Turkey is very close to finalising a deal to acquire Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler has said, emphasising Ankara’s interest in acquiring the European fighter to bolster the Turkish air force, which currently consists mainly of US-made F-16 fighters.
‘I think we are close to the end (of negotiations),’ Güler was quoted as saying by Turkish media, expressing optimism that a deal is close. ‘There are important developments in Germany, and we are confident that they will be concluded soon,’ added the minister and former chief of staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, who announced in November last year that Turkish plans were to acquire at least 40 units of the European fighter jet.
The Eurofighter is a highly manoeuvrable, twin-engine, multi-role combat aircraft produced by a European consortium comprising Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy; Turkey’s interest in acquiring the model has so far been hampered by Germany’s veto over Turkey’s hydrocarbon exploration activities in the eastern Mediterranean around the disputed island of Cyprus.
Turkey’s interest in the Eurofighter Typhoon has emerged in recent years as an alternative to doubts over the delivery of new F-16 fighters by the US, and also as an alternative to the F-35 fighter programme, from which Turkey was eventually expelled by the Trump administration in response to Ankara’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 defence systems.
Despite the green light given by the US Congress in 2023 to sell 40 F-16s to the Turkish military and upgrade another 79 – although Güler has now clarified that the deal ‘has not yet been signed’ – Turkey has kept its interest in Eurofighters intact as a way to diversify its fighter aircraft suppliers, while it is also developing its own national fighter, the Turkish TAI TF-X fighter.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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