Turkey to Produce Black Hawks

An announcement released by the Turkish Defense Industry Undersecretariat (SSM) reminds that the firm that will take on the manufacture of the Sikorsky-licensed 109 T-70 Black Hawk helicopters was selected in 2011, and states that the program, which has a designated budget of approximately 3.5 billion dollars, will be conducted by main contractors Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). The announcement went on to state: "With the Sikorsky license, we will be manufacturing the helicopter components such as the wing, cabin and cockpit, while the electronic parts will be produced by ASELSAN, the engine will be produced with a GE license by TEI and the helicopter landing gear and gear box will be produced by ALP Aviation."