Airforces

style camouflage. Several AB205s and one
or two Mi-17-1Vs are painted in a civilian-
style red, blue and white scheme.
The Gendarmerie is responsible for law
enforcement and security outside the
municipalities. Its area of operations
represents around 80% of the country
and covers some 25% of Turkey’s total
population. This requires a huge force:
currently around 100,000 general troops,
60,000 special forces and other specialised
personnel and some 80,000 village guards.
The Gendarmerie General Command
consists of around 14 regional commands,
81 provincial commands and 920 district
commands, dispersed across the country.
The main focus of its military-style
operations lies in the east of the country,
where the borders with Syria and
Turkey are guarded by a combination
of Gendarmerie and army units. These
frontier zones are littered with small
auxiliary airfields and commando camps
with helipads, facilitating operations in this
mountainous and inhospitable terrain.

Order of battle: Jandarma

Havacılık Komutanliği –

Gendarmerie Aviation Command

Ankara Güvercinlik

Jandarma Hava Grup Komutanlığı Ankara

Jandarma Havacılık Okul

Komutanlığı

AB205, S-70A

Karargah Kıtaatı Mi-17-1V (VIP),

Cessna 680

1nci Filo S-70A

2nci Filo Mi-17-1V

Diyarbakır

Jandarma Hava Grup Komutanlığı Diyarbakır

7nci Kolordu Jandarma Hava Grup

Komutanlığı Diyarbakır

1nci Filo ‘Anka’ (Phoenix) Mi-17-1V

2nci Filo ‘Tuğrul’ (Turul) AB205A, S-70A

Van

Jandarma Helikopter Filo Komutanlığı

Van ‘Canavarlari’ (Monsters)

AB205, S-70A,

Mi-17-1V

Aydin-Çildir

Jandarma Helikopter Filo

Komutanlığı Aydin

S-70A

Malatya-Tulga

IKU Beech 350

Taarruz Helikopter Filo ‘Avci’ (Hunter) T129B

Elazığ

IHA Filo Bayraktar TB2/

TB2S UCAV

BLACK SEA

Mediterranean Sea

Cyprus

Istanbul

Ankara-Güvercinlik

Bulgaria

Greece

Turkey

Syria

Elazığ

Malatya-Tulga

Diyarbakır

Aydin-Çildir

Iraq

Iran

Georgia

Armenia

Van

Special forces

The Jandarma Özel Harekât (JÖH, Gendarmerie

Special Forces) rely heavily on the capabilities

provided by Gendarmerie Aviation Command

units, and S-70A Black Hawks are the mainstays

for troop insertion, combat search and rescue

and air assault. All sport a dark olive drab colour

scheme suitable for night-time operations.

Since the mid-1980s, Gendarmerie Special Forces units

have played a major role in suppressing terrorist cells

such as those of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), so

it’s no surprise that they had their headquarters in the

eastern province of Van, with major training facilities

in the Şırnak and Hakkari provinces. After the coup,

however, JÖH headquarters were transferred to Ankara.

Above: Jandarma Özel Harekat S-70As are equipped for special operations. They include the HEWS

electronic warfare self-protection suite and chaff/fl are dispensers mounted on the tail boom.

Above: Maintenance personnel of the Hava Bakim Komutanlığı (Aircraft Maintenance Command) prepare

a Mi-17-1V for a training fl ight. Eighteen of the 20 examples delivered have been upgraded and are likely

to serve for the foreseeable future. Below: The venerable Agusta-Bell AB205 is still heavily utilised in

Jandarma service. It is the main training platform and is also used for liaison, troop transport and VIP

transport duties.

56 // MAY 2018 #362 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Turkish Gendarmerie