The Agusta-Westland A109LUH (Light Utility Helicopter), AgustaWestland and Sikorsky are competing for joint production of more than 100 new utility platforms, worth more than $1 billion.
"A program will be developed for the design, production and logistical support of a light utility helicopter with a take-off weight of between three and four tons," the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (Savunma Sanayii Mustesarligi, or SSM) said in its "Strategic Document for Defense Industry Between 2009 and 2016," a copy of which was obtained by Defense News.
"The program mainly will target the local market, but also will be open to cooperation with other nations," the SSM said. The program is due to have both military and civilian components.
The Turkish military operates hundreds of utility helicopters, including more than 100 S-70 Black Hawks made by U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft and more than 100 Vietnam War-era UH-1 Hueys.
Also, under an ongoing program, the Italian-British company AgustaWestland and Sikorsky are competing for joint production of more than 100 new utility platforms, worth more than $1 billion.
But most of these helicopters are medium in size, and Turkey's newly announced multibillion-dollar program targets manufacture of light utility platforms.
The SSM said it would welcome cooperation with "second countries" for the planned light utility helicopter program.
"Our assembly line will be based in Turkey, and an assembly line can be established for any interested second country," according to the SSM strategy document. "These potential second countries would be welcome to manufacture the fuselage of their platforms themselves, but their final assembly line would be located in Turkey.
"Parts of the engine to be selected will be produced and the engine's assembly will be performed in Turkey," the SSM said.
"Turkey believes it now has the necessary technology to manufacture its own small-sized utility helicopters," said one industry analyst in Ankara. "But eventually, indigenous design and development may prove to be too expensive."
To boost the Army's air transport capabilities, the SSM separately is negotiating with the United States a deal for the purchase of 10 Boeing-made CH-47 heavy-lift helicopters.
In the strategy document, the SSM also projects that Turkish defense companies will export defense equipment worth $1 billion per year by the end of 2010. Turkish defense exports totaled $576 million last year, SSM chief Murad Bayar earlier told Defense News.
The SSM particularly qualified Turkey's land vehicles production sector as an industry that could rapidly raise its export rate. Turkish land vehicle manufacturers exported vehicles worth $120 million in 2007 - a figure expected to reach $300 million annually by the end of 2010, it said.
By the end of 2010, the SSM said, nearly 50 percent of the defense systems requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces would be met locally in financial terms. This year, Turkey is spending about $5 billion for defense procurement.
The SSM was created within the National Defense Ministry in 1985 to oversee defense equipment purchases and help bolster the local defense industry.
Showing posts with label Turkish Armed Forces. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkish Armed Forces. Show all posts
Sunday, September 13, 2009
DTN News: Turkey Eyes Light Utility Helicopter Production
DTN News: Turkey Eyes Light Utility Helicopter Production
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) ANKARA, Turkey - September 13, 2009: Turkey plans to develop and produce its own light utility helicopter over the next 10 years and is open to cooperation with other countries, Ankara's defense procurement agency said in its latest official report on strategy objectives. The Agusta-Westland A109LUH (Light Utility Helicopter), AgustaWestland and Sikorsky are competing for joint production of more than 100 new utility platforms, worth more than $1 billion.
"A program will be developed for the design, production and logistical support of a light utility helicopter with a take-off weight of between three and four tons," the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (Savunma Sanayii Mustesarligi, or SSM) said in its "Strategic Document for Defense Industry Between 2009 and 2016," a copy of which was obtained by Defense News.
"The program mainly will target the local market, but also will be open to cooperation with other nations," the SSM said. The program is due to have both military and civilian components.
The Turkish military operates hundreds of utility helicopters, including more than 100 S-70 Black Hawks made by U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft and more than 100 Vietnam War-era UH-1 Hueys.
Also, under an ongoing program, the Italian-British company AgustaWestland and Sikorsky are competing for joint production of more than 100 new utility platforms, worth more than $1 billion.
But most of these helicopters are medium in size, and Turkey's newly announced multibillion-dollar program targets manufacture of light utility platforms.
The SSM said it would welcome cooperation with "second countries" for the planned light utility helicopter program.
"Our assembly line will be based in Turkey, and an assembly line can be established for any interested second country," according to the SSM strategy document. "These potential second countries would be welcome to manufacture the fuselage of their platforms themselves, but their final assembly line would be located in Turkey.
"Parts of the engine to be selected will be produced and the engine's assembly will be performed in Turkey," the SSM said.
"Turkey believes it now has the necessary technology to manufacture its own small-sized utility helicopters," said one industry analyst in Ankara. "But eventually, indigenous design and development may prove to be too expensive."
To boost the Army's air transport capabilities, the SSM separately is negotiating with the United States a deal for the purchase of 10 Boeing-made CH-47 heavy-lift helicopters.
In the strategy document, the SSM also projects that Turkish defense companies will export defense equipment worth $1 billion per year by the end of 2010. Turkish defense exports totaled $576 million last year, SSM chief Murad Bayar earlier told Defense News.
The SSM particularly qualified Turkey's land vehicles production sector as an industry that could rapidly raise its export rate. Turkish land vehicle manufacturers exported vehicles worth $120 million in 2007 - a figure expected to reach $300 million annually by the end of 2010, it said.
By the end of 2010, the SSM said, nearly 50 percent of the defense systems requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces would be met locally in financial terms. This year, Turkey is spending about $5 billion for defense procurement.
The SSM was created within the National Defense Ministry in 1985 to oversee defense equipment purchases and help bolster the local defense industry.
The Agusta-Westland A109LUH (Light Utility Helicopter), AgustaWestland and Sikorsky are competing for joint production of more than 100 new utility platforms, worth more than $1 billion.
"A program will be developed for the design, production and logistical support of a light utility helicopter with a take-off weight of between three and four tons," the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (Savunma Sanayii Mustesarligi, or SSM) said in its "Strategic Document for Defense Industry Between 2009 and 2016," a copy of which was obtained by Defense News.
"The program mainly will target the local market, but also will be open to cooperation with other nations," the SSM said. The program is due to have both military and civilian components.
The Turkish military operates hundreds of utility helicopters, including more than 100 S-70 Black Hawks made by U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft and more than 100 Vietnam War-era UH-1 Hueys.
Also, under an ongoing program, the Italian-British company AgustaWestland and Sikorsky are competing for joint production of more than 100 new utility platforms, worth more than $1 billion.
But most of these helicopters are medium in size, and Turkey's newly announced multibillion-dollar program targets manufacture of light utility platforms.
The SSM said it would welcome cooperation with "second countries" for the planned light utility helicopter program.
"Our assembly line will be based in Turkey, and an assembly line can be established for any interested second country," according to the SSM strategy document. "These potential second countries would be welcome to manufacture the fuselage of their platforms themselves, but their final assembly line would be located in Turkey.
"Parts of the engine to be selected will be produced and the engine's assembly will be performed in Turkey," the SSM said.
"Turkey believes it now has the necessary technology to manufacture its own small-sized utility helicopters," said one industry analyst in Ankara. "But eventually, indigenous design and development may prove to be too expensive."
To boost the Army's air transport capabilities, the SSM separately is negotiating with the United States a deal for the purchase of 10 Boeing-made CH-47 heavy-lift helicopters.
In the strategy document, the SSM also projects that Turkish defense companies will export defense equipment worth $1 billion per year by the end of 2010. Turkish defense exports totaled $576 million last year, SSM chief Murad Bayar earlier told Defense News.
The SSM particularly qualified Turkey's land vehicles production sector as an industry that could rapidly raise its export rate. Turkish land vehicle manufacturers exported vehicles worth $120 million in 2007 - a figure expected to reach $300 million annually by the end of 2010, it said.
By the end of 2010, the SSM said, nearly 50 percent of the defense systems requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces would be met locally in financial terms. This year, Turkey is spending about $5 billion for defense procurement.
The SSM was created within the National Defense Ministry in 1985 to oversee defense equipment purchases and help bolster the local defense industry.
Friday, June 19, 2009
DTN News: Turkey Plans To Buy 32 Russian Mi-28 Attack Helicopters
DTN News: Turkey Plans To Buy 32 Russian Mi-28 Attack Helicopters
*Sources: DTN News / Defense Media
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - June 19, 2009: A Turkish military delegation has come to Russia to discuss the possible acquisition of Mi-28 attack helicopters. This is not the first time the two countries have discussed cooperation. 
The Mi-28 combat helicopter has been developed by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and is known by the NATO codename Havoc. In August 1996 Mil rolled out a prototype of the day and night capable version, the Mi-28N Night Havoc. The first production Mi-28N took its first flight in April 2004 and began flight testing with the Russian Air Force in June 2005. The Russian Air Force has plans to procure up to 60 of this variant, now called the Mi-28NE Night Hunter. "The Mi-28 can be armed with a mixture of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, unguided rockets, and podded guns. " Three were ordered in 2005 and 16 more in 2006 for delivery by 2008. The first production aircraft was delivered in May 2006 and began formal acceptance testing in September 2006. Five aircraft are involved in the testing which is scheduled to conclude in early 2008. Mi-28 can fly at a maximum speed of 300km/h, can fly rearwards and sideways at speeds up to 100km/h and is able to hover turn at 45° a second.*
In the 1970s and the early 1980s, Turkey bought 32 used AH-1P/S Cobra attack helicopters in the United States and later upgraded them to the AH-1F specifications. The Turkish army still has 23 AH-1P/S Cobras. However, Turkish military authorities started thinking about replacing them in the mid-1990s.
During the subsequent tender they considered several models of combat helicopter, including the Ka-50-2 Erdogan, a version of the Russian Ka-50 Black Shark developed by Russia and Israel for Turkey. Unlike the Ka-50 where the pilots sit side-by-side, the seats in the Erdogan are placed in tandem as in the U.S. Cobra chopper.
However, Turkey did not choose the Kamov helicopter for political reasons, such as growing U.S. influence in Turkey and, conversely, the lack of Russian influence. Also, Russia could not then guarantee the timely production of the required number of new helicopters or post-sale service. Lastly, the Ka-50 was not mass-produced even for the Russian army at that time.
An updated Cobra with new weapons and equipment was the most probable winner in the Turkish tender, but the contract was eventually awarded to a European producer, the Anglo-Italian AgustaWestland, which proudly proclaims to be "a total rotorcraft capability provider."
AgustaWestland, announced as the winning bidder in March 2007, pledged to assemble 50 T129 prototypes in Turkey. However, the first T129 will be rolled out only in 2015, whereas Turkey needs choppers now to fight Kurdish militants.
The purchase of seven used AH-1W SuperCobras in 2008 has not solved the problem either. Turkey needs modern attack helicopters to fill the gap until 2015 and for several more years while its pilots learn to fly the T129 choppers.
As a result, Turkey has decided to purchase Russian machines. It has opted for the Mi-28N Night Hunter, which, unlike the Ka-50, has been mass-produced since the 1990s and is supplied to the Russian Armed Forces.
Turkey may buy between 12 and 32 helicopters within two or three years. It is unclear if it wants the choppers with or without top-mounted radar, which is an extremely expensive option. The Turkish military had once considered buying the Mi-24 Crocodile, which has several common structural elements with the Mi-28. The Mi-17 multirole helicopter is currently used in Turkey for military, police and civilian purposes.
Significantly, the Mil helicopters have for years been used in similar terrain in the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East. Moreover, Russia's influence and relations with Turkey have grown dramatically and many contradictions in bilateral ties have been smoothed over since the 1990s.
Therefore, Turkey could buy the Mi-28, whose track record over the past 20 years and the initial results of its combat use show that this highly versatile helicopter could remain on combat duty even after T129 assembly start-up in Turkey.
And the final touch: the protection and combat payload specifications of the T129 are below those of the Mi-28.
The Mi-28 combat helicopter has been developed by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and is known by the NATO codename Havoc. In August 1996 Mil rolled out a prototype of the day and night capable version, the Mi-28N Night Havoc. The first production Mi-28N took its first flight in April 2004 and began flight testing with the Russian Air Force in June 2005. The Russian Air Force has plans to procure up to 60 of this variant, now called the Mi-28NE Night Hunter. "The Mi-28 can be armed with a mixture of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, unguided rockets, and podded guns. " Three were ordered in 2005 and 16 more in 2006 for delivery by 2008. The first production aircraft was delivered in May 2006 and began formal acceptance testing in September 2006. Five aircraft are involved in the testing which is scheduled to conclude in early 2008. Mi-28 can fly at a maximum speed of 300km/h, can fly rearwards and sideways at speeds up to 100km/h and is able to hover turn at 45° a second.*
In the 1970s and the early 1980s, Turkey bought 32 used AH-1P/S Cobra attack helicopters in the United States and later upgraded them to the AH-1F specifications. The Turkish army still has 23 AH-1P/S Cobras. However, Turkish military authorities started thinking about replacing them in the mid-1990s.
During the subsequent tender they considered several models of combat helicopter, including the Ka-50-2 Erdogan, a version of the Russian Ka-50 Black Shark developed by Russia and Israel for Turkey. Unlike the Ka-50 where the pilots sit side-by-side, the seats in the Erdogan are placed in tandem as in the U.S. Cobra chopper.
However, Turkey did not choose the Kamov helicopter for political reasons, such as growing U.S. influence in Turkey and, conversely, the lack of Russian influence. Also, Russia could not then guarantee the timely production of the required number of new helicopters or post-sale service. Lastly, the Ka-50 was not mass-produced even for the Russian army at that time.
An updated Cobra with new weapons and equipment was the most probable winner in the Turkish tender, but the contract was eventually awarded to a European producer, the Anglo-Italian AgustaWestland, which proudly proclaims to be "a total rotorcraft capability provider."
AgustaWestland, announced as the winning bidder in March 2007, pledged to assemble 50 T129 prototypes in Turkey. However, the first T129 will be rolled out only in 2015, whereas Turkey needs choppers now to fight Kurdish militants.
The purchase of seven used AH-1W SuperCobras in 2008 has not solved the problem either. Turkey needs modern attack helicopters to fill the gap until 2015 and for several more years while its pilots learn to fly the T129 choppers.
As a result, Turkey has decided to purchase Russian machines. It has opted for the Mi-28N Night Hunter, which, unlike the Ka-50, has been mass-produced since the 1990s and is supplied to the Russian Armed Forces.
Turkey may buy between 12 and 32 helicopters within two or three years. It is unclear if it wants the choppers with or without top-mounted radar, which is an extremely expensive option. The Turkish military had once considered buying the Mi-24 Crocodile, which has several common structural elements with the Mi-28. The Mi-17 multirole helicopter is currently used in Turkey for military, police and civilian purposes.
Significantly, the Mil helicopters have for years been used in similar terrain in the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East. Moreover, Russia's influence and relations with Turkey have grown dramatically and many contradictions in bilateral ties have been smoothed over since the 1990s.
Therefore, Turkey could buy the Mi-28, whose track record over the past 20 years and the initial results of its combat use show that this highly versatile helicopter could remain on combat duty even after T129 assembly start-up in Turkey.
And the final touch: the protection and combat payload specifications of the T129 are below those of the Mi-28.Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Turkey Buys 36 Leguan Bridge Laying Armoured Vehicles
Turkey Buys 36 Leguan Bridge Laying Armoured Vehicles
(NSI News Source Info) MUNICH - April 28, 2009: The Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Turkey agreed in November 2008 that the Turkish Armed Forces will buy 36 bridge laying armoured vehicles of the LEGUAN type, which is based on the LEOPARD 1. 
Turkey is finalizing contract negotiations for the purchase of 36 Leguan bridge-laying armored vehicles, derived from the Leopard 1 tank. (KMW photo)
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG (KMW) will supply the systems as part of an engagement letter. The final negotiations are currently under way between KMW and the Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB). All expectations are that the contract will be signed soon.
Within the programme, the Turkish Armed Forces will manufacture and assemble substantial parts of the systems itself in Turkey. The joint project underscores the close German-Turkish cooperation in the field of armoured vehicles and family vehicles.
International deployments for bridge system:
The LEGUAN bridge laying armoured vehicle can be controlled by only one person with the hatch closed and install a load category MLC 80 bridge that is 26 metres long in approximately five minutes using an electronic control system.
KMW has already produced the LEGUAN bridge-layer on the basis of the LEOPARD 1 or LEOPARD 2 battle tank for the Norwegian, Greek, Belgian and Finnish armed forces. The bridge-laying system can, however, also be mounted on other used or new battle tank chassis. For example, it is in use on the chassis of the Polish PT91, the American M1 "Wolverine" and the M47/M60 in Spain.
But the bridge can also be laid by wheeled vehicles, such as the MAN 8x8 and the 10x10 vehicle from Finnish company SISU. With the aid of additional pontoons, the LEGUAN can also be used to construct ferries of various load categories, and if necessary link them together to form floating bridges.
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG leads the European market for armoured wheeled and tracked vehicles. At locations in Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and the USA, some 3400 employees manufacture and support a product portfolio ranging from air-transportable, heavily armoured wheeled vehicles (MUNGO, DINGO, GFF4 and BOXER) through reconnaissance, anti-aircraft and artillery systems (FENNEK, GEPARD, LeFLaSys, Armoured Howitzer 2000, AGM and DONAR) to heavy battle tanks (LEOPARD 1 and 2), armoured personnel carriers (PUMA) and bridge-laying systems (LEGUAN and PSB2).
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