Eurofighter Typhoon process mirrors F-16 talks Turkish FM says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that the process related to the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets is the same as with the F-16.

He commented on the process of finalising the contract on Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Turkish media.

“Eurofighter Typhoon konusunda da F-16’ya benzer bir süreç var. İlk önce Avrupalılarla siyasal irade kısmını hallettik, şimdi Milli Savunma Bakanlığımızla teknik alanları konuşuluyor ama orada sipariş aşamasına gelmedik.”

— Hakan Fidan pic.twitter.com/YDpZvq48qz

— SavunmaSanayiST.com (@SavunmaSanayiST) November 25, 2024

"First, we secured the political agreement with the Europeans, and now we are discussing the technical details with our Ministry of National Defence. However, we have not reached the ordering stage yet," Fidan noted.

Germany, as opposed to the UK, Spain, and Italy, had opposed the sale of 40 Eurofighter jets for a long time.

The Federal Republic of Germany gave its initial approval for the deal just days before German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Istanbul in October, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Earlier, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said that Türkiye is pleased with its deal with the US regarding the procurement of Block-70 F-16 fighter jets and modernisation kits, and the process is continuing as planned. 

"We hope the project will be completed without any problems until the last jet is delivered," Guler said, adding that officials from the two NATO allies are still discussing details of the deal.

By Naila Huseynova