New Turkish Gendarmerie Aviation S-70i Black Hawks handed over

Turkey’s Jandarma Genel Komutanliği (Gendarmerie General Command) has taken delivery of its first two S-70i Black Hawks.

They were formally handed over during a December 5 ceremony attended by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Mehmet Ersoy and the Jandarma’s general commander, General Arif Çetin.

The two new generalpurpose helicopters, built by Sikorsky subsidiary PZL Mielec in Poland, wear a distinctive, white, red and blue civilian-style colour scheme. One of the two is confirmed as J-3943 (c/n 70-3943, ex SP-YVN), while the other is believed to be J-3904 (c/n 70-3904, ex SP-YVM).

The Jandarma expects to take delivery of 30 T-70 BlackHawks, a Turkey-specific variant of the S-70i for which Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is prime contractor, working in association with Sikorsky and other Turkish suppliers. The overall deal covers an order for 109 of the type (plus 12 options) for various branches of the Turkish armed forces.

The new helicopters are to replace the Jandarma’s older model S-70As, the first of which entered service in December 1988. Four S-70i Black Hawks are already in service in Turkey, having been delivered to the National Police in November 2014.

Source: By Dave Allport / AirForces Monthly - February 2019

Photo: Turkey’s Jandarma Genel Komutanliği (Gendarmerie General Command). (Photo by ©XAirForces)

Hüseyin Tüfekci (European ©XAirForces News Editor from Istanbul/Turkey)

New Turkish Gendarmerie Aviation S-70i Black Hawks handed over


(12.02.2019)