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Turkey, Italy launch attack helicopter project
Ankara (AFP) June 24, 2008 Turkey and Italy launched Tuesday a project for the joint manufacture of up to 91 attack helicopters for the Turkish military, worth about three billion dollars (1.9 billion euros). The project, which envisages the co-production of 50 helicopters with an option for another 41, will be led by Turkey's TUSAS, with another Turkish firm, Aselsan, and Italy's AgustaWestland joining as sub-contractors. The Italian company, which won a 2007 tender for the project, will provide the engine and flight control and monitoring systems, while the remaining components, including the software, will be supplied by its Turkish partners, officials said. The helicopter, named T129 will, be based on AgustaWestland's A129 model. The project is planned to be completed in 114 months, with the first helicopter ready in 60 months. TUSAS will have the intellectual property and export rights of the helicopter. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who attended the inauguration ceremony at the TUSAS plant here, said the project was a sign of improving bilateral ties and a boost to economic cooperation. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the project as an important step towards boosting the Turkish defence industry and reducing the Turkish army's dependence on foreign procurement. The domestic share in meeting the army's needs increased from 25 to 42 percent between 2003 and 2007, and is expected to exceed 50 percent in 2011, he said. The Turkish military has been fighting a bloody rebellion by separatist Kurdish rebels in the country's southeast since 1984. AgustaWestland beat South Africa's Denel, the European Eurocopter consortium and Russia's Rosoboronexport to win the deal. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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