Turkey Opens New Facility at 1st Air Maintenance Factory as Eskişehir Depot Marks 100 Years
Turkey’s Defence Minister Yaşar Güler on Saturday opened a new facility at the 1st Air Maintenance Factory in Eskişehir, the Turkish Air Force’s long-standing aircraft and engine maintenance depot, during a ceremony marking the plant’s 100th anniversary, the Ministry of National Defence (MSB) said on its official X account on October 24, 2026.
- New facility opened at the 1st Air Maintenance Factory Directorate in Eskişehir on October 24, 2026
- The plant was founded in 1926 as the Eskişehir Aircraft Repair Workshop
- It operates under the MSB General Directorate of Military Factories
- Work covers aircraft and engine maintenance, repair, modernisation and critical parts manufacturing
- Güler was accompanied by Air Force Commander Gen. Rafet Dalkıran and Deputy Minister Salih Ayhan
New capacity for aircraft maintenance
According to the ministry, Güler said the new facility is intended to make maintenance and repair of Turkish military aircraft more efficient, meet growing demand in the aviation field and strengthen the infrastructure that underpins the Air Force’s combat readiness.
He stressed that the effectiveness and sustainability of air power depend not only on modern platforms but also on a strong technical and logistics base able to handle maintenance, repair, modernisation and sustainment. The ministry did not publish the facility’s size, cost or the specific aircraft types it will support.
A century of Turkish military aviation support
The factory began operating in 1926 as the Eskişehir Aircraft Repair Workshop (Tayyare Tamirhanesi) in the early years of the Republic. Today it works within the ministry’s General Directorate of Military Factories (AFGM), which runs maintenance, repair and production plants across the country for the Turkish Armed Forces.
Güler said the factory’s capabilities now extend from aircraft and engine overhaul to modernisation work and the manufacture of critical parts and systems.
Context: Turkey’s aviation programmes
In his speech the minister pointed to national aviation projects such as the HÜRKUŞ trainer, the HÜRJET jet trainer, the GÖKBEY utility helicopter and the fifth-generation KAAN fighter as evidence of the sector’s progress, while saying Turkey must keep investing to reach a leading position as air and space operations evolve.
During the same visit to Eskişehir, Güler also toured local aerospace manufacturer Alp Aviation (Alp Havacılık) and was briefed on ongoing work there, the ministry said in a separate post.
Featured image: Airman 1st Class Kevin Tanenbaum, U.S. Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
