Pakistan and Turkey have signed an agreement for the sale of 30 Turkish ATAK helicopters to Islamabad.

Turkey’s Undersecretary of Defence Industries (SSM) Dr. İsmail Demir earlier this month had told Turkey’s state-owned TRT Haber news channel that Ankara was anticipating sale of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) T129 ATAK attack helicopters to Pakistan.

The signing of the deal was announced in an election manifesto of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party, according to Anadolu Agency report on Thursday.

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.

Hussain revealed that Pakistan was interested in the T129 ATAK helicopter, developed by TAI and the Italy-based AgustaWestland.

The gunship helicopter was added to the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces in 2014.