Utility Helicopter T70 Program
Turkey’s T70 Utility Helicopter Program has announced the delivery of 109 T70 Utility Helicopters to six different users in Turkey. The program will be developed based on Sikorsky Aircraft’s S70i Helicopter, under the main contractor of TAI and subcontractors like ASELSAN, TEI, and Alp Aviation. The TAI will be responsible for the production, final assembly processes, tests and integrated logistics support for the T70 helicopters. Meanwhile, ASELSAN will develop and integrate basic avionics and helicopter cockpit for the program, followed by TEI, who will be responsible for the production of the T700 engine. Lastly, Alp Aviation will manufacture and assemble the landing gear, gearbox detail parts and dynamic parts.
The T70 Utility Helicopter Program aims to meet Turkey’s general purpose helicopter needs and help make the Turkish industry play a vital role in meeting domestic military and civilian needs. Additionally, the 109 T70 general purpose helicopters are produced domestically under license and nationalized with original designs. The helicopter fuselage, blades, landing gear, gearboxes and flight control parts, cockpit avionics and T700-TEI-701D engine are produced domestically.
The program’s main advantage is its domestic modular avionics architecture and software capability. This flexible system solution can meet different needs, and the architecture provides provisioning and expansion options, offering enough CPU-memory potential. With the domestic flight software, foreign dependency for avionic integrations has been reduced, and it has advanced self-protection features and high operational capability for Radar, Laser, and Heat-guided threats.
The T70 Utility Helicopter Program’s technical specifications include a maximum travel speed of 296 km/h, a service ceiling of 6096 m, a maximum takeoff weight of 9,979 kg, cabin width of 2.14 meters, and cabin height of 1.37 meters, and a maximum external load of 4,082 kg.
In conclusion, the T70 Utility Helicopter Program will not only fulfill Turkey’s general-purpose helicopter needs but also help develop a stronger defense industry and national capabilities for the country.
