Turkey To Buy 9 European A129 Attack Helicopters

[Marxist]

ANKARA - Turkey will launch urgent talks to buy nine A129 Mangusta attack helicopters from the Italian-British manufacturer AgustaWestland to fight separatist Kurds operating in an area near the country's borders with Iraq and Iran, a key Turkish official announced late Tuesday.

"In an effort to meet the urgent needs of the Turkish Land Forces Command and as part of the ongoing attack helicopter program, negotiations for the procurement of an additional nine attack helicopters will be launched with TUSAS," Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul told reporters after a meeting of the Defense Industry Executive Committee, Turkey's highest decision-making body on procurement.

TUSAS is the Turkish name for the Turkish Aerospace Industries, the prime contractor in Ankara's program to jointly manufacture at least 50 attack helicopters with AgustaWestland. The nine helicopters will come in addition to the 50 choppers to be jointly manufactured. The additional nine gunships to be procured are A129 Mangustas, a senior procurement official said.

The Defense Industry Executive Committee's members include Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Gonul, Gen. Ilker Basbug, chief of the General Staff, and Murad Bayar, head of Turkey's procurement agency. .

Bayar's office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, and AgustaWestland signed a multibillion-dollar contract in 2008 for joint production of 50 T129s, a Turkish version of the A129.

The Kurdish separatist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has killed scores of soldiers since it stepped up attacks on Turkish targets in the spring.

The Turkish Army operates six AH-1W Super Cobras and more than 20 earlier model Cobra helicopters, and military officials in recent years have voiced an urgent need for additional gunships to fight the PKK.

The T129s are expected to become operational by 2014. The latest announcement for additional gunships represents a stopgap solution until the first deliveries.

Turkey To Buy 9 European A129 Attack Helicopters - Defense News

 

[Nahraf]

Murphy's Law: Turkey And The Long Con

Turkey And The Long Con

June 18, 2010: Turkey is in desperate need of nine Mangusta helicopter gunships, and is trying to get them from the Italian manufacturer as quickly as possible. Currently, Turkey relies on a fleet of about two dozen elderly American AH-1 gunships, which are being worn out because of intense operations against Kurdish separatists along the Iraq border..

This is all a problem of Turkey's own making. Three years ago, after over a decade of evaluating, negotiating, haggling and delays, Turkey decided to buy 50 A129 Mangusta (Mongoose) helicopter gunships, for about $32 million each, with an option to buy 40 more later. That deal then fell apart, and was recently resurrected as a plan whereby at least 50 A129s would be build in Turkey (along with some technology transfer.)

The latest version of the Italian A129 is roughly comparable to the upgraded versions of the U.S. AH-1 (especially the AH-1 SuperCobra). The 4.6 ton A-129 was the first helicopter gunship designed and built in Western Europe, and was introduced in the 1980s. While it has been upgraded frequently, the only customer so far has been Italy, which bought 60 of them. The manufacturer, Augusta/Westland, has been desperate to get an export customer.

Given the delays in selecting a supplier, who was buying, and who was selected, there were probably some bribes involved once the Turks finally selected the A239. Augusta was the only manufacturer to stick with the baffling Turkish procurement process, and was finally forced to basically turn over manufacture of the A129 to the Turks, to get the sale. But after about fifteen years of this procurement madness, the Turks find themselves in desperate need of some new gunships, and are seeking help from Augusta to bail them out.

 

[Parashuram1]

What happened to the Turkish license built version T-129 that I had heard about a few days back? I was under the impression that Turks have been manufacturing them already.

 

[Jigs]

What happened to the Turkish license built version T-129 that I had heard about a few days back? I was under the impression that Turks have been manufacturing them already.

This is a stop gap solution since the Super Cobra deal seems to have fell through we will be going for A-129s till the T-129 program kicks off and production starts.

 

[Kinetic]

What happened to T129? Why they are buying direct A129? I think Turkish version of A129 is better.

 

[Babur Han]

What happened to T129? Why they are buying direct A129? I think Turkish version of A129 is better.

Buying 9 A-129 is only a interim Solution until T-129 enter in TAF Service in 2013. For Fighting PKK Insurgency in South East Turkey, TAF have a urgent need of Attack helicopters. Turkey has also shown interest on Bell AH-1W Cobras from USMC Invertory, but the US won't sale it Whisky Cobras.

 

[Jigs]

Buying 9 A-129 is only a interim Solution until T-129 enter in TAF Service in 2013. For Fighting PKK Insurgency in South East Turkey, TAF have a urgent need of Attack helicopters. Turkey has also shown interest on Bell AH-1W Cobras from USMC Invertory, but the US won't sale it Whisky Cobras.

I think we couldn't reach a deal with them since we got AH-1Ws in the 90s. A-129 will be sufficient for PKK operations. We have been lacking combat helicopters for a good time now. Surprised it has taken us this long to address this issue.

 

[Hakan]

What ever happened to this deal?

 

[T-123456]

What ever happened to this deal?

The ''Baris sureci''peace negotiations with PKK,no need for them anymore,could be the reason.

 

[revojam]

The ''Baris sureci''peace negotiations with PKK,no need for them anymore,could be the reason.

This.

 

[mrexil]

ANKARA - Turkey will launch urgent talks to buy nine A129 Mangusta attack helicopters from the Italian-British manufacturer AgustaWestland to fight separatist Kurds operating in an area near the country's borders with Iraq and Iran, a key Turkish official announced late Tuesday.

"In an effort to meet the urgent needs of the Turkish Land Forces Command and as part of the ongoing attack helicopter program, negotiations for the procurement of an additional nine attack helicopters will be launched with TUSAS," Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul told reporters after a meeting of the Defense Industry Executive Committee, Turkey's highest decision-making body on procurement.

TUSAS is the Turkish name for the Turkish Aerospace Industries, the prime contractor in Ankara's program to jointly manufacture at least 50 attack helicopters with AgustaWestland. The nine helicopters will come in addition to the 50 choppers to be jointly manufactured. The additional nine gunships to be procured are A129 Mangustas, a senior procurement official said.

The Defense Industry Executive Committee's members include Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Gonul, Gen. Ilker Basbug, chief of the General Staff, and Murad Bayar, head of Turkey's procurement agency. .

Bayar's office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, and AgustaWestland signed a multibillion-dollar contract in 2008 for joint production of 50 T129s, a Turkish version of the A129.

The Kurdish separatist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has killed scores of soldiers since it stepped up attacks on Turkish targets in the spring.

The Turkish Army operates six AH-1W Super Cobras and more than 20 earlier model Cobra helicopters, and military officials in recent years have voiced an urgent need for additional gunships to fight the PKK.

The T129s are expected to become operational by 2014. The latest announcement for additional gunships represents a stopgap solution until the first deliveries.

Turkey To Buy 9 European A129 Attack Helicopters - Defense News

Old it is from jun.15.2010(4years old)

 

[Marxist]

Old it is from jun.15.2010(4years old)

I posted this on jun 16 2010 ,nearly four years back .....Some one reopened this old thread