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Pakistan, Turkey sign their largest-ever defence contract

Dawood Rehman 10:11 PM | 30 May, 2018
Pakistan, Turkey sign their largest-ever defence contract
ISLAMABAD/ANKARA - Pakistan and Turkey have agreed on the sale of a batch of 30 Turkish-made T129 ATAK multirole combat helicopters.

The T129 is Turkey’s first locally manufactured platform under license. The T129 features a tandem seat cockpit, twin-engines and NATO-interoperability for attack, armed reconnaissance, precision-strike and deep-strike mission capabilities for day and night in all weather conditions.

It can be armed with anti-tank missiles, various rocket pods and has a nose-mounted chaingun.

According to a political manifesto unveiled by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistan and Turkey recently agreed on terms on the largest ever defence contract signed between the two countries.

The two countries have been negotiating a T129 deal since 2014. This is the first export contract for the helicopter.

Turkish Aerospace Industries, or TAI, maker of the T129 under license from the Italian-British AgustaWestland, has so far delivered 35 T129s to the Turkish Army and the Gendarmerie force.

With the Pakistan Army having already ordered 12 US-built Bell AH-1Z Vipers, it had since 2014 been testing the Chinese-built Z-10 the Turkish-made T129 since 2016.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/pakistan-receives-four-mi-35m-attack-helicopters-in-first-true-weapon-purchase-from-russia/

Pakistan Army Aviation commander Major General Nasir Shah told Janes earlier in the year that Islamabad was considering only a number of options to replace the ageing fleet of Bell AH-1 Cobras. The country recently received four Mi-35 attack helicopters from Russia, and will soon receive AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters.

“Army Aviation has plans to further enhance its attack helicopter fleet, and various options are currently being considered and evaluated,” Gen Shah said on January 31 at the IQPC Military Helicopter conference in London.

“The [current 32] AH-1 helicopters have provided effective close support for our ground forces engaged in counter-insurgency [COIN] operations, but they cannot be employed effectively in high-altitude operations above 8,000 ft,” he added.

Before the deal, the T129 went through various tests in Pakistan. Most recently, the T129 was showcased at a March 23 military parade for Pakistani National Day.

“We expect further [T-129] contracts to follow the order from Pakistan,” a Turkish defense procurement official told IHS Janes.

The Turkish government has not disclosed a price for the T129 deal with Pakistan, but aerospace industry sources estimate the contract to be worth about $1.5 billion, almost equivalent of Turkey’s annual defense exports.

Turkey’s defense exports rose slightly from $1.677 billion in 2016 to $1.739 billion in 2017. Turkish officials aim to attain $10 billion in defense and aerospace exports by 2021.

Dawood Rehman
Dawood Rehman

The writer is a member of the staff.

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Today's currency exchange rates in Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal rates on March 21, 2023

KARACHI - Following are the foreign currency exchange rates for US Dollar, Saudi Riyal, UK Pound Sterling, U.A.E. Dirham, European Euro, and other foreign currencies in Pakistan open market on March 21, 2023 (Tuesday).

Source: Forex Association of Pakistan. (last update 09:00 AM)

Currency Symbol Buying Selling
US Dollar ‎USD 283.15 286.15
Euro EUR 298.5 301.5
UK Pound Sterling GBP 340.5 344
U.A.E Dirham AED 77.25 78
Saudi Riyal SAR 75.2 76
Australian Dollar AUD 187 189.4
Bahrain Dinar BHD 749.54 757.54
Canadian Dollar CAD 207.5 209.5
China Yuan CNY 40.91 41.31
Danish Krone DKK 40.38 40.78
Hong Kong Dollar HKD 35.9 36.25
Indian Rupee INR 3.41 3.52
Japanese Yen JPY 2.06 2.11
Kuwaiti Dinar KWD 916.88 925.88
Malaysian Ringgit MYR 62.85 63.45
New Zealand Dollar NZD 176.66 178.6
Norwegians Krone NOK 26.33 26.63
Omani Riyal OMR 732.14 740.14
Qatari Riyal ‎QAR 77.42 78.12
Singapore Dollar SGD 207.5 209.5
Swedish Korona SEK 26.5 26.8
Swiss Franc CHF 305.25 307.78
Thai Bhat THB 8.26 8.41

Today's gold rates in Pakistan – 21 March 2023

KARACHI - The price of a single tola of 24-karat gold in Pakistan is Rs 204,700 on Tuesday.The price of 10 grams of 24k gold was recorded at Rs175,500.  

Likewise, 10 grams of 22k gold were being traded for Rs163,624 while a single tola of 22-karat gold was being sold at Rs 190,849.  

Note: The gold rate in Pakistan is fluctuating according to the international market so the price is never been fixed. The below rates are provided by local gold markets and Sarafa Markets of different cities.

City Gold Silver
Lahore PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Karachi PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Islamabad PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Peshawar PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Quetta PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Sialkot PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Attock PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Gujranwala PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Jehlum PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Multan PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Bahawalpur PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Gujrat PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Nawabshah PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Chakwal PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Hyderabad PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Nowshehra PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Sargodha PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Faisalabad PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390
Mirpur PKR 204,700 PKR 2,390

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