How Gulf states are powering Turkey’s Eurofighter ambitions
After years of political deadlock over the sale of Eurofighters to Turkey, Ankara appears to be nearing success with pending deals for new and secondhand versions of the aircraft.
Turkey’s determined effort to acquire Eurofighter Typhoon jets is finally approaching success, through a framework that brings together European and Gulf partners in one of Ankara’s most consequential defense projects in years.
On Oct. 27, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a $10.7 billion agreement in Ankara for the purchase of 20 new Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, having revived negotiations frozen since 2023. The Eurofighter, Europe’s most advanced combat aircraft, is coordinated through a consortium of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, which centralize production and export decisions.
The deal followed a Gulf tour by Erdogan the preceding week, during which Ankara advanced talks with Qatar and Oman on acquiring 24 secondhand Eurofighters, 12 from each country, as part of a broader plan to modernize its air force.
The agreement reached with Starmer ends nearly two years of political deadlock inside the Eurofighter consortium. A veto by Berlin had blocked progress despite support by London, Madrid and Rome for a deal with Ankara. Along with Starmer’s mediation between Turkey and the consortium as well as a policy shift in Berlin under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the other key to unlocking the deal was the role of Turkey’s Gulf partners in potentially shortening the usual induction cycle for a new combat platform — typically three to five years — by providing in-service aircraft and training access that could allow Ankara to field the jets within 12 to 18 months, pending final approval by the consortium.
