A129

A129 may refer to :

Agusta A129 Mangusta

The Agusta A129 Mangusta (English: Mongoose) is an attack helicopter originally designed and produced by Agusta. It has the distinction of being the first attack helicopter to be designed and produced wholly in Europe. It has continued to be developed by AgustaWestland, the successor company to Agusta. The A129 has undergone several combat deployments since entering service with the Italian Army in the 1990s.

A derivative of the A129, the TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK, is being developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), who shall produce the T129 for the Turkish Army and potentially other export customers, AgustaWestland is serving as the primary partner on the T129.

Development

Origins

In 1972, the Italian Army began forming a requirement for a light observation and anti-tank helicopter; around the same time, the West German military had identified a similar need. The two nations' requirements led to a joint project being initiated between the Italian company Agusta and West German company MBB; however, the joint effort was soon dissolved following preliminary work. Agusta had initially studied the development of a combat-orientated derivative of their existing A109 helicopter, however they decided to proceed with the development of a more ambitious helicopter design. In 1978, Agusta formally began the design process on what would become the A129.

Turkish Land Forces

The Turkish Land Forces (Turkish: Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: Türk Ordusu), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. Official claims state that the army was founded by Modu Chanyu in 209 BC, but the modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant events since the foundation of the Army include combat in the Korean War and in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and acting as a NATO bulwark along Cold War frontiers through 1992. The army holds the preeminent place within the armed forces. It is customary for the Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey to have been the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces prior to his appointment as Turkey's senior ranking officer. Alongside the other two armed services, the Turkish Army has frequently intervened in Turkish politics, which has now been regulated to an extent with the reform of the National Security Council. The current commander of the Turkish Land Forces is General Salih Zeki Çolak.

Turkish Aerospace Industries

Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) (Turkish: Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş., TUSAŞ) is the center of technology in design, development, manufacturing, integration of aerospace systems, modernization and after sales support in Turkey.

Located in Ankara, the TAI production plant covers an area of 5 million square meters with an industrial facility of 150,000 square meters under its roof. The company has a modern aircraft facility furnished with high technology machinery and equipment that provide extensive manufacturing capabilities ranging from parts manufacturing to aircraft assembly, flight tests and delivery.

As of 2010, Turkish Aerospace Industries employs over 1500 engineers, of whom approximately 850 are research and development engineers working in military research projects.

Projects

TAI’s experience includes the licensed production of General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, CASA/IPTN CN-235 light transport/maritime patrol/surveillance aircraft, SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 trainers, Cougar AS-532 search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR) and utility helicopters as well as the design and development of Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), target drones and agricultural aircraft.

De Tomaso Mangusta

The De Tomaso Mangusta is a sports car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso produced between 1967 and 1971.

History

The Mangusta replaced the Vallelunga model, on which its chassis was based. The word "mangusta" is Italian for "mongoose", an animal that can kill cobras. It was rumored that the car was so named because De Tomaso had some talks with Carroll Shelby to replace the Shelby Cobra with a racing car to be built in Italy by the Argentine-born De Tomaso ("De Tomaso Sport 5000" a.k.a. "De Tomaso P70"), but no deal was signed since Shelby became involved in the Ford GT40 racing program. Nevertheless, Alejandro de Tomaso and Carroll Shelby were friends and business is business, so it is also rumored that the first handful of engines for the Mangusta may have come from Shelby. The Mangusta was replaced by the much cheaper-to-build De Tomaso Pantera in 1971.

401 Mangustas were built, about 150 of the European version, the remainder were the North American version. The initial cars are claimed to have a more powerful Ford HiPo 289 cu. in. engine; the later cars all had Ford 302 engines. With the 1970 model USA destined cars were produced with 2 headlamp pop-up, an estimated 50 cars were produced in this configuration. One car was built with a Chevrolet engine for General Motors-Vice President, Bill Mitchell. There are reported to be approximately 250 of the 401 cars left in existence, according to the three available registries.