Pakistan has extended a $ 1 billion defense deal with Turkey for the purchase of T-129 Atak helicopters by six months, Defense News reported.

A $ 1.5 billion defense agreement between Pakistan and Turkey has been suspended due to the United States.

In July 2018, Turkey and Pakistan signed an agreement to sell 30 Turkish T-129 Attack helicopters. The deal includes logistics, spare parts, training and ammunition for the helicopters, which were to be delivered gradually over five years.

However, relations between Turkey and the United States escalated after Turkey decided to buy the Russian S-400 missile defense system. The United States has imposed defensive sanctions against its NATO ally Turkey.

Due to these restrictions, the delivery of T-129 combat helicopters to Pakistan was delayed as Turkey could not supply T-129 combat helicopters to Pakistan without US export licenses.

The T-129 ATAK combat helicopters were manufactured by TAI under license from the Italian-British company AgustaWestland.