Türkiye plans to add advanced Meteor missiles to the inventory as part of the procurement project of the Eurofighter Typhoon jets, Defense Ministry sources said on Thursday.
“The Meteor missile is a new generation long-range missile of European origin among the air-to-air missiles. We plan to add the Meteor missiles to our inventory within the scope of the Eurofighter Typhoon procurement project," the sources told journalists following the weekly briefing.
The remarks came amid reports from Greek media over Athens's reaction and an apparent attempt to prevent the planned purchase of the missiles from France.
The Meteor is a European active radar-guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) developed and manufactured by MBDA.
It offers a multi-shot capability (multiple launches against multiple targets) and can engage highly maneuverable targets such as jet aircraft and small targets such as uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cruise missiles in a heavy electronic countermeasures (ECM) environment with a range far over 200 kilometers.
Meteor was developed by a group of European partners led by MBDA to meet the needs of six European nations: the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Sweden.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reportedly raised the issue of a possible sale of Meteor missiles to Türkiye in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris when they met on the sidelines of the global AI Action Summit earlier this week, media reports said.
However, reports also indicated that Macron purportedly rejected Mitsotakis' request to block the sale of Meteor missiles to Türkiye.
During their meeting at the Paris AI Summit, Macron indicated that halting the sale of Meteor air-to-air missiles to Türkiye would not be possible, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Wednesday, quoting Greek daily EFSYN.
He reportedly emphasized that the missile deal extends beyond French jurisdiction, as the weapons are manufactured by the six-country European consortium MBDA.
Athens reportedly intends to approach the other consortium member nations to prevent the sale of missiles to Ankara.
In its efforts to bolster its air defense, Türkiye is engaged in negotiations to acquire up to 40 EF-2000 Eurofighter jets to enhance its air force in the face of growing regional threats. Greece has also recently stepped up military procurements through programs including F-16 fleet modernization and purchasing French-made Rafale jets.
Türkiye said last month it was waiting for a price proposal for the possible acquisition of Eurofighter jets after submitting a list outlining its technical needs to the U.K.'s Defense Ministry.
The Eurofighter Typhoon jets are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, represented by companies Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
Ankara has been in talks with Britain and Spain to purchase 40 Typhoons, and Germany took a step toward clearing the deal after initially being opposed to it.
"The ... document, prepared within the scope of the procurement of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon Aircraft, was sent to the British Ministry of Defense and the relevant company," the Defense Ministry source said late last month.
The sources on Thursday, while displaying plans to get Meteor missiles, also appeared to reiterate the priority of developing domestic weapons.
Türkiye, a NATO member, has bolstered its defense industry significantly in recent years, curbing its foreign dependence and advancing in domestic development and production of a range of products from drones, armored vehicles, naval frigates, aircraft carriers and uncrewed jets.
"As we have always said, our priority is domestic and national weapons and systems. Within this scope, we plan to strengthen our Air Force with the GÖKHAN air-to-air missile, which is equivalent to the Meteor missile that we are developing."
"Until the GÖKHAN missile enters the inventory, the procurement efforts for the Meteor missile along with the Eurofighter aircraft continue without any problems," the sources said.
