TAI inks helicopter, trainer aircraft deals with African nations

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish Aerospace Industries has announced new deals to export its helicopter gunships and trainer aircraft to two African countries.

TAI’s general manager, Temel Kotil, said Tuesday that the company will deliver a batch of six T129 attack helicopters to Nigeria. TAI is building the T129 under license from the Italian-British firm AgustaWestland.

Under an earlier contract, worth $269 million, TAI is selling six T129s to the Philippines. The Philippine military has already received two, and the remaining four are scheduled for delivery in 2023.

Kotil also announced TAI is selling an unspecified batch of its Hurkus HYEU “air ground integration aircraft,” an advanced version of the Hurkus basic trainer aircraft, to Chad.

TAI earlier sold two HYEU platforms to Niger and is presently competing in a race to sell 18 of them to the Malaysian military.

TAI declined to comment on the contract value for the Nigerian and Chad deals, and it would not provide a quantity for the aircraft deal with Chad.

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