London approves multi-billion pound Eurofighter sale to Turkey, boosting British defense exports while reigniting strategic debates within NATO.
Summary
At the end of October 2025, the British government formalized a major agreement with Ankara for the sale of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, as part of a broader plan that will eventually allow Turkey to field up to 40 of these aircraft. The contract, valued at up to £8 billion, secures around 20,000 jobs in the UK and extends the industrial life of the Typhoon chain. For Ankara, this is a key step in modernizing its aging fleet of F-16s and F-4s, as Turkey was excluded from the F-35 program after purchasing Russian S-400 systems. However, the agreement remains highly political. It comes amid tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, criticism over human rights, and persistent mistrust within NATO over Ankara’s strategic trajectory. This contract pits industrial logic against military credibility imperatives and the risks of long-term strategic dependence.
The framework for a record agreement between London and Ankara
On October 27, 2025, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a contract in Ankara for 20 latest-generation Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. The British government estimates the value of the contract at up to £8 billion (approximately €9.3 billion), making it the largest British fighter jet export contract in nearly 20 years.
This agreement is part of a broader framework. In the summer of 2025, Germany lifted its veto and approved the export of 40 Eurofighters to Turkey, within the consortium comprising the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Turkey is ultimately aiming for a fleet of 40 new or used Typhoons, supplemented by aircraft from Oman and Qatar, to reach a total of 44.
For London, the stakes are as much industrial as they are strategic. The contract will extend the production and maintenance of the Typhoon over several years, at a time when the aircraft had already reached an advanced stage in its export life cycle. For Ankara, the aim is to secure modern air combat capability that is interoperable with NATO, while diversifying its suppliers following the crisis caused by the purchase of Russian S-400 systems.
The first deliveries are expected at the beginning of the next decade, around 2030, once the production lines have been adjusted and the specific equipment integrated. This timeframe explains why Turkey is simultaneously exploring the purchase of second-hand Typhoons and the modernization of its F-16s.
Responding to the urgent needs of the Turkish Air Force
The Turkish Air Force, the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri, still relies heavily on a fleet of F-16s of various versions, delivered since the late 1980s, as well as on the latest F-4E 2020 Terminators, which are in the process of being withdrawn. The combination of the age of the airframes, the intensity of operations in Syria, Iraq, and over the Mediterranean, and political tensions with Washington has created an urgent need for renewal.
Turkey’s exclusion from the F-35 program in 2019, following the purchase of S-400s, closed the door on the American stealth fighter jet. Discussions around a new package of 40 F-16 Block 70/72s, accompanied by modernization kits for the existing fleet, remain politically sensitive in the US Congress.
In this context, the Eurofighter is a compromise solution. The aircraft is not stealthy, but offers high performance in interception and air superiority: maximum speed greater than Mach 2, rapid climb, high maneuverability, and supercruise capability without afterburners in certain configurations. Designed as a multi-role fighter, the Typhoon can carry a wide range of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons on 13 hardpoints, with a maximum takeoff weight of over 23 tons.
For Ankara, these capabilities will enable it to hold out until its national fighter, the KAAN, enters service, with initial operational capability announced for around 2028. The Typhoons will serve as a “bridge” between an aging fleet and a new-generation national air force, quickly providing credible capabilities against the Greek Rafales, the F-16Vs in the region, and the Israeli F-35s.
Technical capabilities delivered with the Typhoon
The contract is not just for airframes. It includes a suite of advanced mission systems, radars, and weapons that make the Eurofighter a complete air superiority and strike tool.
At the heart of the system is the Captor-E active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. This technology provides improved detection range, beam agility, and the ability to track multiple air, sea, and ground targets simultaneously. It also improves resistance to jamming, which is crucial in an environment saturated with electronic warfare in the eastern Mediterranean or over the Black Sea.
According to several sources, the Turkish package includes long-range air-to-air weaponry with the MBDA Meteor missile, equipped with a ramjet engine and said to have a range of over 100 kilometers (more than 54 nautical miles), or even more depending on the firing profile. For air-to-ground strikes, the Turkish Typhoons are expected to be equipped with Brimstone anti-tank missiles, capable of striking moving targets with metric precision, as well as precision-guided munitions for deep strikes.
The integration of these systems will be carried out mainly by BAE Systems, the prime contractor for the British part, which expects to recognize approximately £4.6 billion in revenue from this contract. Operationally, the Turkish Typhoons will be interoperable with NATO systems via standard data links (including Link 16), facilitating their integration into collective air defense.
The benefits for the European defense industry
For the United Kingdom, this contract is presented as a symbolic success for its European defense industry, despite Brexit. London is highlighting the securing of approximately 20,000 highly skilled jobs at sites such as Warton and Samlesbury in Lancashire, Edinburgh, and Bristol.
The Eurofighter chain, supported by a consortium comprising BAE Systems, Airbus Defence and Space, and Leonardo, had previously been threatened by the lack of significant new orders in Western Europe. Export orders to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait had extended its lifespan, but pressure was mounting to avoid closure before the arrival of the future Tempest and GCAP programs. The Turkish order ensures several more years of workload, particularly in final assembly and weapons integration.
Beyond the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and Spain also benefit from the contract through the industrial distribution of the program: production of fuselage components, wings, mission systems, and avionics subassemblies. MBDA, the European missile consortium, is also benefiting from orders for Meteor, Brimstone, and potentially other munitions, with spin-offs for its sites in France, the UK, Italy, and Germany.
This Turkish contract confirms a major trend: the Eurofighter Typhoon remains a central vehicle for the European combat aircraft industrial base. It serves as an industrial “bridge” while waiting for the next generation of combat aircraft, while strengthening the export credibility of manufacturers in the face of American and, increasingly, Chinese competition.
Criticisms: human rights, S-400 and regional tensions
The agreement is far from unanimous. In the United Kingdom, several NGOs and parliamentarians have denounced the signing of such a sensitive contract with a country regularly criticized for its violations of the rule of law, pressure on the media, and repression of the opposition. Recent cases involving opposition figure Ekrem İmamoğlu and other political figures fuel the perception of Ankara’s authoritarian drift.
On a strictly military level, the question of the S-400 remains. For some experts, selling a modern fighter jet to a country that operates a Russian air defense system presents a technological risk: radar signature data, tactics of use, or flight profiles could be indirectly exposed to Moscow. London insists that technical clauses and export restrictions mitigate these risks, but mistrust persists.
Turkey’s regional neighbors view the agreement with concern. In the eastern Mediterranean, tensions with Greece over airspace and exclusive economic zones have not disappeared. Athens, for its part, is investing in French Rafale fighter jets and the modernization of its F-16s to the Viper version. The arrival of Turkish Typhoons could reignite a form of capability competition, with the Aegean sky becoming even more densely militarized.
Finally, Ankara’s trajectory in Syria, Libya, and the Caucasus, where the intensive use of armed drones has sometimes taken its allies by surprise, fuels fears that these new air assets will be used unilaterally and aggressively in theaters that are sensitive for NATO.
The defense line of London and NATO
In response to these criticisms, London puts forward a simple argument: it is better for Turkey, a key NATO member, to fly a European fighter jet that is interoperable and subject to a licensing regime than Russian or Chinese aircraft that would escape any control. The British government emphasizes that the contract strengthens the Alliance’s southern flank defense against Russia, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Black Sea.
Politically, this agreement is also a means of anchoring Turkey. After years of difficult relations—the refugee crisis, the blocking of Sweden’s NATO membership, Ankara’s rapprochement with Moscow—the aim is to re-engage Turkey in structured cooperation with its European partners. For London, which is seeking to demonstrate its strategic relevance after Brexit, the ability to lead such a complex project within the Eurofighter consortium sends a signal to European capitals and Washington.
However, this logic of “engagement through arms” comes at a price. It may be perceived as a reward despite Turkey’s internal abuses, thereby weakening the coherence of the Western discourse on human rights and the rule of law. The line between strategic interest and political complacency is a fine one, and this agreement clearly puts it to the test.
Long-term consequences for regional air power balance
In terms of capabilities, the arrival of 20, and then potentially 40, Eurofighters in Turkey will gradually alter the air balance in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. The Turkish Typhoons will complement a modernized fleet of F-16s, the gradual entry into service of the KAAN fighter, and an already substantial arsenal of Bayraktar and Anka armed drones.
On the other side, Greece is relying on a combination of Rafales, modernized F-16Vs and, eventually, possible participation in next-generation programs. Israel, for its part, already has F-35Is and modernized F-15s. Egypt combines French Rafales and Russian MiG-29s. In this landscape, Turkey is avoiding a technological downgrade that would relegate it permanently behind its neighbors.
The key issue will be the political use of this air power. If Ankara chooses to use it in a strictly deterrent and cooperative manner, the Eurofighter will strengthen NATO’s overall posture on its southern flank. If, on the contrary, these capabilities are mobilized in unilateral regional strategies—for example, in the eastern Mediterranean or the Caucasus—they could fuel spirals of confrontation that neither the Alliance nor the European Union has any interest in seeing develop.
The lifespan of these aircraft, which is measured in decades, means that the UK and its consortium partners will remain linked to Turkey through support, training, and modernization contracts until the 2040s or even 2050s. This link will give London leverage, but also increased responsibility for how Turkish air power is used.
The UK’s decision to sell Eurofighters to Ankara is anything but trivial. It saves jobs, extends a major program, and keeps a key partner in the Western orbit. But it also anchors the UK and its allies in a long-term relationship with a player whose internal and regional choices remain difficult to predict. Between strategic necessity and political concerns, this contract illustrates the new normal of a world where air power is negotiated as much on assembly lines as in diplomatic arenas.
Sources:
Reuters; AP News; UK Government (Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Defense); The Guardian; Defense News; Breaking Defense; Al-Monitor; Turkish Minute.
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