Turkey did without US and bought Ukrainian engines for its helicopters
ANKARA, BM, ($1=8.69 Turkish liras) – The Ukrainian company Motor Sich will supply 14 engines for the Turkish attack helicopter ATAK-2, the press service of the company reported.
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“The Turkish company Turkish Aerospace Industries signed today (June 29) a contract with the Ukrainian company Motor Sich to supply 14 engines for the ATAK-2 multipurpose heavy combat helicopter,” the company said.
The contract for the development of the ATAK-2 heavy attack helicopter was signed in 2019, with the first aircraft to be produced in early 2024.
The newest Turkish ATAK-2 helicopter has a so-called tandem cockpit. It is manufactured for use in hot climates. An electronic warfare system is installed on it. Onboard the ATAK-2 is capable of carrying several types of missiles, including ATGM (anti-tank guided), writes Voennoye Obozreniye.
In April, it was reported that during the last visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ankara, the Turkish authorities were offered about 50% of the shares of the strategic enterprise Motor Sich. It was assumed that the Ukrainian plant will produce engines for Turkish drones.
Why Ukrainian engine?
Nearly three years ago, in 2018, Turkey and Pakistan signed an agreement in which Turkey is ready to sell 30 T129 Atak helicopters to Pakistanis for a total value of $ 1.5 billion.
Turkey has severe military production but no robust military development. The T129 Atak helicopter has a T800-4A engine, which is the exported version of the CTS800. These engines are manufacturing by a joint venture between the American company Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce.
The United States refuses to issue a Turkish helicopter export license to Turkey for Pakistan. The United States has the right to do so because, as mentioned above, the engine is not Turkish. The sanctions that Washington imposed on Turkey regarding the purchase of Russian air defense systems affect precisely this type of transaction.
Pakistan has decided to enter the situation in Turkey and has allowed a six-month delay in the delivery of helicopters. Today’s agreement between Turkey and Ukraine shows that Ankara has managed to solve the engine problem.
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