On October 27, 2025, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer touched down in Ankara for a highly anticipated diplomatic mission, one that could reshape both the Turkish Air Force and the broader security architecture of NATO’s southeastern flank. At the heart of his visit: the finalization of a multi-billion dollar deal for 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a procurement saga that has played out over years and across continents.
The stakes were immediately clear. Starmer’s arrival, accompanied by UK Defense Secretary John Healey and Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, was not just a ceremonial gesture. His plane landed at a military base in Ankara—a subtle but pointed signal of the trip’s military and strategic focus. Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler personally greeted the British delegation, underscoring the significance Ankara placed on the talks.
The Eurofighter Typhoon, a twin-engine multirole fighter jointly produced by Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo, stands as one of Europe’s most advanced combat aircraft. Turkey’s interest in acquiring 40 of these jets dates back to late 2023, but the path to an agreement was anything but straightforward. According to Türkiye Today and Middle East Eye, negotiations only gained traction after Germany—initially opposed due to Turkey’s stance on the Gaza conflict—lifted its objections in July 2024. With the German Security Council’s green light, Ankara and London signed a memorandum of understanding on July 23, 2025, paving the way for the deal’s finalization.
But why did Turkey, a NATO member and once a partner in the US-led F-35 program, turn to Europe for its next-generation fighters? The answer, as Aaron Stein of the Foreign Policy Research Institute told AFP, lies in a dramatic shift in Ankara’s defense priorities. “Turkey and the Eurofighter is quite the saga,” Stein remarked. “Ankara was invited to join the consortium or become an equal member a few times but they chose the F-35.” That decision backfired in 2019, when Washington expelled Turkey from the F-35 program over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems. With its air force modernization plans in limbo, Turkey’s attention returned to the Eurofighter consortium.
Starmer’s visit was meticulously timed. Not only did Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan postpone a cabinet meeting to accommodate his British counterpart, but the trip also coincided with a flurry of parallel diplomatic activity. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was scheduled to arrive in Ankara just days later for talks on bilateral relations and international affairs—a sign that the Eurofighter deal was as much about European consensus as bilateral cooperation.
As reported by NTV and News.Az, the agenda between Starmer and Erdogan was broad: strategic partnership, regional crises like the Russian-Ukrainian war and Gaza, and, most pressingly, defense procurement. “The strategic relations between Turkey and the United Kingdom, based on a close alliance, as well as current regional and international events, will be discussed,” Burhanettin Duran, head of Turkey’s Communications Directorate, announced in a statement.
Though the deal’s exact financial terms remain undisclosed, it is widely assumed to be worth several billion dollars. The structure of the agreement is complex and innovative. According to sources cited by Türkiye Today and Reuters, 20 of the 40 Eurofighters will come directly from the Royal Air Force’s current inventory, enabling rapid delivery. The remaining 20 will be newly built to Tranche 4 standards—representing the latest in the Typhoon’s technological evolution—and customized to Turkish specifications.
But the jets’ journey to Turkey may not be limited to British hangars. Ankara has also been in talks with Qatar and Oman to purchase part of their Eurofighter fleets. Qatar, for instance, ordered 24 Eurofighters in 2017, with the last two scheduled for delivery by the end of 2025. Analysts, including Stein, believe that the first jets to reach Turkey will likely be those initially destined for Qatar. “Instead of being sent to Doha, they’ll simply be shipped to Turkey,” he explained to AFP. This arrangement would allow Turkey to quickly bolster its air force while awaiting the delivery of new aircraft.
The Eurofighter deal is not the only iron Ankara has in the fire. As Türkiye Today and AFP noted, Turkey is also negotiating with the United States to modernize its existing F-16 fleet or acquire 40 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft. Meanwhile, Turkish Aerospace Industries’ indigenous fifth-generation fighter, the Kaan, completed its maiden flight in February 2024 and is expected to enter service around 2028. The Eurofighters, then, are seen as a “stopgap solution” until Kaan becomes operational, providing Turkey with a bridge to its own advanced capabilities.
Despite being ousted from the F-35 program in 2019, Turkey has not fully abandoned its ambitions to fly the US stealth fighter. Six F-35s built for Turkey remain in storage at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Recent conversations between Erdogan and former US President Donald Trump have reportedly revisited the possibility of Turkey’s readmission to the F-35 project, though no breakthrough has been achieved.
Back in Ankara, the mood was expectant but cautious. While a Turkish official told AFP that Britain would hand over “a number of jets” on Monday—likely two, according to analysts—UK officials stopped short of confirming any formal handover during the visit. The symbolism of two Eurofighters arriving in Ankara ahead of the talks was not lost on observers, even if their status remained ambiguous.
The Eurofighter agreement is also deeply entangled in the region’s geopolitics. Erdogan’s recent visits to Doha and Muscat were partly aimed at securing additional Eurofighters from Gulf inventories. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was due in Ankara for further discussions, and the fate of Gaza was expected to feature in Starmer and Erdogan’s talks. Turkey has expressed interest in joining an international stabilization force for Gaza—an idea Israel strongly opposes.
The Typhoon deal, then, is more than a simple arms sale. It is a reflection of shifting alliances, technological ambition, and the ever-changing currents of Middle Eastern and European security. With Germany’s objections now lifted and the UK and Turkey drawing closer, Ankara’s air force modernization is finally poised for takeoff—even as new challenges and opportunities loom on the horizon.
For now, the arrival of Eurofighter Typhoons in Turkey signals not just a new chapter in the country’s defense posture, but a recalibration of alliances and strategies across the region. The coming months will reveal whether this high-profile partnership can deliver on its promise of security, deterrence, and technological progress.
