The sale of thirty T129 multirole attack helicopter developed jointly by AgustaWestland and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to Pakistan has been confirmed by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti).

Turkey and Pakistan have signed a deal for the sale of 30 Turkish attack helicopters, according to an election manifesto the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) announced on 25 May.

According to the dailysabah.com, in a November 2017 interview with the Anadolu Agency, Pakistani Minister for Defense Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said his country planned to procure 30 attack helicopters and four naval ships from Turkey.

More: Turkish T129 attack helicopters takes part in Pakistan’s military parade

On March 23, T129 ATAK helicopters from Turkey participated in a fly-past ceremony in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

More: Pakistan’s Army Aviation receives Mi-35 attack helicopters from Russia

The T129 helicopter is based on the AW129 and its predecessor the A129 Mangusta. It is a twin-engine, tandem seat, multi-role, all-weather attack helicopter. The helicopter is designed for advanced attack and reconnaissance in hot and high environments and rough geography in both day and night conditions.

Equipped with up to 76 unguided rockets and 20 mm guns with 500 mm ammunition capacity for close air support missions, T129 helicopters also feature eight long-range anti-tank missiles (UMTAS), 16 CIRIT laser guided missiles, eight Stinger air-to-air missiles for multi-purpose tasks, cutting-edge electronic warfare and electro-optical systems.