Turkiye has confirmed that all 20 soldiers aboard a military cargo plane were killed when the C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed in eastern Georgia, near the border with Azerbaijan.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, which occurred on November 11. The American-made cargo plane was en route from Azerbaijan to Turkiye when it went down. This tragic incident marks the deadliest military crash in Turkey since 2020, according to Telegraph.
Video footage captured shortly before the crash appears to show the plane spiraling downward, trailing a streak of white smoke. Moments later, the aircraft exploded into flames upon impact in the Sighnaghi municipality. Officials believe there were no survivors.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the disaster during a speech on Tuesday, offering condolences to the victims' families: “With God’s will, we will overcome this tragedy with minimal hardship. May God rest the souls of our martyrs, and may we support them through our prayers.”
The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation, with both Turkish and Georgian officials working together to determine the circumstances.
In a statement, Turkey’s Defense Minister, Yasar Guler, confirmed: “Our heroic comrades were martyred on November 11, 2025, when our C-130 military cargo plane, which had departed from Azerbaijan, crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border.”
The C-130 Hercules, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is widely used by militaries around the world for logistics and transport operations. Turkey is a key user of the aircraft in support of its military and logistical operations.
According to the Telegraph, Turkiye and Azerbaijan share strong bilateral ties, with particularly close cooperation following the conflict between Azerbaijan, Armenia, and separatist factions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
