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Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) delivered the first T625 Gokbey general-purpose helicopter to the Land Forces Command on Thursday in a ceremony at the TAI Kahramankazan campus.
Secretary of Turkish Defense Industries (SSB) Haluk Gorgun announced that 83 Gokbey deliveries are planned across all users, with domestic content currently above 70% and rising to over 80% upon integration of the indigenous TS1400 turboshaft engine, with the second land forces helicopter due in June.
Gorgun said: "In the coming years, we will deliver 15 more Gokbey to the Land Forces Command and 42 to the interior ministry. Together with other users, we will put a total of 83 helicopters into service under the Gokbey program."
"The Gokbey will make important contributions to the Land Forces Command's capabilities. With its versatile use options, it will further increase the operational mobility and mission flexibility of our Land Forces," he noted.
He said the Gokbey was not only a platform but "a concrete example of Türkiye's national innovation power and transformation in the defense industry" and expressed confidence that it would achieve export success.
It will serve in both military and civil roles, including serving as air ambulance.
Gorgun confirmed that Gokbey’s domestic content ratio currently exceeds 70%. This ratio will be raised above 80% with the integration of an indigenous engine. "The presence of indigenous engines in the skies is expected to be one of the strategic outputs of our national technology drive," he said.
Certification activities for the integration of TS1400 into the Gokbey platform were ongoing, he further stated.
TEI CEO Mahmut Faruk Aksit had previously confirmed that the TS1400 would enter service in 2026 using fully regulation-compliant components, with deliveries of TS1400-powered Gokbey helicopters planned for 2027-2028. Initial production units are being delivered with CTS800 turboshaft engines.
TAI General Manager Mehmet Demiroglu said, "Gokbey is the first helicopter that is entirely ours in every way. This first delivery covers one of two helicopters. We will deliver the second in June. Production and delivery work continue without slowing."
"We will deliver to both the land and other forces in rapidly increasing numbers this year and in the years ahead," he added.
The Gokbey succeeds the aging UH-1 Huey helicopters in the land forces service. TITRA, known for the ALPIN Rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (RUAV), is converting the retired UH-1s into heavy, remotely piloted RUAVs for logistics support missions.
The T625 Gokbey has a maximum takeoff weight of six tons, capacity for 12 passengers, a maximum speed of 306km/h, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet and an endurance of more than 3.8 hours standard, extendable to over five hours with external fuel tanks, with a maximum range of 948km.
Land Forces Commander General Metin Tokel described the delivery as a "strategic capability" for the army, emphasizing that the land forces remain focused on prioritizing kamikaze drones, UAVs, long-range missiles, and multilayered air defense systems, along with the survival architecture to protect them.
He said Gokbey met international standards and joint operational requirements.
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