Julian Moxon/BORDES
Eurocopter has offered Turkey a version of the Tiger anti-tank helicopter powered by the USLHTEC T800 turboshaft in response to a demand for more power for hot and high operations.
Turkey has a requirement for 145 anti-tank helicopters and has asked contenders to offer a choice of engines.
Industry sources say, however, that Eurocopter has been told that the Tiger needs a more powerful engine than the 958kW (1,285 shp) Rolls-Royce/Turboméca/MTU MTR390, because the basic engine does not meet the most demanding power requirements.
According to the sources, Turkey has also expressed concern that there was no planned growth programme for the engine.
Eurocopter admits the conversion to accommodate the T800 would, if the Tiger was selected, involve the cost of integrating and flight testing the engine aboard the helicopter, but adds "-it is a paper offer so far. Nothing has been developed yet".
The MTR390 partners have proposed a higher power version of the engine, but the offer has been dismissed by Eurocopter as too expensive.
Turboméca says that the engine could be modified to give a 10% power increase "with little difficulty", but any more "-would cost a lot of money".
The other main contenders in the competition are Boeing, with the General Electric T700-powered Apache (offering the RTM322-powered version selected by the British Army as the alternative), Agusta offering the A129 International with the T800, as opposed to the standard Mangusta's R-R Gem and Bell, with the T700-powered Cobra. Most of the machines will be built locally by Turkish Aerospace Industries.
Meanwhile, Bordes-based Turboméca says it expects the initial order for a batch of TM333 engines to power the Indian ALH helicopter "very soon".
The order will be for around 30 engines, says president Jean-Bernard Cocheteux. The current 931kW version of the TM333 "-will satisfy all applications of the ALH", he says.
The US embargo on military sales to India has effectively put an end to expectations that LHTEC's T800 would be fitted to marine versions of the helicopter.
Rolls-Royce is offering a version of the MTR390 for the ALH with partner MTU - but not Turboméca, which has offered a 1,015kW version of the TM333.
Source: Flight International
