Turkey plans to buy U.S. heavy lift helicopters

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Turkey plans to buy U.S. heavy lift helicopters
ÃœMIT ENGINSOY
WASHINGTON - Turkish Daily News
In an effort to boost its army's air transport capabilities, Turkey has formally requested the purchase of 10 U.S.-made CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters worth nearly $500 million, according to procurement officials.

     Turkish authorities have recently sent a letter to their counterparts at the Pentagon, requesting the purchase of the brand new platforms through the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) scheme.

  Turkish officials do not expect a major problem with reaching an agreement for the sale of Boeing-made heavy lift helicopters to the Turkish military.

  If a deal is finalized, the 10 CH-47s will be the military's first heavy lift helicopters.

  Presently the Turkish army's air transport capability is mainly based on smaller utility helicopters, mostly U.S.-made S-70 Black Hawks.

  FMS loans are U.S. government credits designed to enable allied and friendly nations to buy U.S.-made defense equipment.

  Produced by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the CH-47 Chinook is a twin-engine helicopter with a top speed of 315 kilometers per hour.

 

Widely exported

  Its primary roles include troop movement, artillery deployment and battlefield resupply.

  Chinooks have been sold to 16 nations, including Greece, and the largest users are the U.S. Army and the British Royal Air Force.

  The U.S. Sikorsky Aircraft also has its own heavy lift helicopter � the CH-53 Super Stallion, used mainly by the Marine Command.

  But analysts said Turkey did not consider purchasing that model because it is currently not in production, with Sikorsky developing a new version to be delivered to the U.S. Marines after 2012.

  Russia's military heavy lift helicopter is the Mi-26, the world's largest in its category, which Turkey also did not consider.

  Currently Turkey also has plans to buy 84 utility helicopters, including 64 platforms for the military and 20 firefighters.

Source
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=103762