Turkey's search for new fighters stalled by Germany's roadblocks

Turkey, considered one of the leading NATO powers, has been striving to enhance its combat air force capabilities for some time. However, it continually encounters problems. Some of these are related to interest in the Eurofighter Typhoon and Germany's stance, which blocks potential transfers.

The Turkish authorities had long hoped to acquire F-35s, but due to tensions with the United States (resulting, among other things, from Ankara's efforts to maintain good diplomatic relations with Russia and refusal to transfer S-400 systems to Ukraine), they will ultimately have to make do without them. A breath of optimism was brought by the agreement to transfer F-16 fighters to Turkey, but this won't be enough to meet their needs.

As a result, Turkish authorities are paying significant attention to the development of the KAAN fighter program and are additionally seeking other foreign fighters to purchase. The choice fell on the Eurofighter Typhoon some time ago.

The problem is that the Eurofighter Typhoon is the result of the cooperation of four European countries - Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany. As a result, more approvals are needed to close the deal.

As noted by the military-focused portal Defence Express, "Germany does not plan to agree to the sale of the Eurofighter Typhoon as of today." This maintains a stance that Berlin has held for some time, argued, among other things, by disputes over Sweden's entry into NATO, human rights issues in Turkey, and its stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Germany's position remains steadfast even though Turkey would be interested in not 40, but as many as 50 Eurofighter Typhoon units. This suggestion was recently made by Giancarlo Mezzanatto, head of the Eurofighter consortium.

Let us remind you that the Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine multirole fighter configured as a canard. It is powered by Eurojet EJ200 engines, allowing the aircraft to reach speeds up to Mach 2 (approx. 2,120 km/h). It features a length of nearly 16 m and a height of approx. 5 m. It weighs 11,000 kg.

Onboard is a Mauser BK-27 cannon with a 27 mm calibre, but this constitutes only standard armament. Besides it, the Eurofighter Typhoon can carry a variety of external weaponry, including Harpoon and Penguin anti-ship missiles, AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinder, and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, as well as cruise missiles like the British Storm Shadow and the German Taurus.

The perpetually tense relations with Greece exacerbate Turkey's ambitions for further armament. This is especially true as Athens has reached an agreement with the United States and ordered 20 F-35 fighters. The first of these should arrive in the Balkan Peninsula by 2028.