From Gendarmerie to Land Forces: GÖKBEY Broadens Its Operational Reach
TUSAŞ (Turkish Aerospace) has delivered the sixth T625 GÖKBEY Utility Helicopter, marking a significant milestone as the platform enters the Turkish Land Forces Command inventory for the first time. Prior to this delivery, all five previously handed-over aircraft had been operated by the Gendarmerie General Command.
Addressing the ceremony, President of Defence Industries Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün described the delivery as a defining threshold in Türkiye’s national aviation journey. He highlighted that GÖKBEY's entire design, testing, and certification process was carried out through indigenous capabilities, and underscored the platform's operational versatility, including day and night mission performance at high altitudes and across a wide range of climatic conditions, for roles spanning personnel transport and logistics support.
Highlighting that critical subsystems used on the GÖKBEY platform, including the transmission, rotor, and landing gear systems, were also developed with national capabilities, Görgün emphasized that this represents a concrete indicator of the engineering level achieved by the Turkish defense industry. He further stated that Türkiye is steadily reinforcing its position as a country shaping the direction of the defense industry through indigenous platforms developed for various operational requirements and added that national aviation capabilities continue to advance decisively in line with the vision set forth by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
TUSAŞ General Manager Dr. Mehmet Demiroğlu echoed that sentiment, expressing pride in the sixth delivery of the T625 GÖKBEY. Demiroğlu noted that introducing the Türkiye’s first indigenously developed helicopter into the Turkish Land Forces Command's fleet is a landmark achievement.
In a separate statement, TUSAŞ announced that the total number of helicopters produced and delivered by the company has reached 134. The company reiterated its commitment to enhancing the operational capabilities of Türkiye’s security forces and contributing to the country's broader defense vision through the strength of domestic engineering.
