President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was due in Doha late Tuesday as Ankara seeks to acquire some of Qatar’s used Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a Turkish security source told Agence France-Presse.
The Turkish leader, who is flying in from Kuwait, is expected to meet with Qatar’s emir on Wednesday.
“Turkey has been trying to negotiate to acquire some of Qatar’s used Eurofighters,” the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to journalists.
“In exchange, Turkey has offered access to its new-generation fighter jet, the KAAN, as part of a potential technology transfer arrangement.”
So far “no concrete progress” had been made with the negotiations still ongoing, the source said.
Turkey wants to modernize its air force and has in recent years sought to buy 40 new Eurofighter Typhoons built by a four-nation consortium of Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy.
The move came after Washington booted Ankara out of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in 2019 over Turkey’s purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defense system.
The purchase had raised fears it would give NATO’s main adversary a window into Western jet operations.
Some defense observers see Turkey’s push to acquire the Eurofighters as a strategic bluff aimed at putting pressure on Washington to readmit Ankara to its fighter jet program — its principal concern.
“For Turkey, the main priority remains the F-16 and F-35 programs,” the Turkish source said.
In May, Erdoğan expressed confidence that the sanctions would quickly be ended, and his meeting last month with President Donald Trump further cemented those hopes.
Washington’s Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said in June that US sanctions were likely to be over by year’s end.
But the Turkish source said it was likely to take a bit longer.
“Due to the current political gridlock in the US Congress, progress on these deals is unlikely before the new year.”
In 2017 Qatar placed an order for 24 Eurofighter jets and in December, Doha reportedly said it was looking to acquire another 12 more, according to several defense news outlets.
© Agence France-Presse