Turkey unlikely to get US attack helicopters

[tigershark]

Turkey unlikely to get US attack helicopters
Friday, March 28, 2008

Super Cobra helicopter gunships sought by the Turkish army are in short supply in the US

ÜMİT ENGİNSOY
WASHINGTON - Turkish Daily News

  In an effort to boost operational capabilities in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Turkey asked the U.S. government late December if it could sell to the Turkish army in the short term up to 12 Cobra-type attack helicopters already being used by the U.S. military.

    However, sources now say that this kind of transfer is unlikely because these helicopters remain in short supply even for the U.S. military.

  Turkey last year signed a multibillion-dollar deal with the Italian-British AgustaWestland for joint production of at least 30 attack helicopters, Turkishversions of the A129 Mangusta International. But even in the best of cases, those platforms will not be ready for delivery before 2013.

  As a stop-gap solution, Turkish officials then decided to ask the United States if it had some available Cobra attack helicopters.

  The Turkish army already operates more than 25 choppers from the Cobra family, some of them AH-1W Super Cobras and the rest earlier H and P models.Turkey acquired those choppers from the United States in the 1990s.

  Bell Helicopter Textron produces these attack helicopters mainly for the U.S. Marine Command.

Link
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=100205

[Webmaster]

I think they could have better asked Israel for spare Cobras instead of the US, although they are also in heavy use, I believe Israel had some surplus to requirements since the new -64Ds were delivered?

Or were they hoping they'd get those AH-1F destined for Pakistan? 

How long would it take to retrain some crews on the A129? Italians should be able to offer some of those on loan, until the T129s arrive.

[tigershark]

I didn't think the Israeli's bought a large number of 64Ds but I don't think that's the case here.  I think this is a political issue which turn into a situation for Turkey's army because they had a urgent need for such a weapons platform on there deep raids into Iraq.  I found this article below which might help explain.   I don' the think the US is happy about the raids into Iraq to begin with..  Second then buying a non American attack helicopter and then asking for more Cobra might have been strike three.  Before they weren't good enough but when you need them "oh we change out minds can we buy more" didn't fly.  The Cobra has always been one of my favorites and for the price gives you good bang for the buck.

Turkey's four-star generals protest Turkish-US meeting
urkey's four-star generals, including Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun, have reportedly declined to participate in the annual four-day American-Turkish Council (ATC) meeting, which started in Washington yesterday, in reaction to US criticism of the Turkish military's ground offensive into northern Iraq in late February.   Well-informed sources have told Today's Zaman that the Turkish military will be represented at the three-star level and below, including Lt. Gen. Hilmi Akın Zorlu, the head of the Planning and Principles Department of the Turkish General Staff, who is in charge of military procurement planning.

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will also not be taking part in the meetings, during which US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will make the keynote speech on April 15.

This is the first time a US secretary of state will deliver a speech to an ATC meeting. During these meetings, Turkish-US relations on military, economic and political issues are discussed with the aim of furthering cooperation between the two NATO allies, the same sources said.

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan should have attended the meeting with Rice delivering a speech, said a government source.

Amid mounting US criticism of its incursion into northern Iraq in pursuit of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists, the Turkish General Staff announced that, as of Feb. 29, it had withdrawn its forces back inside the Turkish border.

The announcement of the Turkish withdrawal, not expected for another week or so, followed soon after US President George W Bush's call on Feb. 28 for Turkey to "move quickly, achieve [the] objective and get out."

The General Staff said the timing of the operation had been governed by military requirements and was not subject to any external influences. However, the proximity of the Turkish withdrawal and the US criticism triggered a bitter war of words between the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the opposition parties, which criticized the former for acting under US pressure.

The US has been extending real-time intelligence support to Turkey for its operations in northern Iraq. This intelligence has been vital for Turkey's ability to accurately locate PKK hideouts. However, worried about the possibility that a ground operation could get out of control, further complicating US efforts in Iraq as a whole, the US urged Turkey to withdraw its troops from the region.

Full link to article here
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=138907&bolum=102

[Webmaster]

Well your first argument may weigh in. But your second argument is not really true. First of all if they had ordered the AH-1Z it wouldn't be ready now either. Turkey already operates the Cobra, so there's really nothing against delivering some second-hand attrition replacements, or as interim to new non-US helicopters. Turkey is still a US ally, it doesn't make sense to deny such a request because Turkey have selected a non-US replacement for them, unless it was up to Bell/Boeing, but it isn't. The fact is, as the article says, the US doesn't have any surplus Cobra's (or any helicopters for that matter). And considering some portion of the new AH-1Z for the US forces are re-built examples, the US will have a shortage in the coming years.

[tigershark]

You maybe right webmaster but I still smell political backlash for not going American and not overly pleased with the raids into Iraq.