As US blocks deal, Pakistan extends deadline for delivery of Turkey military helicopters

A Turkish military helicopter seen on 8 September 2019 during a joint Turkey-US patrol mission in Syria [Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency]

The Pakistan Army extended the deadline for Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to deliver the T129 attack helicopter, Anadolu Agency reported.

Since Turkey agreed to purchase the Russian S-400 air defence system leading to heightened tensions with the US which called on Ankara to walk away from the arms deal. Washington also threatened not to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey if it continued to receive weapons from Russia.

The political wrangling may jeopardize the $1.5 billion helicopter deal between Turkey and Pakistan with the US said to be blocking the third-party delivery of those engines.

However, President of Turkey’s Defence Industries (SSB), Dr. Ismail Demir, said last week that both Pakistan and Turkey are working to secure the exports, with Islamabad giving Ankara one year to resolve the problem.

READ: Turkey’s defense sector makes strong showing in 2019

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