Erdoğan discusses F-35s with Trump, renews bid for Eurofighters

Türkiye is moving forward with plans to acquire Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, with negotiations involving the United Kingdom and Germany progressing positively.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shared the update during a press conference held after the conclusion of the NATO summit in The Hague, Caliber.Az reports, citing Turkish media.

“We have held meetings with both the United Kingdom and Germany,” Erdoğan said. “We are pursuing this, and there are positive developments in this regard.”

Ankara had previously confirmed that talks were underway for the acquisition of Eurofighter Typhoons, a multi-role combat aircraft developed by a consortium including BAE Systems, Airbus, and Leonardo.

Additionally, Erdoğan revealed that he had discussed the issue of F-35 fighter jets with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit. Erdoğan expressed optimism about the possibility of receiving the aircraft, which Türkiye had partially paid for before being removed from the F-35 program due to its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system.

“We discussed the F-35 issue,” Erdoğan said. “We paid $1.3–1.4 billion for the F-35, and we saw that Mr. Trump has positive intentions regarding their delivery.”

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, Türkiye is seeking to purchase over 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets in the latest Tranche 4 configuration. The proposed deal is valued at over €10 billion (approximately $11.4 billion) and includes the supply of advanced Meteor air-to-air missiles manufactured by the European MBDA consortium.

However, Ankara is still awaiting Germany’s approval for the export of spare parts required for the maintenance and long-term operation of the aircraft.

By Tamilla Hasanova