Germany and the United Kingdom plan to sell European fighter jets to Turkey. The delivery of the Eurofighter Typhoon has a special history, tracing back to a striking deal between Russia and Turkey. Here’s a reconstruction.
The British government approved the delivery of the aircraft to Turkey on Wednesday. That same day, Germany also gave the green light for the export, according to Tagesspiegel. Ankara wants to purchase forty Eurofighters. The exact amount of money involved in the deal is unknown. The British speak of billions. The Eurofighter is built by collaborating companies in Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Spain.
With commitments from London and Berlin, a headache seems to be coming to an end for Turkey. Ankara has been trying to modernize its air force for years. However, traditional allies have become increasingly reluctant to share military technology with Turkey in recent years, mostly out of dissatisfaction with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian course.
For example, the German parliament earlier this year put a stop to the delivery of the Eurofighter to Turkey. Berlin thus indicated that it was not happy with the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. That action was described as an Erdogan-orchestrated “attack on Turkish democracy.”
Meanwhile, Germany, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has changed its mind. Merz and his British counterpart Keir Starmer concluded a treaty last week and agreed to sell weapons of their own making more broadly, including the Eurofighter. According to Der Spiegel, Erdogan has given guarantees that the aircraft will only be used in NATO context.
Turkey previously clashed with allies
But the fact that Turkey has even ended up with the Eurofighter is also related to Western dissatisfaction with Ankara’s actions, particularly regarding a striking deal from 2017. At that time, Turkey decided to purchase a Russian air defense system. That was, of course, a sore point for NATO and had major consequences that are still felt today.
Turkey had been trying to acquire an air defense system for some time. However, due to American reluctance, it was not possible to buy Patriots. Ankara felt it was not being taken seriously. To put pressure on its NATO allies, Turkey showed interest in an air defense system of Chinese make in 2013. That was not appreciated by Turkey.
The US and Turkey were already on strained terms with each other at the time, because Washington was working with Kurdish militias in Syria in the fight against the terrorist group Islamic State. Turkey saw them as an extension of the terrorist movement PKK.
That tension was exacerbated when Erdogan had to deal with a failed coup in the summer of 2016. Turkey held the previously deceased cleric Fethullah Gülen responsible for this. He lived in exile in the US for years, which refused to extradite him to Turkey after the failed coup. That was not appreciated by Washington. “Countries with whom we thought we were friends are on the side of the coup plotters,” said an angry Erdogan.
Putin seizes his opportunity, Erdogan bites
Russian President Vladimir Putin saw his chance to drive a wedge between Turkey and its NATO allies. In 2017, Moscow and Ankara concluded an agreement for the purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system worth $2.5 billion (then €2.12 billion).
The West reacted furiously, but Turkey insisted that it could and would determine its own course. Washington would no longer allow the country to participate in the F-35 joint strike fighter program. The White House did not want the Russians in Turkey to have the opportunity to learn about the F-35 with their S-400 missiles. Ankara had been involved in the program since 2002, including through the construction of components. But that was also taken away.
Nevertheless, Erdogan went ahead with the purchase of the Russian air defense system. The pro-government media was so proud that the arrival of the missile system in Turkey in the summer of 2019 was broadcast live on television. Washington was not happy about this: economic sanctions followed.
Turkey still suffers from this to this day. Because despite Erdogan’s frantic attempts to convince the US to regain access to the F-35, that has still not succeeded. The US did not want to go beyond upgrade packages for the existing Turkish F-16s.
Thus, the Turkish deal with Russia is still a point of contention between Turkey and the US. It is also the reason why Ankara has now ended up with the Eurofighter. In addition, the shift of the new German government under Merz and the cooperation with the UK have made the sale possible.
The Turkish S-400s, by the way, are still untouched somewhere in a warehouse. The billion-dollar system has never been activated.