Türkiye still interested in Eurofighter Typhoon jets despite progress on US F-16s

Türkiye is still interested in buying 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a Turkish defense ministry official said Thursday after the United States advanced the $23 billion sale of its F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

In November, Türkiye said the country was in talks with Britain and Spain to buy Typhoons, though Germany objected to the idea.

At the time, a Turkish defense ministry source said talks had begun after Ankara recognized its request for F-16 jets from the U.S., first made in October 2021, might not work out.

Last week U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration formally notified Congress of its intention to proceed with the sale of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits to Türkiye, a day after Ankara fully completed ratification of the NATO membership of Sweden.

Although it does not expect Congress to block the F-16 sale, Türkiye still wants to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a Turkish defense ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We are still interested, we expect the consortium member Germany’s positive approach on this issue,” the official said.

A consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy, and Spain, represented by Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo built the Eurofighter Typhoon jets.

Türkiye, which is keen to upgrade its air force, is also developing its own national combat aircraft KAAN, in cooperation with BAE.

Source: Newsroom