Bangladesh Approves US$600 Million Deal for Turkish T-129 ATAK Attack Helicopters

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics on X

The US$600 million (RM2.82 billion) government-to-government deal with Türkiye marks a decisive shift in Bangladesh’s airpower doctrine, enhancing rotary-wing strike, border security, and Bay of Bengal deterrence under Forces Goal 2030.

Bangladesh has approved the procurement of six Turkish-built T-129 ATAK attack helicopters under its long-term Forces Goal 2030 modernisation programme, marking a significant shift in Dhaka’s airpower strategy, as Lieutenant General S.M. Kamrul Hassan, Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, emphasised that “this procurement represents a major step forward in strengthening Bangladesh’s rotary-wing combat capability,” underscoring the strategic urgency behind the US$600 million (approximately RM2.82 billion) government-to-government acquisition.

The Bangladesh Air Force’s endorsement of the T-129 ATAK through Turkish Aerospace Industries reflects a calculated response to evolving regional threat vectors, as a senior BAF spokesperson emphasized that “the T-129 ATAK will empower Bangladesh’s forces with agile, all-weather capabilities,” signalling an institutional recognition that modern conflict demands precision rotary-wing firepower capable of operating across contested borders, maritime littorals, and complex internal security environments simultaneously.

This acquisition unfolds against intensifying South Asian geopolitical volatility, where Bangladesh faces persistent instability along its Myanmar frontier, rising militarisation in the Bay of Bengal, and the strategic imperative to defend a vast exclusive economic zone critical to national energy security, trade routes, and maritime deterrence, making the integration of a survivable, network-enabled attack helicopter fleet operationally indispensable rather than aspirational.

Valued at approximately US$600 million, or roughly RM2.82 billion, the T-129 ATAK deal signals Dhaka’s readiness to invest heavily in qualitative force multipliers rather than numerical expansion, prioritising lethality, sensor fusion, and interoperability as core attributes of airpower relevance under Forces Goal 2030’s doctrine of layered, multi-domain defence.

By selecting the Turkish T-129 ATAK over competing Western and Russian platforms, Bangladesh has demonstrated a deliberate shift toward diversified defence partnerships that balance affordability, political neutrality, and operational performance, reinforcing Turkey’s emergence as a credible mid-tier defence exporter capable of delivering NATO-grade systems without the geopolitical constraints often associated with major power suppliers.