Turkey remains interested in Eurofighters despite progress on US F-16s

Turkey is still interested in buying 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a Turkish defense ministry official said on Thursday after the United States advanced the $23 billion sale of its F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

In November, Turkey said the country was in talks with Britain and Spain to buy Typhoons, though Germany objected. At the time, a Turkish defense ministry source said talks had begun after Ankara recognized its request for F-16 jets from the US, first made in October 2021, might not work out.

Last week, US President Joe Biden's administration formally notified Congress of its intention to sell 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits to Turkey, a day after Ankara fully completed ratification of the NATO membership of Sweden.

Although it does not expect Congress to block the F-16 sale, Turkey still wants to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a Turkish defense ministry official said, speaking anonymously.

"We are still interested; we expect the consortium member Germany's positive approach on this issue," the official said.

The Eurofighter Typhoon jets were built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy, and Spain, represented by Airbus and BAE Systems.

Turkey, keen to upgrade its air force, is also developing its national combat aircraft, KAAN, in cooperation with BAE.

Reuters