Turkish Air Force

The Turkish Air Force (Turkish: Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known today did not come into existence until 1923 with the creation of the Republic of Turkey.

The Turkish Armed Forces initiated a $160 billion (excluding the yearly military budget) modernization program. $45 billion is earmarked to go to the overhaul of the Turkish Air Force. As part of this program, Ankara aims to commission new combat aircraft (consisting of TAI TF Kaan and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II) and helicopters (consisting of heavy lift, attack, medium lift and light general purpose helicopters).

According to Flight International and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Turkish Air Force has an active strength of 60,000 military personnel and operates approximately 668 manned aircraft (2014).

Aircraft Inventory[edit | edit source]

Combat Aircraft[edit | edit source]

IAI F-4V Phantom Terminator x 48 (Fighter-Bomber)
General Dynamics F-16C/D Blk.50/52 Fighting Falcon x 232 (Multirole Fighter)

ELINT Aircraft[edit | edit source]

Boeing E-7 Wedgetail x 4 (AWACS Aircraft)
CASA CN-235EW x 2 (Electronic Warfare)
CAS CN-235 Recce x 2 (Reconnaissance Aircraft)
Gulfstream G550 x 2 (Military Communications Aircraft)

Transport Aircraft[edit | edit source]

Airbus A400M Atlas x 10 (Tactical Airlifter)
Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker x 8 (Aerial Tanker)
CASA CN-235-100M x 44 (Transport Aircraft)
Gulfstream G-IV SP x 2 (VIP Transport)
Lockheed C-130B/E Hercules x 16 (Tactical Airlifter)
Transall C-160T x 16 (Transport Aircraft)

Training Aircraft[edit | edit source]

Alenia Aermacchi SF-260D x 36 (Trainer Aircraft)
KAI KT-1T Woongbi x 40 (Trainer Aircraft)
Northrop F-5F Tiger II x 24 (Advanced Trainer)
Northrop T-38M Talon x 68 (Advanced Trainer)

Aerobatics Aircraft[edit | edit source]

Canadair CF-5 Freedom Fighter x 16
General Dynamics F-16C x 2
Lockheed C-130B Hercules x 2
Transall C-160D x 2
CASA CN-235-100M x 2

Helicopters[edit | edit source]

Bell UH-1H Huey x 64 (Utility Helicopter)
Eurocopter AS532 Cougar x 20 (Utility Helicopter)

Drones[edit | edit source]

General Atomics MQ-1 Predator x 10 (Reconnaissance Drone)