“Not With Berlin, But With London”: Türkiye Turns to UK as Germany Stonewalls Eurofighter Sale

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(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) – The German government has firmly rejected claims that it is obstructing the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Türkiye, stating that the final decision on the matter lies with the country’s next elected administration.

According to an official statement from Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the political parties forming the new government are expected to assume power next week, after months of coalition negotiations.

Ministry spokesperson Tim-Niklas Wentzel clarified, “The decision regarding comprehensive arms and equipment exports will be determined by the new government and not by the current interim administration.”

Wentzel further confirmed that the current German government has yet to reach any decision on whether to approve the export of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Ankara.

Türkiye, meanwhile, sought to dispel the growing narrative of German interference, with its Ministry of National Defense issuing a statement underscoring that the Eurofighter procurement dialogue is being conducted exclusively with the United Kingdom.

“Negotiations regarding the sale of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to our country are being held with the UK. We have not had any talks with Germany so far.”

“The UK authorities, who have been our interlocutors since the beginning of this process, have not conveyed any negative issues to us officially. The process is proceeding smoothly as planned with UK government officials and manufacturing company representatives. Furthermore, our price evaluation process concerning the Eurofighter Typhoon sale is still ongoing.”

Defence Minister Yaşar Güler reaffirmed this stance during a high-profile reception at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on April 23, offering a rare public comment on the sensitive defence procurement.

“The process continues in its entirety. Our business is not with Germany, but with England. We will see how it develops in the coming period. Everything is proceeding as it started and as we planned,” he said.

Despite official clarifications, reports emerged in recent weeks alleging that Germany had reversed its earlier approval and was now blocking the sale of roughly 40 Eurofighter Typhoons to Türkiye on political grounds.

According to Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper, the abrupt shift was allegedly triggered by Ankara’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure and potential presidential challenger to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

İmamoğlu, a key rival from Türkiye’s main opposition party, was detained on March 23 over alleged corruption charges that international observers and domestic critics alike denounced as politically motivated.

His arrest on March 19 sparked the largest wave of nationwide protests in Türkiye since the 2013 Gezi Park movement, further escalating domestic political tensions and drawing intense scrutiny from European capitals.

Germany’s foreign ministry condemned the arrest as an “attack on Türkiye’s democracy,” in a rare diplomatic rebuke that reverberated across NATO corridors.

Amid these political developments, there were also unconfirmed reports suggesting that Germany’s resistance to the Eurofighter deal may have been influenced by pressure from Israel and Greece — both wary of bolstering Ankara’s advanced air combat capabilities.

The Eurofighter Typhoon, a twin-engine multi-role fighter, was developed through a multinational collaboration between Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain, and any export of the aircraft requires unanimous consent from all four partner nations.

Berlin’s refusal to greenlight the sale has consequently placed Türkiye’s broader modernization ambitions in jeopardy, particularly its plan to acquire 40 Typhoons — split between 20 early-model Tranche 1 fighters and 20 cutting-edge Tranche 4 variants.

This acquisition strategy forms part of Türkiye’s long-term roadmap to upgrade its air force, which currently relies heavily on aging F-16 Fighting Falcons and faces constraints following its expulsion from the U.S.-led F-35 program.

In March, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence reportedly submitted a formal sales proposal for the Eurofighter Typhoon to Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defense, signalling official intent to proceed.

Turkish media, citing anonymous defence officials, reported that Ankara is actively reviewing the submitted proposal and conducting technical and financial assessments.

“We previously announced that an official document had been prepared regarding the procurement of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to meet the operational needs of our air force. This document was sent to the UK Ministry of Defence and the relevant manufacturers, with the expectation of receiving a counteroffer.”

“The awaited offer has now been received by our ministry, and the evaluation process is underway.”

As part of that due diligence, two Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons landed at Murted Air Base in Ankara last December for detailed inspections by Turkish Air Force officials, signaling tangible progress in Türkiye’s quest to secure the aircraft.

That visit marked a symbolic breakthrough in bilateral defence cooperation with the UK, even as Berlin continued to express reservations about Türkiye’s inclusion in the Eurofighter consortium’s customer base.

Earlier in September, Turkish Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak made an official visit to the United Kingdom, where he inspected RAF Coningsby, the main operational base for Eurofighter squadrons.

By late 2024, Türkiye’s Eurofighter ambitions appeared to gain unprecedented momentum when Germany initially signaled its conditional approval to proceed with the sale, raising hopes for a diplomatic resolution.

Türkiye’s interest in the Eurofighter Typhoon gained traction after it was ejected from the F-35 program in 2019 for procuring the Russian-made S-400 “Triumf” long-range surface-to-air missile system, which NATO views as incompatible with allied defence networks.

Under the original F-35 deal, Türkiye had planned to acquire up to 100 fifth-generation stealth fighters before its suspension from the program left it with a major capability gap.

In its place, Türkiye is now prioritizing the acquisition of the Eurofighter Typhoon’s most advanced iteration — the Tranche 4 — equipped with state-of-the-art CAPTOR-E active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and future-proofed avionics.

The Tranche 4 is widely considered Europe’s most capable 4.5-generation fighter and is expected to remain operational into the 2060s, bridging the gap between legacy platforms and sixth-generation combat aircraft.

Germany has already ordered 38 Tranche 4 Eurofighters for its own Luftwaffe, highlighting the variant’s strategic relevance within NATO’s high-end airpower framework.

Türkiye, meanwhile, hopes to acquire 40 such aircraft to rejuvenate its fighter fleet, ensure interoperability with its NATO partners, and reinforce its strategic deterrent posture amid a rapidly evolving regional security environment.

— DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA