Turkey and the United Kingdom have signed a major defense agreement for the sale of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a deal valued at nearly $11 billion, during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Ankara.
“This is a really significant deal because it’s £8 billion [$10.7 billion] worth of orders. … These are jobs that will last for 10 years, making the Typhoons,” Starmer said after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The British Defense Ministry described the order as “the biggest fighter jet deal in a generation,” saying it would strengthen Turkey’s air combat capabilities and enhance NATO’s defenses in a critical region.
I've just agreed a deal with Türkiye to secure 20,000 British jobs across the UK. pic.twitter.com/n9wCYL7rRj
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 27, 2025
Starmer said the agreement includes an option for Turkey to purchase additional aircraft in the future. “The deal will bolster security across NATO, deepen our bilateral defense cooperation and boost economic growth in both countries, securing 20,000 British jobs,” he said.
Erdoğan called the deal “a new symbol of the strategic relations” between Ankara and London and thanked the other members of the Eurofighter consortium — Germany, Italy and Spain — for their “constructive approach.”
British Defense Minister John Healey, who accompanied Starmer along with Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, said the agreement “goes far beyond aircraft,” describing it as “the leading edge of the growing defense and industrial partnership” between the two nations.
The visit was overshadowed by a domestic controversy in Turkey, where a court charged İstanbul’s jailed opposition mayor with “political espionage” linked to a businessman accused of spying for Britain. Neither Ankara nor London commented on the case.
A Turkish security source told Agence France-Presse that two Eurofighter jets had already arrived in Turkey. Ankara has long sought to modernize its air force after being expelled from the US-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in 2019 over its purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile system.
Negotiations with London accelerated after Germany lifted its veto on the sale in July, which had been imposed due to Turkey’s stance on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Analysts say the agreement marks a major shift in Turkey’s defense policy after years of reliance on the United States. “Turkey and the Eurofighter is quite the saga,” said Aaron Stein, director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, noting that Ankara had declined earlier offers to join the European consortium.
The deal also comes amid deepening cooperation between Ankara and Doha. Turkish officials said the two jets delivered Monday were likely those originally destined for Qatar, which ordered 24 Eurofighters in 2017 and later sought 12 more. Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is due in Ankara on Tuesday for talks expected to include both defense and Gaza-related issues.
© Agence France-Presse