Turkey Wants Indigenous Helicopters

The Turkish government has tasked Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) with designing and building a home-grown helicopter to replace that country’s aging fleet of Bell UH-1s and for the export market. The deal could rely on a technology transfer from Sikorsky, and it is likely TAI will need to go engine shopping on the international market. TAI hopes to have a prototype flying within three years. Turkey is the world’s ninth-largest helicopter market, and its military estimates a need for up to 800 helicopters in the coming decade. Up to 400 more could be sold into the civil sector worldwide. TAI already makes subcomponents for a variety of foreign aerospace manufacturers, including AgustaWestland and Sikorsky.