Turkey will now acquire 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets after Germany gave green light. This is after Germany resisted the sale of the 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets on grounds of security issues in the region for long.
The Turks have confirmed this development in an interview conducted by Turkish broadcaster TV100 with the Turkish Defence Minister Yasir Guler.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a third generation, multi-role, single-seat and two-seat fighter jet developed with co-operation among Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy.
Such sale of Eurofighter Typhoon to Turkey needs an approval from all four Eurofighter consortium member countries. When Turkey sought it, the UK, Italy, and Spain were in favor, whereas Germany had taken it rather cautiously, partly on the grounds that Turkey had flared up military conflicts with Syria, Libya, and the Eastern Mediterranean recently.
According to Gũler, NATO allies such as Italy, Britain, and Spain played a significant role in persuading Germany to accept the deal. “Our friends in NATO-Britain, Italy, Spain-contributed positively, and Germany also responded positively,” Güler said.
Germany was initially hesitant because it feared the Typhoon jets could play into Turkey’s capabilities in a way that threatens regional power dynamics, and also using them in a conflict over Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq. Public opinion in Germany, still strongly opposed to Turkey’s record of human rights and its regional interventions also supported the decision.
This agreement fits Turkey’s policy of improving its defense system as the threat in the region increases. Although the Eurofighter Typhoon has good overall fighting capabilities, the model has competed with American F-35 manufactured by Lockheed Martin, which is equipped with superior stealth and avionics capabilities.
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