Turkey to buy Eurofighters, sell Kaan fighters

British Defence Secretary John Healy and Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler at the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul last week | Photo: BAE Systems

Turkey signed separate agreements, last week, to purchase Eurofighter aircraft from the United Kingdom and sell its indigenous KAAN fighter aircraft to Indonesia.

Turkey signed an agreement with the United Kingdom on the in-principle purchase of Eurofighter aircraft, during a meeting between British Defence Secretary John Healy and Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler at the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul last week, where they signed a Memorandum of Understanding that finally firmed up the intended purchase, after years of embargo.

A statement from the British defence ministry quoted Prime Minister Keir Starmer as saying, “Signing a multi-billion export deal with Türkiye will sustain and protect 20,000 UK jobs for future years to come – which is why my government is so dedicated to securing it. It will bolster our vital defence industry, deliver on our Plan for Change and keep us and our allies safer during these uncertain times.”

Defence Secretary John Healey was quoted in the statement as saying, “Equipping Türkiye with Typhoons would strengthen NATO’s collective defence, and boost both our countries’ industrial bases by securing thousands of skilled jobs across the UK for years to come.”

The Turkish defence ministry statement said, ‘The Defence Ministers today jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This document formalises the relationship between the two countries and brings them one step closer to a comprehensive agreement on the Typhoon. Both Ministers welcome this signing as a positive step toward Türkiye’s integration into the Typhoon community and share a common goal of finalising the necessary arrangements as soon as possible.’

The British defence ministry said in its statement that the ‘Typhoon workshare agreement would see more than a third (37 percent) of each aircraft manufactured in the UK; the rest of each aircraft would be produced by the Eurofighter Partner Nations. Final production at BAE Systems’ Warton site would include radars from Edinburgh and engines from Bristol, helping secure thousands of UK jobs.’

It quoted BAE Systems chief executive, Charles Woodburn as saying, “This Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Türkiye and the UK underscores the importance of their long-standing defence co-operation through NATO and the critical role Typhoon plays in security and defence in Europe and the Middle East.”

The agreement came after the German government approved the sale, which had been reluctant to allow it over Turkey’s human rights record following its invasion of northern Syria in 2019. More recently, the then outgoing German government had halted the prospective Eurofighter sale to Turkey after the arrest and detention of the mayor of Istanbul and presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu in March. İmamoğlu urged the German government to reverse its veto on the sale despite his arrest, citing Turkish defence requirements.

In a statement, the chief executive of Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, Jorge Tamarit Degenhardt, welcomed the agreement and said, “Today’s MoU announcement is positive news for all parties involved and we look forward to supporting further discussions between Governments of Türkiye and the UK during the coming months,”

The Eurofighter is manufactured by a four-nation consortium that included Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. Any sale by one of the four countries cannot go through over the objections of any of the other member countries.

But last week’s agreement was not a contract for an order and the details of the terms of the sale still have to be negotiated. According to the British defence ministry, this would be their first export order for the aircraft since 2017 with negotiations expected to proceed in the ‘coming weeks.’

The UK has reportedly quoted a figure of $12 billion to Turkey for 40 Eurofighter aircraft along with an inventory of Meteor air-to-air, beyond visual range missiles manufactured by MBDA.

Turkey’s fighter aircraft fleet has been facing increasingly difficulties since the country decided to acquire the Russian S-400 air defence system over objections from the U.S., that led to its ejection from the fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter program. Turkey’s air force and navy had planned to acquire 116 F-35 fighter aircraft.

While the Turkish air force operates older model Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, it continues to rely on upgraded versions of the even older McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter model, a contemporary of the Soviet-era MiG-21.

There are only two other countries that continue to operate the F-4. First, the Islamic Republic of Iran, which doesn’t have much choice in terms of newer options. But Turkey’s historical rival and fellow NATO-member Greece also operates the aircraft.

The difference is that unlike Turkey, Greece has only been constrained by economic circumstances, not arms embargoes. In addition, Greece operates older F-16 fighters, many of which will be upgraded to the latest Block 70 model. The Hellenic Air Force also flies a fleet of Mirage 2000 aircraft, some of which it exchanged with manufacturer Dassault when it ordered Rafale fighters in 2023. And last year, Greece ordered 20 F-35 fighters with an option for another 20.

Shunted out of the F-35 program, Turkey’s attempts to acquire the latest F-16 Block 70 fighters were delayed because it stalled the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO.

But not to be left behind as the United Kingdom and Turkey announced the agreement on the sale of 40 Eurofighters, Lockheed Martin’s Twitter account posted, “With 21st Century Security® capabilities and enhanced NATO interoperability, the F-16 Block 70 continues to be the preferred fighter jet for key U.S. allies across Europe,” along with a video.

Turkey plans to acquire 40 F-16 Block 70 fighters to bolster its fleet.

At the same time, Turkey is also hoping to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to resurrect its scrapped order for the F-35.

But Turkey has also been developing its own fighter aircraft for the last fifteen years. The Turkish Aerospace Industries’ Kaan is twin-engine stealth fighter concept. While initial models of the aircraft will be powered by General Electric F110 engines, Turkey plans to eventually run the aircraft on indigenous engines. The aircraft conducted its first flight in February 2024.

And while the Turkish air force has plans for an initial acquisition of some 20 aircraft, Indonesia signed on for 48 Kaan fighter aircraft last week at the International Defence Industry Fair.

Agreement between Turkish Aerospace and PT Republik Aero Dirgantara, PT Dirgantara Indonesia for the procurement of 48 KAAN Turkish Fighters | Photo: Turkish Aerospace Industries

Turkish Aerospace said, “We have signed a significant agreement with Indonesia for the KAAN project. The agreement signed with PT Republik Aero Dirgantara and PT Dirgantara Indonesia covers the procurement of 48 KAAN Turkish Fighter along with cooperation in production engineering and technology sharing.”

Indonesia has been spreading out its options for fighters. It ordered 42 French Dassault Rafale aircraft with plans to acquire 36 U.S. Boeing F-15EX aircraft after dropping plans for buying the Russian Sukhoi-35. Indonesia is also planning to acquire the South Korean KAI KF-21 4.5 generation fighter.