Turkey’s Utility Helicopter GÖKBEY Makes Its First Flight With A Domestic Engine
The GÖKBEY utility helicopter, built by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), took to the skies for the first time with the TS1400 Turboshaft Engine produced by TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI). Thus, for the first time in Turkey, a domestically developed helicopter flew using a domestically developed engine. The footage of the moment of flight was uploaded on social media by İsmail Demir, the head of the Turkish Defense Industry Agency. In his message, Demir said, “An important milestone in the Turkish defense industry. Our first domestic and national helicopter engine, TS1400, flew our first original helicopter GÖKBEY in the test flight. Well done to our engineers.”
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, GÖKBEY Program Manager Tolga Orhan said of the development, “this is a very exciting event. Because the engine, as you know, is the most critical component in an aircraft. It has two important points: when you use a domestic engine, you eliminate your reliance on foreign sources, and when you get the desired performance with a domestic engine, you can put the helicopter into service in accordance with all of the user’s wishes.” Orhan explained that the TS1400 engines delivered the performance they had anticipated and that while they did have some limitations this was “natural… because they were test prototype engines. We got the performance figures we expected after the first flight. Previously, we conducted intense testing on the ground for a week or ten days. We encountered nothing out of the ordinary there; everything went as planned. From now on, such activities will accelerate the work on the engine side.”
The T625 Gökbey is a twin-engine utility helicopter developed within the scope of the Turkish Defense Industry Agency’s (SSB) Original Helicopter Program. The Original Helicopter Program, which is carried out to address the requirement for a utility helicopter for the Turkish Armed Forces and other institutions, was initiated with the resolution of the Defense Industry Executive Committee (SSİK) convened on June 15, 2010. On January 3, 2013, SSİK determined the program budget and timeline, and on June 26, 2013, a contract was signed between SSM (Undersecretariat for Defense Industries) and Turkish Aerospace Industries.
On September 6, 2018, the prototype of the T625 GÖKBEY, which was developed within the scope of the Original Helicopter Program, which was launched on the basis of the knowledge, experience, and talent pool gained during the ATAK Program, successfully completed its first flight. GÖKBEY was powered at the time by a pair of LHTEC CTS800 4-AT turboshaft engines, each with 1,373 shaft horsepower and developed in collaboration with Rolls-Royce and Honeywell.
With the United States controlling the export of the Rolls-Royce / Honeywell LHTEC CTS800 engine family, which also powers the T129 “ATAK” attack helicopter, another TAI product besides Gökbey, the company was compelled to develop domestic engines. Because of this, the company was unable to realize the $1.5 billion agreement for the supply of 30 T129 ATAK helicopters to Pakistan. The TEI-TS1400 engine, which began to be developed by TEI in 2018 under the name of Turboshaft Engine Development Project (TMGP), to power the GÖKBEY utility helicopter and T129 ATAK attack helicopters, was started in 2020 for the first time. The TS1400 Turboshaft Engine, which was integrated into GÖKBEY on April 20, 2023, is expected to be integrated into T129 “ATAK” and Atak 2 heavy class helicopters over time. During take-off, the TEI-TS1400 Turboshaft Engine produces 1400 horsepower. It can produce up to 1660 horsepower under favorable conditions. It stands out due to its service altitude of 20,000 feet and output shaft speed of 23,000 rpm.
GÖKBEY, which can operate day and night in harsh climatic conditions, at high altitudes and temperatures, will replace the US-manufactured UH-1 Helicopters in the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces and Gendarmerie General Command. Due to its versatility, the T625 GÖKBEY, whose mass production continues with a batch of three helicopters anticipated to be delivered to the Gendarmerie General Command in 2023, can conduct transport, cargo, air ambulance, search and rescue, and offshore transport operations. The helicopter has a total take-off weight of 6 tons, a passenger capacity of 12, a top speed of 306 kilometers per hour, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet, and an endurance of 3.8+ hours. GÖKBEY has a maximum range of 948 kilometers and can stay in the air for 5+ hours with an external fuel tank.