A number of Turkish news outlets said that the issue was brought up at the 8th Pak-Turk Industrial Fair Joint Working Group Meeting, which began this week at Pakistan’s National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP).
Pak-Turk Joint Working Group (JWG)
The Pak-Turk Joint Working Group (JWG) meets twice a year and includes important ministries, as well as state and private companies from both countries. Furthermore, Turkish news outlets said that they discussed the possibility of selling Pakistan the KAAN, Türkiye’s next-generation fighter aircraft (NGFA).
It is not clear if the helicopter would be used for civilian or military purposes, but since this JWG meeting was mostly for defense companies, such as Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), it is likely that it is for military purposes.
A Reminder of the T-129 ATAK Deal
TAI got an order for 30 T-129 ATAK helicopters from Pakistan in 2018. The U.S. prevented the return of the ATAK’s LHTEC CTS800-4A turboshaft engines, causing the deal to collapse. Many people thought that by 2020, the Pakistan Army Aviation Corps would pick and later induct the Chinese Z-10ME over the T-129 and AH-1Z. The Z-10ME came into the limelight no later than 2025 after significant upgrades.
The deal for the AH-1Z also fell through when the U.S. wouldn’t give Pakistan the money it needed to buy it. Dr. Ismail Demir, head of Türkiye’s Defense Industry Agency, said in 2021 that Pakistan had given TAI another six-month extension. This extension came after a one-year grace period, which gave TAI more time to find a new engine solution, which results
Replacement of LHTEC CTS800-4A
Turkey tried to replace the US-made LHTEC CTS800-4A engines on T-129 ATAK helicopters with Ukrainian engines to fill a $1.5 billion, 30-unit order from Pakistan. This was part of a bigger plan to get around a US export license block that happened after Turkey bought the S-400, but in the end, Pakistan canceled the deal and went with China instead.
Türkiye’s New Homegrown Engine
Türkiye’s own turboshaft engine, the TEI TS1400, is a big step forward after the T-129 deal fell through. To cut down on its reliance on foreign engines, mostly American ones, Türkiye started working on the TS1400 in 2017. TEI thought it would take about eight years to finish building the engine and get it ready to use.
In 2020, TEI conducted a rigorous test on the TS1400’s core. The TAI T625 Gökbey, a utility helicopter made by TAI itself, successfully tested the engine in 2023. The TS1400 has since passed several certification tests, including one for EASA standards in June 2024. It passed the CS-E 740 endurance test by running 15 six-hour test runs in a row without failing. The TS1400 produced a lot of power during testing: 1,740 shp, which is about 1,279 kilowatts.
Conclusion
According to the eight-year plan for the engine’s development, several OSINT experts expect the TS1400 engine to obtain international certification by 2026. One possible outcome is that both countries are looking into a joint helicopter project based on the TEI TS1400 engine.
References
- Türkiye Today. “Türkiye, Pakistan deepen defense ties with KAAN jet export, joint helicopter project.” 7 January 2025.
- Reuters. “Turkish attack helicopter deal with Pakistan worth around $1.5 billion: sources.” 13 July 2018.
- Defense News. “Pakistan extends delayed T129 helo deal with Turkey — again.” 15 March 2021.
- TEI (TUSAŞ Engine Industries). “TEI-TS1400 Has Achieved a Record Power Level of 1740 SHP.” 2 July 2024.
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