Back in May 2005, DID looked at Turkey’s launch of a $700 million helicopter competition to provide 32 military utility helicopters and 20 fire fighting helicopters. Last week, the Turkish Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) extended the submission date for the TSK Helikopter Program RFP from June 15, 2006 to September 15, 2006. The original reply date had been December 5, 2005. In addition, the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued on January 6, 2006 for the Turkish Basic Trainer Aircraft (TEU) Program has been extended until July 14, 2006, at the request of the potential bidders that received the RFP. Defense-Aerospace.com carried both the TSK helicopter and the TEU trainer releases.
Turkey has had serious problems with international defense procurement before; its attack helicopter program is a prime example, derailed due to onerous conditions that proved insupportable and caused the competition winner to decline further participation. Time will tell whether either of these competitions fits that pattern.