurement timeline to 15-20+ years. Basically, build a large fleet (90-120+) over the long-term.
yaap we can then further involve Turkey for other variants but as of now the need is to decide for that first baby step ....
If Pakistan can get the industry base to source and support the T629, it would basically have it for the T625 (due to commonality of engine and critical parts).
Going the T625 and T629 route would be similar to India's Rudra/LCH, which was a good idea on their part seeing they have commonality and shared maintenance/logistics infrastructure.
Pakistan can emulate that model and take it a step further by exploring a naval version of the T625 (similar to AW159), i.e., with ASW and AShW capabilities. Use that helicopter for its future frigates and corvettes.
It could be a similar experience to the JF-17 in that you end up with a lot of people who will understand a bit about helicopter manufacturing and design. In turn, you could end up with a private company that tries developing its own lightweight (<4 ton) utility helicopter.
