German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday appeared to suggest that progress is underway in the process of a potential sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Türkiye.
Merz's remarks came during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London after the two leaders signed the U.K.-Germany "friendship treaty," which he said will strengthen defense ties and enhance cooperation in the defense industry.
Asked if the treaty would facilitate the export of jointly produced defense products like Eurofighter jets and whether Berlin would approve the potential sale to Türkiye, Merz indicated progress.
"We also discussed the issue of export licenses. There hasn't been a final decision yet, but we're on the way to a good decision that could also make a corresponding export license possible," he said.
"As to which specific countries this will apply to, you'll have to forgive me, but I cannot say that at this moment."
The jets are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, represented by companies Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
On Thursday, Germany and the U.K. committed to facilitating the export of jointly produced defense products, acknowledging "the importance of having a reliable agenda" for transferring defense-related products from intergovernmental programs or those developed by their industries.
Türkiye has been in negotiations to acquire up to 40 Eurofighters to enhance its air force. Any export agreement must receive the unanimous approval of the partner nations.
While the U.K. has been eager to proceed with the sale and all manufacturing partners except Germany have supported it, the deal has remained stalled for months.
Starmer pointed out that following the signing of the friendship and cooperation treaty, both countries will pursue joint export campaigns for their co-produced military equipment.
"On the question of exports, we discussed this today at some length, and we intend to have export campaigns more jointly together, coordinated together. That is a good thing for both of our countries, and it's a good thing for Europe," said Starmer.
"We have not only discussed that, but also begun to take the steps to make sure that this is much more coordinated, much more joined up, and much more cooperative. And again, all of this is further evidence of the closeness of the relationship as it now is, between Germany and the U.K.," he added.
Last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held talks with British and German leaders regarding the jets at the NATO summit and said there were "positive developments" on the issue.
On Tuesday, BAE Systems said it was confident about winning new orders for Eurofighters from countries such as Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
"We're working with the U.K. government on a number of those campaigns presently," Richard Hamilton, managing director for Europe and International in BAE Systems Air sector, told reporters.
Asked whether he was confident that those sales campaigns would result in new orders for the aircraft, he said, "Yeah, absolutely," adding that there was potential for new orders of up to 150 new Typhoons.
Underpinning that confidence in the new export order, he said, was Britain's commitment to funding upgrades to Typhoon's capabilities, which extend the aircraft's lifespan.
"The confidence it gives the export partner, you know, with the Saudis, with the Turkish, when they see that this thing has a life, it just makes the whole conversation so much easier," he said at the group's facility in Warton, northern England.
Trade unions in Britain have raised concerns that without the new orders, some BAE final assembly production lines would run out of work in the 2030s.
Türkiye, despite boasting NATO's second-largest army, has often in the past faced arms embargoes. That pushed it to significantly boost domestic capabilities and curb foreign dependence over the last two decades.
Today, it produces a wide range of vehicles and arms types domestically, including its own drones, missiles and naval vessels. It's also developing its own fifth-generation fighter jet, named Kaan.
Kaan is sought to replace the Air Forces Command's aging F-16 fleet, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s. Its mass production is expected to start in 2028.
