Can Turkey's Hurjet deal with Spain propel it into NATO’s defense market?
Spain’s choice of Turkey’s Hurjet reflects Ankara’s growing credibility as an arms supplier, increasing the prospect of broader cooperation in Europe’s defense sector.
Turkey is on the verge of breaking into the European defense market with its first crewed, jet-powered aircraft export, marking a new phase in Ankara’s growing ambitions to position itself as a global arms supplier.
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Turkey’s largest aerospace company, signed an agreement on May 14 with European giant Airbus and some 15 Spanish defense firms to jointly produce the Hurjet trainer and light attack aircraft for Spain’s military. The deal marks Turkey’s first jet aircraft sale to a NATO ally and is expected to serve as a launchpad for deeper Turkish-European defense cooperation.
As Ankara capitalizes on its drone successes, the Hurjet’s export signals both an industrial milestone and a strategic opportunity to anchor Turkish firms in Europe’s evolving defense ecosystem. The deal for joint production of the Hurjet was reached at a defense fair in Madrid, where officials from all the involved parties met. The initial plan is to provide 30 Hurjets to Spain at a total cost of €275 million ($309.5 million), according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Defense industry sources and experts who spoke to Al-Monitor said that the latest agreement all but guarantees that the Hurjet, meaning “free jet” in Turkish, will replace the venerable Northrop F-5, the US-produced jet the Spanish military currently uses as a training aircraft. Experts also believe the Hurjet deal is a prelude to broader defense cooperation not only between Turkey and Spain, but potentially with NATO allies Italy and Portugal as well.
