Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Khalifa) got a big blow when America flatly refused to sell F-35 fighter aircraft to Turkey. The main reason for this decision is Turkey's purchase of S-400 missile defense system from Russia, which America had called a threat to the NATO security structure. After this, turkey was excluded from the F-35 program, which gave a big blow to Erdogan's ambitions.
After the F-35 controversy, Erdogan has now turned to Britain. According to the report of Middle east Eye, a temporary agreement has been prepared between turkey and britain regarding 40 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. Britain's Defense Secretary john Healy can sign this agreement during the IDEF arms fair organized in Istanbul. This deal will be under the UK-led Eurofighter consortium, which also includes countries like Germany, italy and Spain. In such a situation, the consent of all these countries will be necessary. In 2024, turkey overcame Germany's earlier veto, which strengthened the possibility of the deal.
Why Typhoon has become necessary
The F-16 and other American aircraft being used in the Turkish air Force are getting old and the domestic fifth generation fighter jet called KAAN will not be ready until 2028. In such a situation, turkey needs a bridge capability and Eurofighter Typhoon has emerged as an excellent option. In the latest deal, the Tranche 4 variant of Eurofighter is proposed, which is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics, AESA radar and multirole capabilities.
Tussle over price, condition of technology transfer
In early 2024, britain had quoted a price of about $ 12 billion for 40 aircraft, which turkey considered expensive. This deal is not only dependent on the price but also on technology transfer and training of Turkish pilots. Turkish pilots have not yet operated european fighter aircraft. They have been dependent on American platforms till now. Currently, Turkie has also considered buying second-hand Eurofighter from qatar so that delivery can be done quickly as per the requirement.
Strategic and political equation
Not only military needs but also geopolitical balance is playing an important role behind this deal. Keeping distance from America, Turkie is now trying to strengthen its strategic relationship with europe and Britain. For britain too, this deal is part of the strategy to find new defense partners after Brexit. The sale of Eurofighter can strengthen the british defense industry financially and politically.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel