ANKARA - Turkey plans to buy 32 Mi-28 strikehelicopters from Russia with a cost of some one billion U.S. dollars, Turkish daily Vatan reported on Monday.
The deal was reached with Russia after the U.S. Department of State declined the Turkish Armed Forces' request to buy 10 second-hand Cobras from the U.S. before receiving the first T129 helicopters, co-produced with Italy's Agusta Westland.
The U.S. side declined the Turkish request citing the absence of available helicopters of this type, according to the report.

The Turkish authorities finally negotiated with Rosoboron export,a Russian state agency in charge of military exports, on the urgent purchase of Mi-28 helicopters which is an all-weather day-night attack helicopter manufactured by the Rostvertol plant in southern Russia.

Turkey's Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Italy's Agusta Westland signed a deal in 2007 for co-producing 50 and optional 40units of T129 combat helicopters.