Abbasi becomes Pakistan’s first prime minister to fly military helicopter

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the Pakistan army is evaluating the Turkish helicopter and the government is negotiating the contract and terms.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi took the Turkish attack helicopter T-129 for a test flight, becoming the first Pakistani Prime Minister to fly a military helicopter.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi takes Turkish attack helicopter T-129 for a test flight. (Twitter/@pid_gov)

Following the test-flight of T-129 helicopter on Sunday, he told the Pakistani and Turkish media that Turkey’s defence production industry was one of the best in the world and second to none, Dawn news reported.

Appreciating the Turkish aircraft, Abbasi termed it an “impressive and good machine”.

The Prime Minister also lauded the Turkish aviation industry and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for such remarkable achievements in defence production.

Responding to a poser about Pakistan’s plan of purchasing T-129 helicopters, Abbasi said “our army is evaluating the helicopter and we are negotiating the contract and terms”.

He also inspected the helicopter, where he was briefed by the Turkish aviation officials about the specifications and technical parameters of the combat chopper.