During the Paris Air Show 2023 international aerospace-industrial exhibition, also known by its location – Le Bourget, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) presented their new T929 ATAK II attack helicopter. This rotorcraft hits the exhibition soon after its maiden flight that took place on April 28 this year.
This means a whole new status for the aircraft, we should note, as well the fact that despite this project being considered Türkiye's national, Ukraine indirectly takes an important part in it by supplying the TV3-117 engines from Motor Sich company. These engines are in charge of all the flight performance characteristics of the helicopter with a combat weight of 11.5 tons, of which 1.5 tons is the payload.
Read more: Turkiye Shows Tests of the ATAK-2 Attack Helicopter With Ukrainian Engines (Video)
Development of the T929 ATAK II has indeed gained momentum, it started in 2019 with the idea in mind for Turkiye to get its own helicopter for the national army, not a foreign one like AH-64 Apache or AH-1Z Viper.
Furthermore, this helicopter now has an export potential as well given that its real competitors for now are pricey American rotorcraft. Especially the AH-64E Apache: in 2019, the Moroccan army had to lay down $4.25 bln for 36 Apache Guardian choppers.
The prospects of the European helicopter called Tiger are hazy. Meanwhile, russia cleared a pathway to an entire segment of the world market previously dominated by Ka-52 and Mi-28 – due to the sanctions imposed by many countries and threatening anyone who tries to make business with the russian arms industry. All the more any export potential was destroyed in the battles against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Against this background, the new Turkish helicopter looks like an interesting option. After all, it has all it takes to be called a modern attack aircraft, including total digitalization, the capability to integrate smart weapons, and growth potential with further modernizations, like installing a radar this vehicle is still lacking.
Here we come back to the point of why Ukraine should pay close attention to this option, particularly. Generally, the Ukrainian Armed Forces need a new helicopter park, not just to get platforms for a diverse arsenal of Western weapons the country has acquired throughout the ongoing war with russia but also because it needs to replace its aging fleet of Soviet Mi-24s.
Surely, T929 ATAK II is not a matter of a short-term perspective, for at least the Turkish helicopter must complete all the flight tests, it will take a while. On the other hand, Ukraine will be able to take this time to think of localization of production, since the engines for T929 ATAK II are already Ukrainian.
Read more: Russia Lost 5 Ka-52 Attack Helicopters in 4 Days Because of Artillery Shortage
