Turkish Land Forces Command’s 57th T129 ATAK Helicopter
The 57th T129 ATAK Helicopter entered the TLFC inventory with this delivery, according to the statement, which also stated: "The helicopter that has just entered the inventory is the first ATAK helicopter equipped with the National IFF Mod-5 Identification Friend or Foe System and 6-sensor Missile Warning System." In the image shared by the Ministry of National Defense, the sixth sensor of the Missile Warning System (MWS) of the T129B Phase-II Helicopter with the tail number 1059 (placed upward-facing) just behind the ASELFLIR-300T FLIR gimbal, and the EW Pod (RFJ) placed in the pod so that it can be installed when desired, since it does not need to be installed in every mission, drew attention. According to the information I have received, no antenna change was made for the ASELSAN-produced National IFF Mod-5/S System. Accordingly, the same antennas are used as in the previous helicopters, and in this context, the upper antenna has the common structure with the V/UHF radio antenna, and the lower antenna is mounted under the tail boom.
With this latest delivery, the number of T129B Mk-I Lightweight Combat and Tactical Reconnaissance Helicopters in Phase-II configuration in the inventory of the TLFC has increased to six. With the delivery of the 52nd T129, the TLFC also started to receive ATAK Helicopters in Phase-II configuration. On February 17, 2021, İsmail DEMİR, the President of Defense Industries, announced on his official Twitter account that the first T129B deliveries in the Phase-II version, which further increased the local content rate, were made to the Turkish National Police (EM-101) and the TLFC. A ceremony was held on February 25, 2021, for the first T129B Phase-II Helicopter produced for the Turkish National Police. The second Phase-II T129B helicopter was delivered to the Turkish National Police in May 2021. In the meantime, the Ministry of National Defense announced on February 23, 2021 that the 2nd T129 ATAK Helicopter with Phase-II configuration and the 53rd T129 ATAK Helicopter of the TLFC was taken into inventory on February 23, 2021, and the 54th T129 Helicopter (the helicopter which had the tail number "1057" in the shared image) was taken into inventory on June 5, 2021 on the Ministry's Twitter account, while the delivery of the 55th helicopter of the TLFC was announced on June 23, 2021 on the Presidency of Defense Industries Twitter account. On December 31, 2021, the Ministry of National Defense announced on its Twitter account that the 5th T129B Helicopter in Phase-II configuration and the 56th T129B Helicopter delivered to the TLFC (in the shared image, the helicopter had the tail number "1058") was taken into inventory.
As of 21 July 2022, a total of 73 T129A/B ATAK Helicopters have been delivered under the T129 ATAK Combat and Tactical Reconnaissance Helicopter Program, 57 to TLFC (9x T129A EDH and 48 T129B), 13 to the Gendarmerie General Command (6 x T129B Phase-I and 7 x Phase-II) and the Turkish National Police (3 x Phase-II). As of July 21, a total of 4 T129B Phase-II Helicopters have been delivered in 2022, 3 for Gendarmerie General Command (J-1225 Süleymanşah in March, J-1231 Ertuğrul and J-1538 Barbaros in July) and 1 for TLFC (57th helicopter). TUSAŞ previously announced that a total of 60 T129 ATAK Helicopters were delivered to the Land Forces Command, the Gendarmerie General Command and the Turkish National Police as of February 2021. The 57th T129 ATAK Helicopter was delivered to the TLFC on June 25, 2020. In a statement given to Göksel YILDIRIM from Anadolu Agency at the beginning of April 2022, Temel KOTİL, President and CEO of TUSAŞ, pointed out that 76 helicopters were in service and stated that the number of helicopters number would reach 83 by the end of 2022. KOTİL also noted that an agreement was made with another country (Nigeria) for six ATAK Helicopters, apart from the Philippines, which had ordered six T129Bs.
Under the T129 ATAK Project carried out by the Presidency of Defense Agencises, TUSAŞ will produce a total of 59 (+ 32 options) T129 Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack Helicopters (including 9 T129A EDHs and 50 T129Bs in two different configurations) for the Turkish Land Forces, 24 T129B Helicopters (6 T129B Phase-1 and 18 T129B Phase-2) for the Gendarmerie General Command, and 9 T129B Helicopters for the General Directorate of Security (ordered in Phase-1 configuration but being delivered in Phase-2 configuration).
