Defense Minister Yaşar Güler announced Thursday that Türkiye is considering purchasing 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, though Germany appeared to object to the idea, he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to visit Germany for a one-day working visit on Friday for talks with his counterpart, Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"We want to buy Eurofighters. It is a very effective aircraft. These aircraft are related to the U.K., Germany and Spain," the minister told a parliamentary hearing in Ankara. "Both the U.K. and Spain say 'yes,' and now they are making efforts to persuade Germany. The U.K. and Spain say: 'We will solve that problem.' If solved, we plan to purchase 40 Eurofighter jets," Anadolu Agency (AA) reported Güler as saying.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
He said that the F-16 and F-4 jets that are in the Turkish Air Forces Command inventory are sufficient for the tasks Türkiye will conduct.
"But of course, we are looking beyond. For this, we applied for the F-35, but some problems arose with the F-35. We are also working on alternatives," said Güler.
The U.S. suspended Türkiye from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 after objecting to Ankara buying the Russian S-400 missile defense system, claiming the Russian system would endanger the fighter jets.
Türkiye has said repeatedly that there is no conflict between the two systems and proposed a commission to study the issue. Türkiye also said it fulfilled its obligations for the F-35s and its suspension was against the rules.
Turning to the delayed F-16 fighter jets purchase from the U.S., Guler said: "To modernize our F-16s, we will purchase 40 ready-made F-16 Block 70 Vipers and modernize 79 of them at the Turkish Aerospace Industry (TUSAŞ)."
Separately, Türkiye made a request to Washington in 2021 for 40 F-16 jets and modernization kits to upgrade its existing fleet. The U.S. State Department informally notified Congress of the potential sale.
Following the administration's informal notification to Congress, a tiered review process was initiated to start negotiations with Congress. However, various objections from Congress have dragged the situation into uncertainty.
A number of lawmakers in the U.S. Congress, most notably former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairperson Bob Menendez, have opposed the sale and tied their approval of the sale to Türkiye’s ratification of Sweden's NATO membership.
Ankara maintains that the jets would strengthen not only Türkiye, but also NATO.
However, minister Güler Thursday reiterated Türkiye's approach to defense self-sufficiency referring to locally developed "two main planes," one of which is Hürjet, and the other the 5th-generation aircraft named KAAN.
Once a nation that was heavily dependent on foreign arms procurement, Türkiye, under President Erdoğan's administration, is now able to meet nearly 80% of its defense industry needs locally.
The domestically manufactured weapons portfolio features the famed Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), air defense systems, anti-ship missiles, light armaments and the national warship and tank programs.
"Our main goal is our 5th generation national combat aircraft, KAAN. Hopefully, it will make its first flight at the end of this year. It is a 5th-generation aircraft. We are working on our own engine," the minister said.
The state-run aviation company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which has a wide product range, from helicopters to training planes to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), showcased its 5th-generation fighter jet KAAN this year. KAAN is expected to fly with a domestically produced engine in 2028.
The country aims to replace its existing F-16 fleet with new-generation aircraft, including KAAN, by the 2030s.
KAAN is a twin-engine all-weather air superiority fighter that boasts all technologies and features found in 5th-generation warplanes.
The 21-meter (about 69-feet) aircraft can reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (2,222 kph) thanks to its twin engines, which can produce 29,000 pounds (13,000 kilograms) thrust each.
Its capabilities include high situational awareness, optimized pilot workload, combat damage detection, new-generation mission systems, low observability, precision strikes and joint operability with other elements.