The agreement was signed during a meeting between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

By Oluwaremilekun Sodiq

Turkey has just inked a massive deal with the UK to purchase 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets worth around $11 billion. This move is part of Ankara’s strategy to strengthen its air defenses while its fifth-generation KAAN fighter planes are being developed.

The agreement was signed during a meeting between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence tagged the move as the “biggest fighter jet deal in a generation”, while Erdogan hailed it as “a new symbol of the strategic relations” between “two close allies”.

Speaking in Ankara, Starmer stated that the agreement was also a win for NATO, which counts the UK and Turkiye among its members.

“This is the southeast flank of NATO, and so having that capability locked in with the United Kingdom is really important for NATO as well,” the British prime minister revealed.

The first Typhoons ordered under Monday’s agreement are expected to arrive in Ankara in 2030, Starmer assured.

Turkish officials have stated Ankara wants to buy 120 fighter jets to empower its fleet before its own KAAN jets become operational.

As part of unrelenting efforts to bridge the gap with regional rivals such as Israel, the Turkish Ministry of Defence has said that it wants to buy 12 more Typhoons apiece from Oman and Qatar.

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