The three AH-1W attack helicopters the Obama administration in USA plans to transfer to the Turkish Army to fight PKK terror awaits Congress’ approval.

WASHINGTON / NationalTurk – The Barack Obama administration is consulting American Congress on an unusual proposal to transfer U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopters to Turkey, U.S. officials stated, as Ankara government tries to exact revenge for a major attack by Kurdish terrorists, who had attacked and killed 24 Turkish soldiers in southeastern Turkey earlier this month. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.

Turkey, a NATO ally, has been seeking AH-1 SuperCobra helicopters to replace those lost in its long struggle against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). ‘We plan to transfer three AH-1Ws, but this needs to be approved by Congress and our officials are working on that now’ one US official told NationalTurk on condition of anonymity. The officials declined to be identified because of the matter’s sensitivity and because they were not authorized to speak on the record. The idea to take weapons Us army actally uses from the U.S. arsenal was rare, he stated.

Us Turkey Military Relations

Under the US administration’s plan, the Marines would acquire two new, late-model Textron Inc Bell AH-1Z SuperCobras in exchange for the three AH-1W aircraft that would be transferred to Ankara from the current inventory, a congressional official said.

The choppers are expected to cost Turkey around $75 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the Pentagon’s arms-selling office, notifies Congress of a planned sale only after it becomes certain that the deal will face no obstacles. Under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, the executive branch must provide 15 days’ formal notice to Congress before going ahead with significant arms transfers to a NATO partner. It was not immediately clear when such notice might take place, with informal congressional consultations continuing. Just a single US senator can halt an arms sale indefinitely. If no veto comes in the Senate against a planned arms transfer, the deal is confirmed automatically 15 days after the DSCA notification.

The proposal has been held up amid lawmakers’ questions about increasingly distant relations between Muslim-majority Turkey and Israel, a key U.S. ally, among other matters.

Us prepare to sell Turkey modern gunships in the fight against terrorism

The AH-1W has sold previously for about $10 million. Turkey bought 10 of them in the 1990s. Turkish Army has been using them effectively against the PKK. But, following a few crashes, it only has six operational choppers now. Turkey has more than 20 earlier models of the Cobra family, all produced by Bell Helicopter Textron. These earlier attack helicopters, however, have single engines and their performances are very limited compared to those of the AH-1W. Ankara has been asking Washington to transfer a few more. The larger, twin-engine AH-IZ may sell for about $30 million, according to industry sources.

The three gunships to be given to Turkey would be new, the U.S. official said. The U.S. rejected earlier Turkish requests for the gunships, saying its Marine Corps had around 170 AH-1Ws and was using all of them in the Afghanistan war.

Bell Helicopter Textron began production of the AH-1Z, the latest member of the Cobra family, in recent years and delivered the first batch to the U.S. Marine Corps in January. Turkey’s efforts to obtain more attack helicopters have been continuing since the late 1990s. Bell Helicopter Textron won Turkey’s first tender with the AH-1Z in 2002, but the U.S. company and the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), Turkey’s procurement agency, were unable to agree on the gunship’s features and price for three years.

As a result, SSM cancelled tender contracts and opened a new bidding process, which was boycotted by U.S. manufacturers. Eventually, Turkey selected the Italian AgustaWestland’s T-129, a Turkish version of the A-129 Mangusta International, over South Africa’s Denel, maker of the AH-2 Rooivalk. Presently, AgustaWestland and Turkish Aerospace Industries, its Turkish partner, are manufacturing a total of 59 T-129s, worth billions of dollars, for the Turkish Army. The first deliveries are scheduled for late next year while the gunship is expected to enter service in the Turkish Army in 2013.

The United States and Turkey have a strong tradition of military cooperation, both bilaterally and inside NATO.

Turkey agreed last month to host a powerful U.S.-supplied radar system to act as advanced eyes for a layered shield against ballistic missiles coming from outside Europe.The AN/TPY-2 surveillance radar in Turkey will boost the shield’s capability against Iran, which Washington alleges is seeking to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

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