Thu, Nov 11, 2010
$208 Million Contract Includes A Spare Parts Package
The defence ministry of Turkey has awarded a contract to
AgustaWestland for nine T129 combat helicopters. The aircraft will
be assembled by Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) and
delivered by mid 2012 in a basic configuration, one year ahead of
the 51 T129s already on order. This contract increases the total
ordered by the Turkish Land Forces Command to 60.
T-129 Helicopter
TAI is the Prime Contractor for the overall ATAK Program, with
ASELSAN as the supplier of avionics and mission equipments while
AgustaWestland is acting as subcontractor to TAI. As the Prime
Contractor of the ATAK Program, TAI is responsible for ensuring the
T129 ATAK helicopter meets all the operational requirements of the
Turkish Land Forces Command.
"The announcement at this stage of the program confirms (the)
customer's confidence in the capabilities of the platform, as well
as the ability of the ATAK Team to manage on schedule the
development of the most important Turkish aerospace programme
ever," said Giuseppe Orsi, CEO, AgustaWestland. "Moreover it
confirms how the partnership between AgustaWestland and its
partners is able to effectively respond to customer's urgent
requirements allowing the Turkish Land Forces to achieve (sic) T129
operational readiness one year (ahead of schedule)".
The $208 million contract announced Tuesday includes a spare
parts package. The T129 System Requirements and Preliminary Design
Reviews were completed in 2009. The Critical Design Review is
expected to be completed shortly, with significant improvements
introduced to add additional sophisticated mission equipment
specified by the Turkish Land Force Command and SSM. That includes
the new Turkish UMTAS missile. Prototypes are being assembled
in both Italy and Turkey starting their flight test program in
January 2011.
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