IDEF 2011: Black Hawk contract brings windfall for Turkish industry

illustration DEFENCE TALK

May 12, 2011 Tony Skinner, SHEPARD GROUP

Istanbul - Sikorsky’s domestic work-share commitments as part of its winning bid for the Turkish Utility Helicopter Program (TUHP) are predicted to generate $8 billion in revenue for Turkish industry over a 25 to 30 year period.

At a joint press conference at the IDEF exhibition in Istanbul on 12 May, company representatives outlined Turkish industry involvement in the TUHP project, which saw Sikorsky announced as preferred bidder with a derivative of the Black Hawk helicopter at the end of April.

The US helicopter company is heavily involving Turkish industry in the programme to manufacture 109 T-70 helicopters for the Turkish military and government agencies, and has committed to buying Turkish-produced S-70i helicopters on a ‘one-for-one’ basis for export from Turkey. Under Sikorsky’s TUHP Industrialisation Plan, the company will procure $1.3 billion of components, including 109 S-70i aircraft, and a permanent Black Hawk factory will be established in Turkey.

Sikorsky vice president of strategic partnerships Steve Estill said the company was hoping to finalise the contract by mid-2011 and commence work before the end of the year.

One benefit of investing in its domestic industry is that the company will be able to use Turkey as a stepping stone to sell the Black Hawk to markets in the Middle East and Asia.

‘We’ve already started some discussion with TAI about a process for co-marketing the aircraft with TAI and with assistance from TAI’s international marketing department. We obviously believe that there are markets that Turkey and TAI can bring to Sikorsky that will be mutually beneficial to all the parties in the process,’ Estill said.

As part of the industrial plan, technical data will be transferred to enable Turkish industry to manufacture the T-70 and S-70i airframes, components and avionics.

Prime contractor Turkish Aircraft Industries (TAI) will manufacture the aero structures, composites – including main and tail rotor – and perform final assembly. Alp Aviation, which is 50% owned by Sikorsky, will manufacture the main, intermediate and tail gearboxes, as well as main landing gears, rotorheads and swashplate.

Sikorsky is also working with Aselsan on a new T-70/S-70i helicopter integrated cockpit, which features four 8x10 inch multi-function displays, a new man-machine interface and modern software architecture. The Aselsan avionics package will be the baseline suite for all S-70i aircraft following its certification.

The first flight of the T-70 with the Aselsan cockpit will be 24 months after contract award, with the first delivery to the Turkish forces in 52 months.

Additionally, Sikorsky will establish a global support centre under a joint venture with TAI for overhaul, repair and flight training services to Black Hawk users worldwide.

‘We don’t want to duplicate anything that already exists but add to the capability so that we increase the repair capability of components that will improve the serviceability of our aircraft and decrease the operating cost for aircraft that operate here in Turkey,’ Estill explained.

When Sikorsky was announced as preferred bidder for the project, AgustaWestland took the uncommon step of releasing a statement saying it was disappointed and that its offer included an ‘unprecedented level of cooperation’ with Turkish industry.

‘The TUHP was conceived from the very beginning as a Black Hawk acquisition project as it was the only suitable model available in the category,’ the statement said.

However, speaking at IDEF a member of the evaluation team told Shephard that AgustaWestland’s offer of the AW149 was evaluated fairly but that aspects of the proposal were badly presented and contradictory.