Turkey Signs £8 billion Deal With UK To Buy 20 Eurofighter Typhoon Jets

Turkiye on Monday agreed to a deal to buy 20 new Eurofighter Typhoons from Britain for £8 billion. The deal is part of Ankara’s bid to bolster its NATO ties white also strengthening its air defences, Reuters reported. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara on Monday to sign the agreement. Starmer claimed it to be a “historic moment” while Erdogan stated that joint defence industry projects could follow.

Speaking in Ankara, Starmer said the agreement was also a win for NATO, which counts the UK and Turkiye among its members.

“This is the southeast flank of NATO, and so having that capability locked in with the United Kingdom is really important for NATO as well,” the British prime minister said.

Turkiye is also seeking 24 more jets from the Gulf nations. The Typhoons are expected to arrive in Ankara in 2030, according to Starmer. The UK’s Ministry of Defence described the move as the “biggest fighter jet deal in a generation”.

Turkiye is buying these jets while developing its own KAAN fighter plans and plans to bridge the gap with regional rivals such as Israel. The Turkish Ministry of Defence has said that it wants to buy 12 more Typhoons apiece from Qatar and Oman, Al Jazeera reported. 

It had purchased 40 F16s from the United States last year. Istanbul-based security and defence analyst Burak Yildirim called the 8-billion-pound price tag “outrageously high” and “unprecedented”, even if it includes options, ammunition, spare parts and training, Reuters reported. 

“They’re selling planes at frigate prices,” Yildirim said. “This agreement is outright fraud. You can’t have a combat jet for 400 million pounds; they’re selling one plane for the price of four,” he added, Reuters reported.