Turkey has abandoned plans to purchase an additional ten Bell Helicopter AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters from the US Department of Defense. Concluding the acquisition had been hampered by US politicians concerned that the helicopters might be used against Kurdish "rebels" in the south-east of the country. Turkey's pulling out of the deal is thought to have been a result of the delays.
Source: Flight International
Having already comfortably beaten an earlier target, Airbus Helicopters has a new cruise speed goal for its Racer compound demonstrator: 240kt (444km/h).
Australian investigators have highlighted the importance of helicopter underwater escape training (HUET) following the crash of a Bell 204 conducting firefighting operations.
The Guangzhou Public Security Bureau has taken delivery of an Airbus Helicopters H175 super-medium twin.
