Turkey moved closer to acquiring Eurofighter Typhoon jets on Wednesday after Germany approved the long-delayed export and Britain signed a memorandum of understanding with Ankara to make it an operator of the aircraft, according to reports by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said Berlin had sent written confirmation to Turkey approving the sale, AFP reported. All four members of the Eurofighter consortium — Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain — must agree to any export deal. Germany had previously withheld its consent amid political tensions with Turkey.
Turkey has been in talks for several years to purchase 40 Eurofighter jets. The aircraft are manufactured by a consortium represented by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo, with final assembly planned in Britain. London has led the negotiations.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government approved the deal following pressure from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to Der Spiegel, which reported that the project is expected to support about 20,000 jobs in the United Kingdom.
Shortly after Germany’s approval, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and British Defense Secretary John Healey signed a memorandum of understanding in Istanbul. The signing took place on the sidelines of the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF 25), Reuters reported.
TÜRKİYE CUMHURİYETİ VE BİRLEŞİK KRALLIK SAVUNMA BAKANLARININ TOPLANTISINA İLİŞKİN AÇIKLAMA
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti ve Birleşik Krallık Savunma Bakanları; bugün İstanbul’da düzenlenen 17. Uluslararası Savunma Sanayii Fuarı’nda bir araya gelme fırsatını memnuniyetle karşılamış,… pic.twitter.com/9KagZytzZS
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) July 23, 2025
In a statement Turkey’s defense ministry said the deal would strengthen the “decades-long friendship between key NATO allies” and enhance Turkey’s advanced air combat capabilities.
Healey described the agreement as a move that would “strengthen NATO’s collective defense and boost both our countries’ industrial bases by securing thousands of skilled jobs across the UK for years to come.”
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, multirole combat aircraft used by several NATO member states. Turkey is seeking to modernize its air force after being removed from the US-led F-35 joint strike fighter program in 2019 over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.