Turkish police receive first GÖKBEY as Görgün cites $35 billion programme contribution

Turkey’s General Directorate of Security has taken delivery of its first T625 GÖKBEY general-purpose helicopter at a ceremony held at TUSAŞ facilities. Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci, Defence Industry Agency President Prof. Dr. Haluk Gorgun, Police Director General Ali Fidan and TUSAŞ General Manager Mehmet Demiroglu attended.

Gorgun said the aircraft handed over was the eighth GÖKBEY produced by TUSAŞ and the first to enter the police inventory. A second helicopter is to follow shortly.

Import substitution put above $8 billion

The agency head used the ceremony to set out the financial case for building rotorcraft domestically. “By meeting our helicopter requirement with domestic and national means, we have prevented more than $8 billion in direct imports,” he said, adding that the figure covers acquisition alone.

Once maintenance, repair, logistics support and modernisation across the platforms’ service lives are counted, the picture widens considerably. “The total economic contribution our helicopter programmes alone have delivered to the country exceeds $35 billion,” Gorgun said.

More than 200 domestic companies work on the helicopter programmes alongside prime contractor TUSAŞ. Turkey has delivered 127 helicopters across its various platforms to date. The current fleet includes 39 T70s, 8 GÖKBEYs and 80 ATAKs, with a further 12 ATAK aircraft exported.

Eighteen aircraft for the police force

Interior Minister Ciftci announced that the police will receive 18 T625 GÖKBEY helicopters in total. “The true value of a technology is measured by the benefit it produces in human life,” he said, noting the type will support counter-terrorism, public order, reconnaissance and disaster response tasks.

The police air fleet currently comprises 35 helicopters, five fixed-wing aircraft and 20 unmanned aerial systems. Six pilots are undergoing GÖKBEY conversion training and four technicians are enrolled in TUSAŞ-run maintenance courses.

The aircraft

The T625 GÖKBEY is a twin-engine general-purpose helicopter in the six-tonne class. It first flew on 6 September 2018 and has since accumulated roughly 3,000 flight test hours.

Its architecture allows adaptation to air ambulance, search and rescue, VIP transport, reconnaissance and general utility roles. The police configuration is fitted with sensor and communications equipment tailored to law-enforcement work.

Sources: Sabah, Anadolu Agency