ISLAMABAD – Turkey has been one of the major arms suppliers for Pakistan,which is evident from the $3 billion deals with the country since 2016.
Turkey is second only to China in terms of the big-ticket defence salesbecause of the friendly ties between the nation on all fronts.
In the last two years, Pakistan has booked the following major defencedeals with Turkey:
4 x MILGEM class warshipsAgosta 90B submarines midlife subsystem upgrades30T129 ATAK attack helicopters
Among these, the deal for 30 turkish T129 attack helicopters is reportedlythe biggest export deal of the country’s defence industry – amountingto $1.5 billion. The helicopters are expected to be delivered graduallyover a period of 5 years.
The deal for stealth capable warships was signed between Pakistan Navy andTurkish representatives in Islamabad with an agreement of transfer oftechnology an design’s intellectual proprietary rights. Two of these willbe made in Istanbul, while the remaining two will be manufacturedat Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW).
The project for the modernization of Agosta type submarines was bagged byTurkey for a sturdy $350 million. In addition to these, there are numerousother deals which speak for the level of coordination between Turkey andPakistan on the defence front.
Comparatively, China has equipped Pakistan with eyes in the sky through thePakistan Remote Sensing Satellite – 1 (PRSS-1), an instrumented weaponstesting range, Hangor (II) submarine, and a Type 054A frigate to name a few.