5.7 C
Frankfurt am Main

Turkey seeks $6 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia: report

Must read

The Turkish government is hoping to reach a $6 billion defense deal with Saudi Arabia that could see the kingdom buy warships, tanks and missiles, Bloomberg reported, citing Turkish officials familiar with the matter.

A deal — including Saudi Arabia joining a Turkish jet-building project — could be finalized during a visit President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to make to the kingdom around March, the officials said.

Turkey is trying to grow its defense industry and sees Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest importers of arms, as a key market. The two countries signed a deal in 2023 for the Saudis to buy high-flying drones from Turkish company Baykar.

Now Ankara wants to sell its main battle tank, the Altay, to Saudi Arabia along with missile defense systems, the officials said.

In addition it’s keen for Saudi Arabia to become a partner in a Turkish program to develop a fighter jet known as Kaan. While the first test flight took place early last year, it’s still expected to take several years to become operational. Other countries may also join the project — in which BAE Systems is involved — in some form, according to the Turkish officials.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to visit Saudi Arabia this week and will likely discuss the deal, the officials said.

The Saudi government didn’t immediately respond to a request from Bloomberg for comment. Turkey’s Defense Ministry declined to comment.

Ties between Riyadh and Ankara have improved in recent years after being strained by the 2018 killing in İstanbul of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.

More News
Latest News