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Turkey has signed a contract for supply of Ukrainian engines for Turkish ATAK-II attack helicopters. The signing of the contract was reportedly announced by the General Manager of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Prof. Dr. Temel Kotil, who called Ukraine a”fraternal country”.
ATAK-II is the same class helicopter as U.S.-made Boeing AH-64 Apache and Russia’s Mi-28NM Night Hunter.
It will have a maximum take-off weight of 10 tons. It should be equipped with a 30-mm cannon, missile armament from the latest T129 versions and modern avionics. The helicopter is scheduled to perform its first flight in 2024.
Turkish exposition at TEKNOFEST2019 in Istanbul.
The choice in favor of Ukrainian aircraft manufacturers was explained by the lack of an alternative for Turkey, because cooperation with Western companies can stop at any time due to the next geopolitical challenges.
In 2019, Turkey was forced to suspend sales of T129 ATAK helicopters to Pakistan due to a lack of engines. The problems was caused by the refusal of the United States to issue a Turkish company an export license for the supply of CTS800 engines. The contract with Pakistan supposed the acquisition of 30 ATAK helicopters worth $ 1.5 billion.
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Ankara faced similar problems with its future indigenous Altay tank.
Turkey had hoped to power the Altay with the German MTU engine and RENK transmission, but talks with German manufacturers in recent years failed due to a federal arms embargo on Turkey. Germany is one of a number of European governments that have limited exports to Turkey over its involvement in the Syrian civil war.
In March 2021, Turkish armored vehicle-maker BMC has reached an agreement with two South Korean companies for work on the power pack of the Altay tank.
“The choice in favor of Ukrainian aircraft manufacturers was explained by the lack of an alternative for Turkey, because cooperation with Western companies can stop at any time due to the next geopolitical challenges.”
But, of course, there are no geopolitical challenges in the UE. Another train wreck in the making.
Ankara can drink cold-water over Mbt project.German Mtu engine-Renk transmission and Usa Allison transmission group blocked this project already.South-korea know-how is not enough considering Reinmetal-Rotem group agreement.8-10 million unit cost is also too high in a competitive market where Leopard 2a7and soonT-14 Armata with better price.
Good news,Gm of Tusas company announced that they have obtained engine export permission from the USA for the Philippines and will start producing the T129 ATAK Helicopter in the coming months. Approval is still pending for Pakistan.
Ukropnazis probably using refurbished irradiated engines and engine parts from chernobyl… Just sayin… I’m not joking.
Did they have a plant near there? If so perhaps the helicopters can be detected with a geiger counter. :D
Hundreds of helos and trucks were irradiated furing the rescue efforts in 1986, they left most of them there, in a giant parking lot. A couple years ago new sat images showed that the parking lot was empty. These were heavily irradiated, they are highly radioactive. So what did they do to them?
I am actually afraid you’re right.
Remember Alien, where the xenomorph has acid blood that can eat through anything, so you don’t dare to kill it? Maybe the Ottoman helicopters will be immune from shooting down because anyone who does will contaminate his own side with fallout.
Office memo: if anyone asks, our prepared answer: enjoy the advantages of extensive use of uranium enriched super metals within our engine block… ; )
It is an insignificant development really, I mean, which helicopter can give Turkey any significant advantage against Russia? the simple answer is NONE.
The idea is to bully people who can’t fight back on equal terms.
I have a feeling that if Egypt decides on war with Ethiopia over the Nile dam, Ottoman weapons will have a major role to play.
Precisely, that’s an Area I hadn’t considered, Selling arms is a profitable business.
Also, they may not support Egyptians for existing differences but they have no much interest in Ethiopia which is landlocked. I have noted that they are primarily interested in countries along sea routes, say Libya, Syria and Somalia (Azerbaijan being an exception as a Turkic country). Their next move may be in Somalia or return to Libya.
Remember how mineral deposits were suddenly discovered in Afghanistan after the occupation?
I recall Frederick Forsythe’s otherwise execrable novel The Dogs Of War in which a British mining corporation discovers platinum deposits in a fictional African nation, Zangaro. The government of Zangaro is kept ignorant of this. The mining corporation then hires a gang of mercenaries to oust the government and put their own man in power so the platinum can be magically discovered and the British corporation get the full rights to the proceeds.
I would not be at all surprised if there are minerals in Ethiopia that Abiy Ahmed’s government doesn’t know about. It does seem remarkable how many rebellions and border clashes have suddenly broken out in Ethiopia. You’d almost think a second Syria like scenario, with ethnic groups taking the part of jihadi headchoppers, was being arranged.
True, No one ever imagined Ethiopia would take the turn it has of late. It was a peaceful country where tribes coexisted well and GDP expanded at over 7% annually. There must be something that global thieves are eying. Their other goal could entail ousting china which invested heavily in the Addis Ababa’s roads and rail. The other reason could be to stop the use of the Rennaisance dam to keep their Egyption vassals happy.
soon toorky, Ukraine, Zimbabwe announce baklava defense pact with denmark—special drones fueled by cheese
Talk like a 5-years old girl. 💩🖕
In other news, some in the Czech govt. are suggesting that “our guys in Salisbury” (Petrov and his gay blade) were responsible for the 2014 ammo explosion (cf. Skrypal). LOLZ
But the latest is the Czech President said hang on boys we need to wait or the investigation,now some politicians accuse him of treason,thats how deranged and depraved they have become,its the price of being a whore for the US Reich,they are unhinged,i wish it was funny but its not.
Evidence? Evidence? We don’t need no stinkin evidence!
Evidence?
What is this “evidence ” of which you speak?
How quaint a concept.
Turkey and Ukraine “fraternal country” bullshit? Why can’t they sell arms to Ukraine and say thE real reason; TO ANNOY RUSSIA; UKRAINE CANNOT PAY FOR THOSE ARMS??/
well the engines is how they are paying for it
Why so butthurt?
Nothing subtle in this cooperation. West European and North American suppliers are not politically reliable in the eyes of Turkey. Ukraine is neither economically nor politically stable either, hence Turkey is buying their company shares.
Eastern European countries will buy more Ukrainian products :)
Nations that don’t build their own power-plants, or even drive-trains, for their ‘domestic manufactured’ major military hardware, are really off-the-shelf assemblage customers, not fully independent military manufacturers. That said, opting to import Ukrainian power-plants…?! Err, ask Thailand about the reliability of Ukrainian hardware exports. In 2017, after abysmal supply times, core reliability (read engine) failures, and the inability to complete even half of the full contract order by required date, Thailand gave up, and cancelled a contract for 49 Ukrainian T-84U tanks – and went with Chinese VT-4 models.
It wasn’t engine failure that affected the Ukrainian tanks. It was a different problem – can’t remember what exactly, but certainly not engines. Fortunately, Turkey has overcome that problem and what’s left is the engine. Just watch and see how Turkey develops an even better engine for its tanks over the comming years. R&D already in progress.
The engines failed because corrupt Ukrainian suppliers used grossly defective lubricants throughout the engines – causing seizures and failures. The original T-84 engine design was a robust, albeit now old, Soviet-era legacy design. But contemporary Ukrainian suppliers are not reliable – layers of corrupt officials cutting corners, lazily cannibalizing tired old used parts, and using inferior cut-rate materials, in all manner of components from new castings to lubrication. In 2017 Pakistan also fell foul of imported Ukrainian military supplier transmission fluid and lubrication – around thirty Pakistani army tank’s engines failed due to use of substandard Ukrainian lubricant products supplied by Ukrainian company Agrinol. But arguably, Croatia have had the worst experience after signing hardware deal with Ukraine – around same time as Thailand – circa 2011. The Croats bought 12 Mig-29’s from Ukraine – only it turned out five of these were the actual property of the Yemeni Air Force – and the rest were ‘bitsas’ made from bits and pieces of very old MiG scrap-parts sourced from Bulgaria to Algeria (no threat of matching serial numbers there). Once again – half of the Croatian’s MiG order was too defective to even function – immediately withdrawn from service as deemed non-airworthy. That is state of contemporary Ukrainian military exports…