Turkey has produced a shortlist for its attack helicopter contest, rather than announcing an outright winner. The move had been expected (Flight International, 15-21 February).
Turkish prime minister Bülent Ecevit announced that Boeing and Eurocopter have been dropped, but that Agusta, Bell Helicopter Textron and a Kamov/Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI)team progress to the next round.
Turkey had been expected to announce a shortlist early last year, but said it would evaluate all five competitors and then select a winner. Now it has reverted to the shortlist. The army plans initially to order 50 machines, but requires up to 145 attack helicopters, with the first to be delivered in 2002 - a date predicated on a decision being made last month.
Competitors say they have not been told when a decision will be made - although one source suggests mid-year - or whether the date for first deliveries has slipped.
Agusta is offering its A129, with some key systems supplied by IAI's Taman division. Bell is submitting the AH-1ZKing Cobra, while Kamov/IAI are proposing the Ka-50-2, a tandem two-seat version of the single-seat Ka-50.
It is believed that the Eurocopter Tiger was eliminated after it failed to complete testing at Antalya last year, while the Boeing AH-64 Apache appears to have been ruled out on cost grounds. An AH-1W, along with the A129 and Ka-50, completed the testing.
Franco-German company Eurocopter's position was made more difficult as Berlin initially banned it from participating because of concerns over human rights in Turkey, although the German Government relented.
Philippe Camus, co-chief executive of European Aeronautic, Defense and Space, says the Turkish decision against Eurocopter will push the issue of common export policy to the top of the agenda and that Europe's capitals must work together to create a single coherent policy.
As part of any deal, the winning team will have to work closely with Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI), which was named prime contractor last August. TAI is likely to assemble the helicopters and receive other offset work.
• DaimlerChrysler Aerospace missile company LFK performed a successful test firing of the Trigat LRanti-tank missile for German army Tigers this month after two failures last year. The latest test at Meppen was from a ground launcher against a moving target at a range of 2,400m (7,900ft). LFK's next trial will be next month against a fixed target at 4,000m.
Source: Flight International
