What Helicopters Does Turkey Have? T129 Atak, Gökbey and T-70

The Turkish army flies 58 T129 Atak attack helicopters, 64 Black Hawks, 10 Chinooks and more than 150 Hueys that date from the Vietnam era. The gendarmerie, navy, air force and police add their own fleets. Most of the transport helicopters are old, and Turkey is replacing them with three aircraft built by Turkish Aerospace in Ankara: the T-70 Black Hawk, the Gökbey and, for attack units, the heavy T929 Atak 2.

This guide goes through the fleet type by type, then looks at the difficulty that has slowed every Turkish helicopter programme, which is the engine.

What helicopters does Turkey have?

The army’s aviation command is by far the largest operator. Its fleet is set out below.

Outside the army, the gendarmerie has 16 T129s and its own Black Hawks, the police have four T129s, the navy flies S-70B Seahawks and ten AH-1W Super Cobras handed over by the army, and the air force uses Cougars for combat search and rescue.

T129 Atak: the attack helicopter

The T129 is a development of the Italian A129 Mangusta, redesigned with Turkish Aerospace for hot weather and high mountains, the conditions of south-eastern Turkey. It is a light attack helicopter of five tonnes with a crew of two seated in tandem. It carries a 20 mm three-barrel cannon and, on four pylons, up to eight UMTAS anti-tank missiles or sixteen Cirit laser-guided rockets, both made by Roketsan. The first production aircraft was delivered to the army on 22 April 2014, and more than 100 have been built.

It has sold abroad to the Philippines, Nigeria and Somalia, six aircraft each, and Bangladesh ordered six in 2025. The largest order, 30 for Pakistan in 2018, has never been delivered, for a reason covered below.

T929 Atak 2: the heavy attack helicopter

The Atak 2 is in the class of the American AH-64 Apache. At ten tonnes it weighs twice as much as the T129 and carries a much heavier weapon load: a 30 mm cannon, UMTAS and L-UMTAS missiles, Cirit rockets and air-to-air missiles. It first flew on 28 April 2023. The army wants it for its armoured formations, and the navy intends to replace the Super Cobras on TCG Anadolu with a version of it; that ship is described in our guide to Turkey’s warships.

The prototypes fly on TV3-117 engines bought from the Ukrainian company Motor Sich, which agreed to supply fourteen. Entry into service had been planned for 2026.

Black Hawk and T-70: the transport fleet

The Black Hawk has been the army’s standard transport since the 1990s. Under a programme agreed with Sikorsky, Turkish Aerospace builds the current S-70i model in Ankara as the T-70, with a Turkish cockpit by Aselsan. The original plan was for 109 helicopters shared between the army, air force, gendarmerie, special forces, police and forestry service. Thirty-eight have been completed. An agreement early in 2026 added a batch of 39, and the company said at the Farnborough air show that production would restart within about 18 months.

The Hueys and AB-205s these aircraft replace are the oldest in the fleet. The army plans to retire the last of them by 2033. For comparison, the American fleet is described in our guide to US military helicopters.

T625 Gökbey: the Turkish utility helicopter

The Gökbey is the first helicopter designed entirely in Turkey. It is a six-tonne, twin-engine aircraft that carries twelve passengers, in the same class as the Italian AW139. The programme began in 2013. The first production aircraft went to the gendarmerie on 29 October 2024. Twenty are being delivered in the first phase: seven to the army, four to the air force and three each to the gendarmerie, police and coast guard. An air ambulance version has been ordered for the health ministry.

Chinooks, Seahawks and what comes next

Turkey bought eleven CH-47F Chinooks from Boeing, of which ten are in service. They are the only helicopters in the inventory that can lift a howitzer or a light armoured vehicle. At sea, the S-70B Seahawk hunts submarines from the navy’s frigates and from TCG Anadolu.

The next project is the T925, a transport helicopter of ten to eleven tonnes that would replace the Cougars and, in time, the Black Hawks. Turkish Aerospace estimates that more than 200 helicopters in Turkish service will need replacing between 2030 and 2040.

The engine problem

Every Turkish helicopter so far has flown on a foreign engine, and that has given other governments a veto. The T129’s engine is made by LHTEC, a joint venture of Honeywell and Rolls-Royce, and needs an American export licence. Washington declined to issue one for Pakistan’s 30 helicopters, and the $1.5 billion sale has been stalled since 2018.

Turkey’s answer is the TS1400, a 1,400 hp turboshaft built by TEI in Eskişehir. It has flown in the Gökbey and is intended for the T129 as well. For the Atak 2, which needs almost twice the power, Turkey turned to Ukraine, and a Turkish engine in that class is still in development. Until both are in production, export sales of Turkish helicopters will depend on decisions taken in Washington and on a factory in a country at war.

Frequently asked questions

How many attack helicopters does Turkey have?

The army has 58 T129 Ataks, the gendarmerie 16 and the police four. The navy also flies ten older AH-1W Super Cobras.

What is the T129 Atak?

A five-tonne attack helicopter developed by Turkish Aerospace from the Italian A129 Mangusta. It carries a 20 mm cannon, UMTAS anti-tank missiles and Cirit guided rockets.

Does Turkey make its own helicopters?

Yes. Turkish Aerospace builds the T129 Atak, the T-70 Black Hawk under licence and the Turkish-designed Gökbey, and is testing the heavy T929 Atak 2.

What is the Atak 2?

The T929 Atak 2 is a ten-tonne attack helicopter in the class of the AH-64 Apache. It first flew on 28 April 2023 and is still in flight testing.

Does Turkey have Black Hawk helicopters?

Yes. The army has 64, of which 16 are T-70s assembled in Turkey. A new batch of 39 was agreed in early 2026.

Which countries have bought Turkish helicopters?

The Philippines, Nigeria and Somalia operate the T129, and Bangladesh has ordered it. A sale of 30 to Pakistan has been blocked by the lack of a US engine export licence.