NEWS | AS532AL Cougar in TR Türk Hava Kuvvetleri

First Combat SAR Cougar to Turkish Armed Forces

TAI assembly line to deliver 28 Eurocopter AS532AL Cougars between May 2000 and February 2003





First Combat SAR Cougar to Turkish Armed Forces
Eurocopter, May 01, 2000 - Marignane, France - In the presence of the Turkish Defense Minister, Mr. Sabahttin Cakmakoglu, the Chairman of the Eurocopter Group Board of Trustees, Mr. Jean-François Bigay, on behalf of EUROTAI, officially handed over in Ankara, the keys of the first Turkish Air Force AS 532 AL Cougar to the Chief for the Turkish Armed Forces, General Hüseyin Kivrikoglu.

In 1997, the Turkish Government signed a contract in Ankara valued at about 4.45 billion French francs for 30 Cougar Mk 1 helicopters. The contract was accompanied by an agreement covering the local industrialization of the Cougar and the creation by Tusas Aerospace Industries Inc. and Eurocopter of a consortium, known as EUROTAI.

Baptized Phenix 2, this contract provides for the supply of 10 AS 532 UL Cougars to the Turkish Army - in addition to the initial batch of 20 ordered at the end of 1993 - and of 20 AS 532 UL/AL Cougars to the Turkish Air Force for Search And Rescue (SAR) and Combat Search And Rescue (CSAR) assignments.

The first Cougar will be commissioned by the Turkish Air Force, mainly for CSAR operations involving the recovery of aircrews downed behind enemy lines. A second helicopter from Marignane will arrive in May of this year.

The deliveries of the next 28 Cougars from the TAI assembly lines will be spread out between late May 2000 and February 2003. In the EUROTAI consortium, TAI is tasked with the manufacture of their airframes, with their assembly and with their acceptance testing.
Many of Eurocopter's partner companies and equipment manufacturers are also collaborating with the Turkish industry.

In another move, Eurocopter and TAI have signed a joint marketing agreement covering Turkey's areas of influence.

Lastly, it should not be forgotten that this family of helicopters has already been chosen by 29 air forces, 7 armies and 5 navies throughout the world to perform a wide variety of missions.




The Turkish Land Forces receive First Cougar from TAI Production Line



Marignane, France ( Eurocopter Press Release ) - Mr. Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, the Turkish Minister of Defense was present at TAI when Mr. Kaya Ergenç, Chairman of the TAI Management Board and Mr. Jean-François Bigay, Chairman of the Eurocopter Group Supervisory Board, officially handed over to General Attila Ates, Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, the keys to the first AS 532 UL Cougar out from the Turkish production line

It was in Ankara, in 1997, that a contract worth approximately 450 MUS$ was signed by the Turkish government for the acquisition of 30 Cougar MK1 helicopters, together with an agreement for these helicopters to be built in Turkey, and for the creation of a consortium between Eurocopter and TAI (Tusas Aerospace Industries Inc.), called EUROTAI.

This contract, known as PHENIX 2, covers the supply of 10 Cougar helicopters that will be allocated to the Turkish Land Forces, to be added to the first 20 units delivered in the frame of 1993 contract, and of 20 helicopters for the Turkish Air Force Search and Rescue (SAR) and Combat SAR missions.

This first Cougar to leave the TAI assembly line is a utility / troop lift helicopter and it will be followed by 5 identical aircraft that will be delivered to the Turkish Land Forces, at the rate of one helicopter every two months. The remaining 22 helicopters, that include SAR and Combat SAR equipped units, will then be delivered at a rate of one per month, deliveries being completed in February 2003.

Within the framework of the EUROTAI consortium, TAI is responsible for manufacturing and building the airframe, assembling the helicopters and performing the acceptance tests.

A number of Eurocopter equipment manufacturers and partner companies are also associated with the Turkish companies.
It should be pointed out that Eurocopter and TAI have also signed a regional joint marketing agreement that will empower the Turkish industry to market and sell the Cougar helicopter.

Another noteworthy point is that the Cougar family of helicopters has already gained the confidence of 29 Air Forces, 7 Armies and 5 Navies throughout the world in the frame of an extremely wide and varied range of versions.


  See also


AS532AL Cougar in TR Türk Hava Kuvvetleri
Super Puma/Cougar in TR Türk Kara Kuvvetleri
TR Turkish Aerospace Industries




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