By Ece Toksabay and Jonathan Spicer
ANKARA (Reuters) -Anxious to bolster its air power, Turkey has proposed to European partners and the U.S. ways it could swiftly obtain advanced fighter jets as it seeks to make up ground on regional rivals such as Israel, sources familiar with the talks say.
NATO-member Turkey, which has the alliance’s second-largest military, aims to leverage its best relations with the West in years to add to its ageing fleet 40 Eurofighter Typhoons, for which it inked a preliminary agreement in July, and later also U.S.-made F-35 jets, despite Washington sanctions that currently block any deal.
Strikes by Israel – the Middle East’s most advanced military with hundreds of U.S.-supplied F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighters – on Turkey’s neighbours Iran and Syria, as well as on Lebanon and Qatar, unnerved Ankara in the last year. They laid bare key vulnerabilities, prompting its push for rapid air power reinforcement to counter any potential threats and not be left exposed, officials say.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has sharply criticised Israel’s attacks on Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East and once warm relations between the two countries have sunk to new lows. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Turkey’s bases, rebel allies and support for the army in Syria posed a threat to Israel.
Greece, a largely symbolic but sensitive threat for Turkey, is expected to receive a batch of advanced F-35s in the next three years. In years past, jets from the two NATO states engaged in scattered dogfights over the Aegean, and Greece has previously expressed concerns about Turkish military build-up.
TURKEY WOULD BUY SECOND-HAND PLANES TO GET THEM FAST
For the Typhoons, Turkey is nearing a deal with Britain and other European countries in which it would promptly receive 12 of them, albeit used, from previous buyers Qatar and Oman to meet its immediate needs, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Eurofighter consortium members Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain would approve the second-hand sale proposal, in which they would provide Turkey with 28 new jets in coming years pending a final purchase agreement, the person said.
Erdogan is expected to discuss the proposal on visits to Qatar and Oman on Wednesday and Thursday, with jet numbers, pricing, and timelines the main issues.
Erdogan is then expected to host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz later this month, when agreements could be sealed, sources say.
A UK government spokesperson told Reuters that a memorandum of understanding that Britain and Turkey signed in July paves the way “for a multibillion-pound order of up to 40 aircraft,” adding: “We look forward to agreeing the final contracting details soon.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who was in Ankara last week, said Berlin supported the jets purchase and later told broadcaster NTV that a deal could follow within the year.
Turkey’s defence ministry said no final agreement had been reached and that talks with Britain were moving in a positive direction, adding other consortium members backed the procurement. Qatar and Oman did not immediately comment.
TURKEY, US HAVE POLITICAL WILL TO RESOLVE ISSUES
Acquiring the advanced F-35s has proven trickier for Ankara, which has been barred from buying them since 2020 when Washington slapped it with CAATSA sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 air defences.
Erdogan failed to make headway on the issue at a White House meeting with President Donald Trump last month. But Turkey still aims to capitalise on the two leaders’ good personal ties, and Erdogan’s help convincing Palestinian militant group Hamas to sign Trump’s Gaza ceasefire agreement, to eventually reach a deal.
Separate sources have said that Ankara considered proposing a plan that could have included a U.S. presidential “waiver” to overcome the CAATSA sanctions and pave the way for an eventual resolution of the S-400 issue and F-35 purchase.
Turkey’s possession of the S-400s remains the main obstacle to purchasing F-35s, but Ankara and Washington have publicly stated a desire to overcome this, saying the allies have the political will to do so.
The potential temporary waiver, if given, could help Ankara increase defence cooperation with Washington and possibly build sympathy in a U.S. Congress that has been sceptical of Turkey in the past, the sources said.
“Both sides know that resolving CAATSA needs to be done. Whether it is a presidential waiver or a congressional decision, that is up to the United States,” Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs for Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, told Reuters.
“It looks awkward with all of the other diplomacy and cooperation happening at the same time.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry did not respond to questions about floating a waiver to U.S. counterparts or discussions on resolving the S-400 issue. The White House did not immediately comment on whether Ankara raised a waiver option.
A State Department spokesperson said Trump recognizes Turkey’s strategic importance and that “his administration is seeking creative solutions to all of these pending issues,” but did not elaborate further.
Asked about Turkey’s separate agreement to buy 40 F-16s, an earlier generation fighter jet, a U.S. source said that talks have been dogged by Turkish concerns about the price and desire to buy the more advanced F-35s instead.
TURKEY HAS DEVELOPED ITS OWN STEALTH FIGHTER
Frustrated by past hot-cold ties with the West and some arms embargoes, Turkey has developed its own KAAN stealth fighter. Yet officials acknowledge it will take years before it replaces the F-16s that form the backbone of its air force.
Jet upgrades are part of a broader effort to strengthen layered air defences that also includes Turkey’s domestic “Steel Dome” project and an expansion of long-range missile coverage.
Yanki Bagcioglu, an opposition CHP lawmaker and former Turkish Air Force brigadier general, said Turkey must accelerate plans for KAAN, Eurofighter and F-16 jets.
“At present, our air-defence system is not at the desired level,” he said, blaming “project-management failures.”
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay in Ankara and Jonathan Spicer in Istanbul; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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