Turkish-Italian venture may produce helicopters for S. Korea

PanARMENIAN.Net - South Korea has shortlisted a Turkish-Italian defense group consisting of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and AgustaWestland, together with two U.S. companies, as the potential makers of up to 50 attack helicopters for the nation’s military, a South Korean official said over the weekend, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

TAI-AgustaWestland has been building 59 T-129 helicopters for Turkey’s military, and deliveries will start toward the end of the year. TAI-Agusta Westland has been shortlisted together with the U.S. companies Boeing, maker of AH-64D Apache gunships for the U.S. Army, and Bell Helicopter Textron, maker of the Cobra family of helicopters for the U.S. Marine Corps, in the South Korean contest worth billions of dollars, the Korean official said.

TAI-Agusta Westland is due to deliver nine T-129s to the Turkish Army before the end of this year. The T-129 is a Turkish version of the Italian company’s A-129 Mangusta International attack helicopter. One Turkish procurement official confirmed that South Korean officials will attend the tests for the T-129, scheduled to be held in July. South Korea’s decision on its gunship fleet is expected to come in October.

Under a $1 billion dollar license agreement, Turkey has been building South Korean howitzers since the 1990s. Korean Aerospace Industries is now building, together with TAI, a $450 million program to build 50 basic trainers at the TAI plant, and the deal is coming to an end. Hyundai Rotem, under a $500 million agreement, is helping the Turkish armored vehicles maker Otokar to build four prototypes of Turkey’s first indigenous tank, the Altay, which will be completed around 2017. TAI also views the Koreans as a potential a partner in a multibillion-dollar program to build an indigenous fighter aircraft after 2020.