PROFILBARU.COM

**Turkish Stars**
Turkish Stars
Türk Yıldızları
	Turkish Stars emblem
Active	November 7, 1992
Country	Turkey
Branch	Turkish Air Force
Role	Aerobatic demonstration Team
Size	10 Pilots, 7 Public affairs, 11 Maintenance personnel
Garrison/HQ	Konya Air Base
Motto(s)	A perfect harmony of skill, speed and discipline...
Colors	Red; White;
Commanders
Current; commander	Major Kürşat Kömür
Aircraft flown
Fighter	10 NF-5A Freedom Fighter; 2 NF-5B Freedom Fighter
Transport	1 C-130 ; 1 C-160 ; 1 CASA/IPTN CN-235

The Turkish Stars (Turkish: Türk Yıldızları) are the aerobatic demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force and the national aerobatics team of Turkey.

The team was formed on 7 November 1992, and was named the Turkish Stars on 11 January 1993.^[1]

Turkish Stars fly with eight Canadair NF-5 fighter planes obtained from the Royal Netherlands Air Force,^[2] making them one of few national aerobatics teams to fly supersonic aircraft. Twelve NF-5 fighter planes are available to the team. The team uses CASA/IPTN CN-235, C-130 and C-160 support aircraft in Turkish Stars colours. The team is stationed at the Konya Air Base of 3rd Main Jet Base Group Command. As a part of modernization programs of the Turkish Air Force, the NF-5 aircraft are planned to be replaced with locally produced TAI Hurjet in mid 2020s.^[3]

On 24 August 2001, the Turkish Stars demonstrated at an airshow to more than one million people in Baku, Azerbaijan, setting a world record.^[4]

As of May 2024^[update], Major Kürşat Kömür serve as fleet commander of Turksih Stars.^[5]

Incidents

On 13 March 2012, one of the team's NF-5 fighter planes crashed during a training session in Konya Province, 2 km (1.2 mi) from the airbase where the team is stationed. Pilot Flight lieutenant Ümit Özer, who had joined the Turkish Stars shortly before, died in the crash.^[6]

On 7 April 2021, an NF-5 fighter plane crashed during a training session near Karatay. Pilot Flight lieutenant Burak Gençcelep died in the crash.^[7]

On 6 December 2022, during a training flight, an NF-5 collided with a bird causing engine failure. The pilot ejected and was confirmed to be unharmed.^[8]

On 14 March 2024, during a training flight, an NF-5 crashed into a construction site near the runway during a landing attempt, killing one construction worker who was operating construction equipment. The pilot successfully ejected and was airlifted by helicopter to the Selçuk University Faculty of Medicine.^[9] The Turkish Ministry of National Defence official Twitter account announced that the crash occurred at 12:51pm Local Time and the cause was unknown. It also announced that an investigation had been initiated.^[10]