Ankara (TDI): In a significant move to bolster its defense capabilities, Turkiye has signed a landmark agreement with the United Kingdom to purchase Eurofighter Typhoon jets in a deal worth nearly $11 billion.
The agreement, announced after a meeting between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, marks a major boost in defense cooperation between the two NATO allies.
The deal involves the purchase of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets over a period of 10 years, a move that both sides hailed as a strategic milestone. Starmer described the agreement as “really significant” and emphasized its economic benefits, saying, “This is £8 billion ($10.7 billion) worth of orders… these are jobs that will last for 10 years, making the Eurofighters, so really big for our country.”
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Britain’s Ministry of Defense described the deal as the “biggest fighter jet deal in a generation”, underscoring its importance in enhancing Turkiye’s combat capabilities and strengthening NATO in the critical Southeast flank. Starmer highlighted that Turkiye’s location makes it a strategic partner for NATO, particularly in the region’s evolving security landscape. “Having that capability locked in with the United Kingdom is really important for NATO,” he said.
Erdogan, for his part, hailed the agreement as a new symbol of defense cooperation between Turkiye and Britain, two nations with close strategic ties. “We regard this as a new symbol of the strategic relations between our two close allies,” Erdogan said after the signing ceremony.
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Turkiye has long been looking to modernize its air force, with the Eurofighter at the center of its ambitions. The Eurofighter, a four-nation collaborative project involving Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain, has faced several twists in its journey to Turkiye’s military ranks. In the past, Turkiye declined an offer to join the Eurofighter consortium, choosing instead to pursue the US F-35 fighter program. However, following its exclusion from the F-35 program in 2019 over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems, Turkey shifted focus back to Europe.
