Türkiye's procurement of Eurofighter jets appears to have gained further momentum as Germany has mandated its sales authority to work on the sale of jets after initially being opposed to the move, a Defense Ministry source said on Thursday but added this did not mean the process was concluded.
Late last year, Ankara said it was in talks with the Eurofighter consortium members Britain and Spain to buy 40 Typhoons, though Germany objected to the idea. Ankara has criticized Berlin over its stance, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urging German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to lift the block.
Erdoğan hosted Scholz for talks in Istanbul last month.
Speaking at a briefing, the source said Germany had mandated its "Temporary Sales Authority" to work on the potential sale to Türkiye, adding Ankara believed this would speed up the process of procuring the jets.
"Technical work is continuing regarding the procurement of the Eurofighter Typhoon jet, which can be an alternative to meet the operational needs of our Air Force," the person said, adding the issue would be on the agenda during British Defense Minister John Healey's visit to Ankara on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said efforts by Britain, Italy and Spain had convinced Germany to give a "positive response" after "resisting for a long time," adding he did not believe the recent collapse of the German government would impact the process.
The Eurofighter Typhoon jets are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, represented by companies Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
Türkiye’s interest in Eurofighters came after a prolonged process over its request to buy F-16 warplanes from the U.S.
However, NATO member Türkiye recently secured a deal to procure 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits for its existing F-16s from the United States.
Ankara is also developing its own national combat aircraft Kaan, which earlier this year conducted its maiden flight.
