Ankara, May 30 (TNS): Turkish officials confirmed that Islamabad and Ankara have reached a defence agreement for the purchase of 30 attack helicopters to Pakistan. Pakistan will be buying Turkish T129 attack helicopters.
According to a political manifesto unveiled by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistan and Turkey recently agreed on terms on the largest ever defence contract signed between the two countries.
The T129 is Turkey’s first locally manufactured helicopter has the features of a tandem seat cockpit, twin-engines, and precision-strike and deep-strike mission capabilities for day and night in all weather conditions. It can be armed with anti-tank missiles, various rocket pods and has a nose-mounted chaingun.
Pakistan Army having already ordered 12 US-built Bell AH-1Z Vipers, it had since 2014 been testing the Chinese-built Z-10 the Turkish-made T129 since 2016. Before the deal, the T129 went through various tests in Pakistan. Most recently, the platform was showcased at the March 23 military parade.
The country recently received four Mi-35 attack helicopters from Russia, and will soon receive AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters.
The Turkish government has not disclosed a price for the T129 deal with Pakistan, but aerospace industry sources estimate the contract to be worth about $1.5 billion, almost equivalent of Turkey’s annual defense exports.
