Turkey’s Great Hope – T129 ATAK
Turkish Aerospace Industries has now delivered ten T129 ATAK tactical reconnaissance and attack helicopters to the Turkish Land Forces. According to the company they are being flown in some of the most challenging environments in eastern Turkey. Where they are being employed in anti-terrorist operations.
Among the ten new helicopters are nine T129A Erken Duhul Helikopteri (EDH – Early Delivery Helicopter) and one T129B. This latest derivative, built by TAI, has been modified with a digital moving map. It is armed with the Roketsan UMTAS guided anti-tank missile, Roketsan CIRIT 2.75” air to ground laser guided missile and Stinger air-to-air missiles.
TAI’s Gorkem Bilgi Manager/Business Development for the Helicopter Group told the author at the Bahrain International Air Show in January: “We are close to finishing the weapons integration trials, with the UMTAS acceptance tests set to be completed in mid-2016…….
Download Alan Warnes’s full report here