By Ezgi Erkoyun
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkey reached deals with NATO allies Britain and Germany on Wednesday that pave the way to acquiring dozens of Eurofighter Typhoon jets, which Ankara has sought to bolster defences in an increasingly volatile region.
Britain signed a preliminary deal allowing Ankara to operate the jets while Germany approved delivery of 40 of them to Turkey, which has relied on both foreign purchases and its own defence industry projects, including domestic jets, to ramp up deterrence.
Beyond the Eurofighters, Ankara is also in talks with Washington to purchase 40 F-16s.
Israel’s attacks on regional countries, including its 12-day conflict with Turkey’s neighbour Iran and more recent strikes on another neighbour Syria, have unnerved Ankara, prompting a push for rapid armament in order to counter any potential threats.
Turkey has been in talks since 2023 to purchase 40 Eurofighter Typhoons, which are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, represented by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
Speaking at a signing ceremony with British Defence Secretary John Healey in Istanbul, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said the deal brought Turkey “one step closer to a fully comprehensive agreement” on the jets, adding it would also strengthen NATO and Turkey’s aerial capabilities.
“We welcome this positive step toward our country joining the Eurofighter Typhoon club, and want to reiterate our mutual ambition to complete the necessary arrangements as soon as possible,” he said.
Guler also told reporters that the composition of the planned acquisition was for 40 jets but that different options were being considered.
NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR BAE UK FACTORY
Separately, the German government – initially opposed to the sale – has cleared the way for the delivery of 40 jets to Turkey following a positive decision by the Federal Security Council, the Spiegel news magazine reported on Wednesday.
The German defence ministry declined to comment and the Federal Council, whose approval is needed for arms exports, does not generally comment on its decisions.
The agreements come after weeks of positive statements from Ankara and the Eurofighter consortium on the sale, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan praising the German and British stance on the issue this week.
Britain said negotiations with Turkey over an ultimate sale will continue over the coming weeks.
The deal would be the first export order secured by Britain for the jet since 2017 and would give a new lease of life to the final assembly line at BAE’s factory in northern England.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the multi-billion dollar agreement with Turkey would “sustain and protect 20,000 UK jobs for future years to come”, while an official at BAE Systems said last week the company was confident of winning new orders from countries, including Turkey.
(Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ece Toksabay and Rachel More; writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jonathan Spicer, Bernadette Baum and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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