According to a Turkish defense ministry official, Turkey has expressed its interest in procuring 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets despite the United States' recent sale of its F-16 fighter jets worth $23 billion to Ankara. This announcement comes after Turkey requests for F-16 jets from the US, made in October 2021, were uncertain to materialize. In November, Turkey began negotiations with Britain and Spain to acquire Typhoons, although Germany expressed its opposition to the proposal.
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The Turkish defense ministry source revealed that the talks with Britain and Spain began after Ankara recognized the possibility of not acquiring the F-16 jets from the US. Last week, US President Joe Biden's administration formally notified Congress of its intention to proceed with the sale of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits to Turkey, a day after Ankara ratified the NATO membership of Sweden.
Despite not expecting Congress to block the F-16 sale, the Turkish defense ministry official stated that Turkey still desires to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets. The official hopes that Germany, one of the consortium members responsible for developing the Typhoons, will show a positive approach towards this matter.
The Eurofighter Typhoon jets are developed by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy, and Spain, with Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo representing the countries. Turkey is interested in upgrading its air force and is also collaborating with BAE to develop its own national combat aircraft KAAN.