Turkish TS1400 Engine to Revive ATAK Helicopter Deal with Pakistan

Turkey unveiled its domestic TS1400 engine to fit on to its ATAK helicopter which could remove the U.S. approval hurdle against Pakistan acquiring 30 units of the Turkish helicopter.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) could not deliver the helicopters to Pakistan as the chopper is equipped with Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company (LHTEC) engines.

LHTEC is a joint venture of Rolls-Royce and Honeywell. Since the engine has over 20% of U.S.-made components, prior U.S. State Department approval is necessary for its export to a third country. The engine was earlier approved or sale to Turkey only but approval was not received for its sale to Pakistan.

The TS1400 engine is made by TAI engine manufacturing subsidiary, TUSAŞ Engine (TEI) whose General Manager Mahmut Faruk Akşit was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency (AA), “We have been continuing the maturation tests of the TS1400 since then. We have tested it up to the emergency take-off power,” he said.

He was speaking at the Teknofest event in Samsun, Turkey.Akşit said that this engine would be integrated into Gökbey, Türkiye’s first homegrown multirole helicopter, in the first half of next year and later the ATAK helicopter.

Stating that there is a demand for the TS1400 engine from abroad, Akşit said, "this demand comes with the platform. There are those who want Gökbey helicopters or ATAK helicopters, together with our engine.”

He revealed that the TS1400 engine produces 100 horse power more than the LHTEC CTS800 4-AT turboshaft engines that have 1,373 horsepower.

He said that the engine still has to go through its certification process but did not reveal by when this will be completed. The engine can be offered for sale abroad only after the certification process is completed.