Combat aircraft

branch of the Turkish Army (Türk Kara

Kuvvetleri, TKK) and is today one of the

largest air arms of its kind within NATO.

It’s equipped with a variety of aircraft and

helicopters, and has ambitious plans to

expand and modernize.

Established in 1948, it wasn’t until 1966

that the  rst rotary-wing assets joined the

AAC in the shape of Bell OH-13s, followed

in 1968 by the ubiquitous Iroquois in the

form of AB204Bs and UH-1Bs. A large

number of Agusta-Bell AB205s (68) and

UH-1Hs (117) subsequently formed the

backbone of TKK tactical transport units

over the following two decades. Some

75 ‘Hueys’ were upgraded to UH-1HT

and AB205T standard, featuring digital

cockpits.

During 1992, the service started to

receive the  rst of a total of 65 Sikorsky

S-70A-28 and -28Ds (with digital cockpits),

which became the standard equipment of

the army’s transport  eet. The original 22

S-70s have since been upgraded to -28D

standard.

Sanctions imposed by the US in the

mid-1990s delayed these Black Hawks,

forcing Turkey to source new tactical

transport helicopters from elsewhere —

enter France, with 30 AS532UL Cougars

that found their way to Turkey between

1994 and 2003. Some were locally

assembled by TAI.

Today’s TKK air assets are organized into

four air regiments (Hava Alayi), which are

located in key geographical areas:

• The 1st Air Regiment is the largest,
  based at Ankara-Güvercinlik, and  ies
  S-70s, AS532s and AH-1P/W attack
  helicopters. The Pilot Training School that
  was here but is now moving to Isparta
  operates Cessna 182s, OH-58B/AB206R
  JetRangers and a few UH-1Hs, while the
  General Sta ’s  xed-wing aircraft at this
  base comprise CN235s, Beech 350s and
  Cessna 421s.


• The 2nd Air Regiment  ies T129s,
  AH-1P/Ws, UH-1s and S-70s from Malatya-
  Tulga, and is charged with defending
  the most unstable and sensitive area —
  Turkey’s south-east, including the Syrian
  and Iraqi borders along with the Kurdistan
  region. This main unit is backed by the 7th
  Helikopter Taburu (Helicopter Battalion) at
  Diyarbakır with AS532s, S-70s and AH-1Ps.


• The 3rd Air Regiment at Izmir-Gaziemir
  has responsibility for the Turkish islands
  and the Aegean and  ies AH-1Ps, AS532s
  and S-70s.


• The 4th Air Regiment, based at Istanbul-
  Samandıra, covers the north-western
  Turkish territories with its UH-1 and S-70s.
  Each one of the air regiments comprises
  two to three air battalions (Hava Taburu),
  which are structured on the basis of
  battalion (Boluk) or squadron (Filo)-level
  units. At Batman, there are 10 IAI/Elbit
  Heron UAVs, which come under the
  direct control of the Army General Sta

The 1st Air

Regiment

at Ankara-

Güvercinlik

operates the

venerable Cobra,

including this

AH-1W. However,

the type is being

retired in favor of

the T129.

Carlo Kuit/Paul

Kievit

http://www.combataircraft.net // March 2018 81

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