Turkey, whose current fighter jets are aging, has entered into intensive discussions with European countries for the purchase of 40 Eurofighter Typhoons. This comes as the USA seems in no hurry to sell the 40 F-16s and maintenance packages Turkey has been demanding for two years.

These negotiations come at a tense moment in US-Turkish relations, with Washington having made the supply of aircraft conditional on ratification of Sweden's membership of NATO, which has still not been approved by the Turkish parliament.

"We want to buy the Eurofighter. It's a very efficient aircraft," said Defense Minister Yasar Güler in mid-November. Indicating that two of the countries producing the Eurofighter Typhoon (the UK and Spain) were ready to sell it to Ankara, Güler went on to say that "these countries are now working to convince Germany." This purchase plan was also discussed during the visit to Ankara on Thursday, November 23, by British Defense Minister Grant Shapps, as was the subject of a strengthening of military cooperation.

However, the approval of Germany, a member of the consortium that manufactures the Eurofighter, is far from a foregone conclusion for Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noticed this during his visit to Berlin on November 18, when Chancellor Olaf Scholz was tight-lipped on the subject. "He made no comment," said the Turkish leader on the plane back to Ankara.

"If they want to give us these planes, let them! If not, we can knock on other doors, of which there are plenty," he said, recalling in passing NATO member Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, designed to detect Alliance aircraft. In 2019, this led to Turkey's exclusion from the program to manufacture and purchase American F-35 aircraft.

It was a severe blow since Ankara was counting on the acquisition of these latest-generation stealth fighters to replace its obsolete planes. Equipped with F-16 and F-14 of the old design, the Turkish air force is now seeing its aircraft reach the end of their service life, with no alternative solution. Modernizing its air force is an absolute priority for Erdogan, who is eager to strengthen Turkey's defense capabilities, if only because Greece has acquired Rafale fighter jets and wants to buy F-35s.

"The refusal of NATO allies to equip Turkey with fighter aircraft weakens its position as an eastern pillar of the Alliance. Who are we supposed to buy from now? Beijing? Moscow?" said a Turkish diplomat, anxious to remain anonymous.

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