US blocks Turkey T129 ATAK sale to Pakistan | World Defense

US blocks Turkey T129 ATAK sale to Pakistan

Scorpion

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US blocks Turkey T129 ATAK sale to Pakistan

Ankara and Islamabad have agreed to seek replacement engines for 30 Turkish-made attack helicopters after the US blocked supplies. Some Turkish officials say Washington is retaliating for the purchase of Russian-made missiles.
In July, Turkey and Pakistan signed their biggest-ever arms deal, ending four years of negotiations. The Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is to produce 30 T129 ATAK multipurpose helicopters for the Pakistani military for $1.5 billion. The model is a derivative from the Italian Agusta A129 Mangusta, which integrates Turkish avionics and weapons with AgustaWestland’s airframe and has some upgrades.

The deal however hit a stumbling block after the Turkish company failed to obtain an export license from the US Department of Defense. The license is required for the US-made parts of the engines that are meant to power the aircraft. The LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines are produced by a joint venture of the US-based manufacturer Honeywell and Britain’s Rolls-Royce.
“This is not a technological or financial matter but is purely political at the moment,” a senior Turkish procurement official told Defense News in August, after the problem arose.
With the license problems seemingly nowhere near a resolution, Pakistan and Turkey agreed to seek a replacement variant for the engines, Turkey’s Hurriyet reported on Thursday. Producers in France and Poland are being considered as potential suppliers, provided that new tests are made to confirm performance in high-altitude and bad weather conditions. The US-British engines were tested on the T129 to conform to Pakistani demands in 2016. TAI hopes it will be able to complete the contract in five years, the newspaper reported.

The US threw a monkey wrench into the lucrative arms deal to punish Ankara for purchasing Russian S-400 long-range air defense systems in defiance of Washington’s warnings, a senior Turkish defense official told Russia’s TASS news agency. The remarks were made during the IDEAS 2018 arms expo in Pakistan’s Karachi this week. The official said a Chinese product may be considered as a replacement too.
Ankara’s purchase of the Russian weapon system is one of many issues marring Turkey’s relations with the US. The two countries have clashed over the past several years regarding Washington’s support of Kurdish militias in Syria and Iraq and US failure to extradite a Turkish cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating an armed coup, to name a few.

 

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What is Pakistan looking in the ATAK? Pakistan can get the Mi or go for US made or buy directly from Italy. Non of what Turkey make is indigenous and therefore requires third party approval which will not get.
 

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What is Pakistan looking in the ATAK? Pakistan can get the Mi or go for US made or buy directly from Italy. Non of what Turkey make is indigenous and therefore requires third party approval which will not get.

Turkish deal is best of all what you mentioned. Even the quality is best.
There were trials, where T129 proved it's metal.
Pakistan has already paid for 46 F-16 to US in 80's, still waiting for it's deliver.
Following Pakistani order is of AH1Z, also on hold.
As long above deliveries are not made, it doesn't make much sense for Pakistan to rely on US.
 

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US blocks Turkey T129 ATAK sale to Pakistan

Pakistan has contract with ATAK so it's their responsibility to deliver.
As a common sense, if US had to block they should announce it officially.
 

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Pakistan has contract with ATAK so it's their responsibility to deliver.
As a common sense, if US had to block they should announce it officially.

Are you suggesting this news is not reliable? It could be that Turkey is trying to sort this issue behind closed doors. As far as I know ATAK uses US made engine and that Turkey needs a US approval to export it.
 

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Turkish deal is best of all what you mentioned. Even the quality is best.
There were trials, where T129 proved it's metal.
Pakistan has already paid for 46 F-16 to US in 80's, still waiting for it's deliver.
Following Pakistani order is of AH1Z, also on hold.
As long above deliveries are not made, it doesn't make much sense for Pakistan to rely on US.

Are you serious? Why has not the US delivered them yet?
 

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Are you suggesting this news is not reliable? It could be that Turkey is trying to sort this issue behind closed doors. As far as I know ATAK uses US made engine and that Turkey needs a US approval to export it.

ATAK use LHTEC T800 which was jointly developed by Rolls Royce UK and Honeywell USA, but the engine was never used by US.
Regarding the news, it's not from official source, and i tend to believe that Pak Army will not make a contract, until they have reviewed risks of sanctions.
There are also news countering the rumors:

Defense giant Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) applied for a license to export 30 of the T129 Advanced Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance (ATAK) helicopters to Pakistan, and the firm expects to receive the license in a short while, TAI's Corporate Marketing and Communications Head Tamer Özmen said.

He stressed that the rumors regarding the delayed delivery to Pakistan due to the export license issue are not true and that the program is continuing as it is.
 

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Are you serious? Why has not the US delivered them yet?
After the death of President Zia ul Haq, Pakistan was under US sanctions. Under the pretext of having a nuclear program.
US produced a/c but never delivered to Pakistan.
While Pakistan paid full in advance to US govt.
it's quite well known.
 

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After the death of President Zia ul Haq, Pakistan was under US sanctions. Under the pretext of having a nuclear program.
US produced a/c but never delivered to Pakistan.
While Pakistan paid full in advance to US govt.
it's quite well known.

Is there a chance for backtracking? a full refund or pay penalty?
 

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ATAK use LHTEC T800 which was jointly developed by Rolls Royce UK and Honeywell USA, but the engine was never used by US.
Regarding the news, it's not from official source, and i tend to believe that Pak Army will not make a contract, until they have reviewed risks of sanctions.
There are also news countering the rumors:
https://www.dailysabah.com/defense/...-firm-seeks-ok-for-exporting-atak-helicopters

Defense giant Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) applied for a license to export 30 of the T129 Advanced Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance (ATAK) helicopters to Pakistan, and the firm expects to receive the license in a short while, TAI's Corporate Marketing and Communications Head Tamer Özmen said.

He stressed that the rumors regarding the delayed delivery to Pakistan due to the export license issue are not true and that the program is continuing as it is.

This makes more sense. Pakistan wont sign a deal unless everything is looked into but this news did not come out of nowhere and I do not believe Tamer Özmen either.
 

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Thats cheap, billion worth of soybeans. What were they thinking? shower with it!

It was one of the largest imports Pakistan was doing from US back then.

Even today Pakistan imports lot of edible oil....it doesnt produce much:

 

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Thats cheap, billion worth of soybeans. What were they thinking? shower with it!
After the murder of Zia ul Haque, Pakistan was in hands of enemies of Pakistan.
It was the than Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who sold Pakistan every where during her rule.
Bit off topic but she was the one who handed over Pakistan's centrifuge designs and even hardware to Iran, which IAEA confirmed, because our machines were unique in design.
Anyone interested in history of nuclear proliferation, can read book:
6468
 

BATMAN

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It was one of the largest imports Pakistan was doing from US back then.

Even today Pakistan imports lot of edible oil....it doesnt produce much:


Dude that was day light burglary.
Contract was for F-16 and Zial ul Haq concluded that contract, and he was murdered before any sanctions.
Soon after his death Benazir came back to Pakistan from her self exile, eventually managed to form govt. and got termed as the most corrupt regime ever.
She surely got bribed in some way to forget about F-16, while in those days, PAF was paying dearly only for spares of it's old F-16. Where's the sense in all that.. besides open corruption.
Regarding the Soya oil from genetically engineered US crops, most of the money US deducted was in lieu of shipping and storage costs... It was stupid act to accept those charges, which were because of US own choices, in violation of original contract and business ethics.
You may correct your facts, by reading the link below:
 
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