Sikorsky comes to agreement for T70 in Turkey
Sikorsky, together with the government of Turkey and members of the Turkish aerospace industry, has entered into contractual agreements under the Turkish Utility Helicopter Program (TUHP) to produce T70 utility helicopter based on Sikorsky’s Black Hawk utility aircraft.
Following Sikorsky's initial selection in 2011, the agreements have finally been approved by the Turkish and the US governments. The contract licences TUHP prime contractor Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to manufacture and deliver 109 T70 helicopters over the next ten years.
Deliveries of the aircraft could begin as early as 2021 to six Turkish agencies: the Directorate General of Forestry, National Police, Special Forces, Gendarme, Air Force and Land Forces.
Sikorsky will provide TAI with the engineering data in the second half of 2016 to enable it to set up an assembly line and begin manufacturing the aircraft. Beginning in 2018, Sikorsky will deliver the first five aircraft in kit form to be assembled by TAI.
Sikorsky's joint venture, Alp Aviation, will precision-machine the dynamic components and flight controls and assemble landing gear and transmissions. Sikorsky and Aselsan will co-develop Integrated Modular Avionics System (IMAS) while Turkish Engine Industries (TEI) will manufacture engines under license from General Electric (GE).
TAI will produce the aircraft in two variants - 20 in a firefighting configuration for the Directorate General of Forestry and 89 in common utility configuration. All the 109 T70 aircraft will be delivered by 2026. These aircraft will supplement over 100 UH-60 BLACK HAWK aircraft that are currently in operation with the Turkish armed forces.
The TUHP programme is valued at around $3.5 billion, and includes options for TAI to manufacture up to a total of 600 T70 and S-70i helicopters.
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