The RAF Typhoons, which were returning from the Advanced Tactical Leadership Course in the UAE, made a stop in Turkey for a ‘detailed inspection’ in the presence of top Turkish and British defense officials.
The diplomatic push of the United Kingdom and Germany for Turkey to acquire the Eurofighter Typhoon is now moving from words to facts, as on Dec. 18, 2024, two Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons landed at the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri’s (Turkish Air Force) Mürted Air Base in Ankara, at the presence of top British and Turkish defense officials.
SavunmaTR, while sharing the images and videos of the two arriving aircraft, quoted the Turkish Ministry of National Defense Yaşar Güler who said “the two Eurofighter Typhoon jets, which are currently involved in training in Qatar, will undergo inspection as soon as they arrive in Ankara.”
The U.K.’s Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry Maria Eagle, Turkey’s Air Force Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, Deputy Minister Şuay Alpay and other THK personnel had a chance to closely inspect the jets during walkarounds, with some senior officers and pilots also allowed to climb into the cockpit.
Katar’da bir tatbikata katılan Birleşik Krallık’a ait iki adet Eurofighter Typhoon uçağı, dönüş yolunda Ankara’daki Mürted Hava Üs Komutanlığımıza indi.
Hava Kuvvetlerimiz tarafından incelenmek üzere gelen uçakları Birleşik Krallık Savunma Tedarik ve Sanayi Devlet Bakanı Maria… pic.twitter.com/WBBPgLTRHn
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) December 18, 2024
The Typhoons, with tail numbers ZK427 and ZK314, are FGR.4 variants and were flying in a clean, weapons-free loadout, with only three external fuel tanks for the journey back home. Notably, ZK427 is the final Typhoon delivered to the RAF in 2019, completing the British order for 160 aircraft.
The two aircraft belong to No.12 Squadron, the joint U.K./Qatar Typhoon squadron established in 2020 for the training of Qatari air and ground crews. The Typhoon recently took part in the 34th Advanced Tactical Leadership Course in the UAE. ZK427 can clearly be seen in the group photo from the exercise released last week.
Birleşik Krallık’a ait iki adet Eurofighter Typhoon uçağının Ankara’daki Mürted Hava Üs Komutanlığımıza gelişinden görüntüler…#MillîSavunmaBakanlığı pic.twitter.com/by8LycJD2k
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) December 18, 2024
‘Eurofighter Typhoons for being refused F-35s’
Interestingly, SavunmaTR had reported about the two Typhoons’ expected arrival on Dec. 17, saying the jets deployed to Qatar for training purposes would “undergo detailed examination as part of Turkey’s efforts to diversify and modernize its air force.” The report further added “this development is considered an important stage in the talks between Türkiye and the Eurofighter consortium.”
Turkey had long sought 40 Eurofighter Typhoons after it was expelled from the F-35 program in 2020 under the Countering America’s Adversary’s Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for its acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defense system. As The Aviationist reported, defense minister Güler told the Planning and Budget Committee late in November that the United States expressed willingness to deliver the six F-35s already built and stored, after seeing Ankara’s progress with the KAAN fighter. Turkey has also reapplied to be admitted back into the F-35 program.
Prior to that development, Ankara complained about being refused its F-35As despite having built around 900 parts for the jet and an advance payment of $1.4 billion, later announcing discussions with Germany for procuring 40 Eurofighter Typhoons. Turkey subsequently also shared with the media images of its six F-35 jets stored at U.S. facilities, where they have been for the last six years.
Reports have long appeared over the last year with Turkish officials claiming to have made progress with German and British defense and diplomatic authorities to sell the Typhoons to Ankara. These appeared to be in-principle approvals, which neither Berlin or London commented on, but did not explicitly deny either.
“After Turkey was removed from the F-35 program, it began searching for alternatives to meet its need for modern fighter jets. The Eurofighter Typhoon had the capacity to fill this gap due to its advanced radar and combat systems,” SavunmaTR added.
Turkish defense analysts said Ankara would select the Eurofighter in the configuration of the Tranche 4 or Tranche 5 jets acquired by the European partners. The Typhoon’s broader Phase 4 Enhancement (P4E), which could be included in the jets, would include the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, the new Praetorian Defensive Aids Sub-System (DASS) and the Pirate Infra-Red Search and Track (IRST).
Behind-the-scenes diplomacy
This could be a significant sign of Washington’s and the NATO brass’ approval for the sale of the jets to Turkey, and one can assume significant behind-the-scenes diplomatic wrangling between Ankara, Berlin, London and Washington. Over the last few years, Turkey has been cleared for Western arms sales after its acquiescence on certain geopolitical expectations.
A Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet landed at Ankara’s Mürted Air Base for inspection by Türkiye ⤵️
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler previously stated that the jet, which participated in an exercise in Qatar, would arrive in Ankara, offering an opportunity to… pic.twitter.com/ukO3Npiurm
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 18, 2024
The U.S. approved in January a $23 billion deal with Turkey for 40 new F-16 Block 70 jets, together with upgrade kits for its existing F-16s, only after it ratified Sweden’s accession to NATO. It is a different matter that Turkey later decided to modernize its current F-16 fleet on its own by bringing more F-16s under the ongoing Project Özgür.
Likewise, the massive signal of a tacit approval for selling Turkey the Typhoons came after the events in Syria, where the Haya Tahrir al-Shams group ousted the President’s Bashar al-Assad regime. HTS has long been known to have enjoyed Turkish patronage.
