TSAMTO, January 11. On January 10, the Ministry of National Defense of the Philippines denied information that appeared in a number of media outlets about the delivery of the first pair of Turkish-made T-129 ATAK attack helicopters on January 8.
According to the representative of the Philippine Foreign Ministry Arsenio Andolong, according to the PNA news agency, contrary to information circulating on the Internet, as of January 9, 2022, the first T-129 ATAK helicopters of TAI (Turkish Aerospace Industries) have not arrived in the country. According to him, the ministry will publish new information as the project is implemented.
Earlier, in November 2021, the commander of the Philippine Air Force, Lieutenant General Allen Paredes, said that the first two of the six helicopters ordered from TAI should be delivered in December 2021. The Ministry does not disclose the reason why the delivery of helicopters did not take place in accordance with the schedule.
According to TSAMTO, the acquisition of attack helicopters for the Philippine Air Force is envisaged as part of the second stage ("Second Horizon"/Second Horizon) of the "Program for the Modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines" (RAFPMP), approved by Republic Act No. 10349 (Republic Act No. 10349), and is scheduled for 2018-2022.
At the end of 2018, the Philippine Air Force selected the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) T-129 ATAK helicopter as the preferred bidder for the purchase. However, the purchase of the platform was frozen due to restrictions imposed by the United States on the sale of LHTEC T800-4A engines used in the helicopter design to Turkey. In May 2021, Washington nevertheless granted permission for the sale of engines to Turkey to equip six T-129 helicopters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
At the same time, the Ministry of National Defense of the Philippines confirmed that 6 T-129B ATAK attack helicopters were purchased from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for $269.39 million (about 12.9 billion filip. pesos). The contract for the supply of helicopters was signed in July 2020. It was assumed that the first pair of helicopters would be delivered in September 2021, the second in February 2022, and the third in February 2023.
The T-129 is a twin-engine attack helicopter developed on the A-129 "Mongoose" platform with tandem crew placement, which can be used to perform reconnaissance, fire support and strike missions in difficult weather conditions and at any time of the day.
