One of the most critical projects in Türkiye’s aviation and defense industry, the GÖKBEY Helicopter, has entered a new phase with the delivery of its type certificate. At the “GÖKBEY Helicopter Certificate Delivery Ceremony” held at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the airworthiness certificate covering the aircraft, engine, or propeller design and performance was presented by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu to Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Chairman Haluk Görgün. This development officially confirmed that GÖKBEY is now ready not only for military missions but also for civil operations.

Speaking at the ceremony, SSB Chairman Haluk Görgün emphasized the strategic importance of GÖKBEY as Türkiye’s indigenous utility helicopter project. He stated that the helicopter had officially received its type certification approval, mass production had already begun, and orders for a total of 75 helicopters had been placed. Görgün also recalled that five GÖKBEY helicopters had recently been delivered to the Gendarmerie General Command. He announced that the first civil aviation delivery would be made to the Ministry of Health. According to the delivery schedule, the first helicopter will be handed over in July 2026, the second toward the end of the year, and the third by mid-2027. Deliveries are planned to continue every six months.

GÖKBEY stands out as a capable platform with a 2+10 seating capacity, an approximate range of 750 kilometers, and an endurance of up to 3.8 hours in the air. Developed through Turkish engineering, the helicopter is designed to serve a wide range of roles, from general-purpose missions to health and public service operations. Görgün stressed that in recent years, thanks to Türkiye’s rising localization rate, design capability, and production strength in defense industries, the country has transformed into a globally respected actor capable of developing not only subsystems but also complete platforms. Reaching this stage with GÖKBEY is therefore seen as an important gain for reducing foreign dependency in aviation.

TUSAŞ General Manager Mehmet Demiroğlu described the civil certification as the outcome of years of hard work, testing, design, production, and technical evaluation. He noted that this achievement was not only the success of TUSAŞ, but also the result of joint efforts by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Presidency of Defense Industries, and all stakeholders in Türkiye’s aviation ecosystem. Demiroğlu added that the next major objective is to secure certification for GÖKBEY with the indigenous TS1400 engine. Achieving that milestone would elevate the project even further in terms of localization and national independence.

Director General of Civil Aviation Prof. Dr. Kemal Yüksek also underlined that the entire certification process was managed digitally through the certification module developed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. He stated that all compliance documents, test results, and technical assessments were handled in a fully digital, evidence-based, and traceable environment. In this respect, GÖKBEY represents not only an aircraft certification success but also the first project through which Türkiye gained end-to-end digital certification capability. Yüksek further highlighted that GÖKBEY is the first rotorcraft in Türkiye to receive a type certificate in this category, placing the country among the limited number of nations capable of designing and certifying civil helicopters.

The type certification of GÖKBEY is regarded as more than just a technical approval for Turkish aviation; it is also considered a strategic turning point. The development of an indigenous and national helicopter capable of serving both military and civil purposes clearly demonstrates the level Türkiye has reached in defense and aviation technologies. Upcoming deliveries, together with the targeted certification using the domestic TS1400 engine, are expected to strengthen GÖKBEY’s position both nationally and internationally in the years ahead.