President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he held talks on Türkiye’s plan to obtain Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets from Qatar and Oman during a regional tour to the Gulf, adding that discussions were going well.
Ankara has reportedly proposed to its European allies and the United States ways it could swiftly procure advanced fighter jets amid talks to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoons as well as U.S. F-16s and F-35s as part of its effort to bolster its air force capabilities.
Reports this week indicated that the Turkish government is also seeking to source secondhand jets from Gulf nations to meet its immediate needs.
The reports came during Erdoğan’s visits to Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
Speaking to reporters on his return flight, Erdoğan said Türkiye was continuing to hold talks with both Qatar and Oman on the procurement, and that the discussions, which included “many technical details,” were moving in a “positive direction.”
“We want to conclude these rapidly and, God willing, make our Air Force much stronger. Our Air Force will become much stronger with these jets,” he said, according to a transcript of his comments.
During his three-day tour, Erdoğan oversaw the signing of several agreements, including in the defense sector.
In July, Türkiye and the United Kingdom signed a preliminary agreement for the sale of Eurofighter Typhoons, which are produced by a consortium made up of the U.K., Germany, Italy and Spain.
Under a deal with Britain, Türkiye would promptly receive 12 of them, albeit used, from previous buyers Qatar and Oman to meet its immediate needs, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Türkiye, a member of NATO, is also pursuing the country’s return into the U.S.-led F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was removed in 2019 following its acquisition of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.
Erdoğan raised the issue of Türkiye’s reentry into the program during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House last month.
Ankara is reportedly considering proposing a plan that could have included a U.S. presidential “waiver” to overcome the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions and pave the way for an eventual resolution of the S-400 issue and F-35 purchase.
Turkish officials have stated that the country plans to acquire a total of 120 fighter jets – 40 Eurofighters, 40 U.S.-made F-16s and 40 F-35s – as a transitional fleet until the indigenously developed KAAN is expected to enter service in 2028.
Despite boasting NATO’s second-largest army, Türkiye often faced arms embargoes from its allies in the past. That pushed it to significantly boost domestic capabilities and curb foreign dependence over the last two decades.
Today, it produces a wide range of vehicles and arms types domestically, including its own drones, missiles and naval vessels.
KAAN is sought to replace the Air Forces Command’s aging F-16 fleet, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s.
Source: Daily Sabah
