Türkiye signs USD 10,7 billion Typhoon deal
On 27 October 2025, Türkiye and the United Kingdom formally signed a contract for the purchase of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 4 combat aircraft, valued at roughly USD 10,7 billion.
An option of 20 additional airframes is part of the deal. The agreement was signed during a state visit by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) base Ankara Mürted, where he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
According to statements by the UK government, the first newly produced Typhoons are expected to be delivered from 2030, and the deal will support about 20.000 UK jobs across production sites (such as the BAE Systems Warton which was on the brink of closure). As part of the deal, the manufacturer consortium, Eurofighter GmbH (led by the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain) officially welcomed Türkiye as a new partner.
The Eurofighter Typhoon will serve as a stopgap until the Turkish Aerospace KAAN 5th generation fighter is fully operational. For now, it is unclear which squadron (Filo) will receive the first Typhoons, but 112 Filo at Eskişehir and 172 Filo at Malatya/Erhaç are among the likely candidates. It was announced that the offered weapons package includes MBDA METEOR Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missiles (BVRAAM) and Turkish munitions integration on the Eurofighter is also on the table.
Second‑hand fleet acquisitions still under discussion
In parallel, Turkish officials reportedly plan the purchases of second‑hand Typhoons (Tranche 3A) from the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) and of the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO). Turkish Minister of National Defense, Yaşar Güler announced that Ankara intends to acquire 12 jets from Qatar and 12 from Oman. This would significantly shorten the time to operationalise the type and prepare for a smooth introduction of the newly build examples.
Strategic context
The move comes as Türkiye pursues a wider air‑force modernisation. It is developing its domestic fighter project, the TUSAŞ KAAN (also known as Milli Muharip Uçak or TF-X) in short, expected to enter initial service in 2028. Until then, the Typhoons are intended to bridge capability gaps and enhance NATO‑allied air deterrence. Combined with the domestic F-16 Özgür (also known as the Block 70T modernisation), the Typhoon arsenal would heavily amplify Türkiye’s regional air dominance.
Furthermore, the United States continues to block Türkiye’s acquisition of the F-35 Lightning II following Ankara’s 2019 purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system, which Washington deemed incompatible with NATO security standards. As a result, Türkiye was removed from the F-35 programme and has since pursued alternative fighter options, including the Eurofighter Typhoon and its domestically developed KAAN.
Credit photo (just illustrative): Nico van der Steen (Scramble Archive)