Turkish Aerospace Industries has hired a Washington law firm to lobby with the US administration for securing an export licence which will help complete a $1.5 billion sale of ATAK helicopters to Pakistan.
TAI (which manufactures the ATAK helicopter) hired US law firms, Greenberg Traurig LLP and its lobbying sub-contractor Capital Counsel LLC, to lobby the relevant congressional leaders and the White House to secure the requisite export licences,” Turkish media ahvalnews reported today.
The ATAK T-129 helicopter is powered by two T800-4A engines manufactured by LHTEC, a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce. The US is reportedly holding up export clearance for the LHTEC engine.
In June this year, TAI revealed the prototype of a locally-made engine for the ATAK T-129 helicopter. The hiring of lobbyists is indicative that the new engine may not make it to Pakistan’s 1 year deadline which is only 5 months away.
In 2018, TAI signed a $1.5 billion agreement to sell a batch of 30 T129 choppers which is billed as Turkey’s single biggest arms export deal. Pakistan has kept an option of buying the Chinese Z-10 helo should the Turkish deal not materialize.
According to contract documents filed in the US, Greenberg Traurig and its subcontractor will be paid a monthly retainer of $25,000 “to conduct meetings with all relevant Committees in Congress, including meetings with the Chairmen, Ranking Members and the members of Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee to ensure United States legal and governmental compliance for the sale of helicopter parts for the T129 ATAK helicopter to the Pakistan Army Aviation Corps (PAAC) or to any other third party”.