Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the UK’s Royal Air Force land at Murted Air Base in Ankara for inspection by Turkish officials on December 18, 2024. (Photo by Turkish Defense Ministry / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu via Getty Images
Turkey recently reached a landmark deal with the United Kingdom for 20 new Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 4 fighter jets. However, the total cost of the multi-billion-pound deal has raised some questions and criticism, with some suspecting Turkey is paying an exorbitant amount for these sleek new combat aircraft.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Turkey on October 27 and signed the agreement. He hailed it as “a win for British workers” and the British defense industry.
According to the British government, the deal is worth up to 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion) and will secure 20,000 British jobs.
Britain expects to begin delivering the factory-fresh fighters to Turkey in 2030. Separately, London has helped facilitate the sale of 24 second-hand Eurofighter Tranche 3A jets that are currently in service with the air forces of Oman and Qatar. Turkey expects these slightly used jets to begin arriving in 2026.
The 8 billion pound price tag startled some initially. For example, one Turkish security analyst, estimating that the price could mean Ankara is essentially paying 400 pounds ($526 million) per jet, described it to Reuters as “outrageously high,” accusing Britain of selling Turkey “one plane for the price of four.”
By way of comparison, the fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II stealth strike fighter currently has an average flyaway price of below $100 million per aircraft.
Turkey is presently engaged in price talks with Lockheed Martin for 40 brand-new F-16 Block 70 fighters, the most modern version of the Viper. That deal had an estimated value of $23 billion when it also included 79 modernization kits for upgrading Turkey’s older model F-16s. However, in late 2024, Ankara dropped its request for the kits, estimating that the planes and accompanying ammunition would cost approximately $7 billion.
Interestingly, a few days after Starmer’s visit and the signing of the deal, the Turkish Defense Ministry stated that the total cost is actually £5.4 billion ($7.1 billion), which also covers armaments and equipment.
Steven Horrell, a senior fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, agrees that the deal looks more expensive per airframe than previous Eurofighter sales. Nevertheless, he sees numerous reasons that justify the cost.
“It is important to note that these sales include more than just the equipment: ‘Lifecycle’ costs will be part of the deal, including spare parts, maintenance, contractor support, perhaps simulators and/or training,” Horrell told me.
“With the parallel deal for used aircraft from Oman and Qatar, I would assess that such lifecycle line items are all or almost all under the UK deal and minimized in the Oman and Qatar deals.”
Furthermore, the multi-billion-pound deal also includes advanced munitions for the fighter, such as the advanced Meteor air-to-air missile, which has a greater range than the American AIM-120, as well as the Brimstone air-to-ground missile.
Horrell noted that in modern air and naval warfare, “the missiles coming off the rails are as important as the airframe or the hull.”
Ali Bakir, a Turkey expert at Qatar University’s Ibn Khaldon Center and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, pointed out that several factors influence the price difference between the Eurofighter and the F-35.
“The price agreed upon with the UK encompasses not only the fighter jets but also includes weapons, pilot training, spare parts, and integration services, with deliveries expected to commence in 2030,” Bakir told me.
“The time factor is significant,” he said. “While five years is a relatively short period, it is noteworthy that Ankara has received approval to transfer Eurofighters from Qatar as early as the beginning of 2026, followed by additional transfers from Oman until the remaining 20 Eurofighters are ready for delivery.”
Furthermore, CEPA’s Horrell pointed out that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already stated that joint defense industry projects could follow this deal.
“I might speculate that there could be some intellectual property rights involved, or the high price here reflects a down payment on such for the future,” he said.
“At the end of the day, market price is the price the buyer is willing to pay,” he added. “In a variety of ways, this reflects the importance of this capability to Turkey, and the continuing impact of losing access to the F-35 program after purchasing Russian S-400 weapons systems.”
Previously a member of the fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, Turkey was suspended in 2019 after acquiring Russian S-400 air defense systems and could no longer acquire F-35As to upgrade its air force. Consequently, it requested the F-16 Block 70 jets in October 2021 to help prevent its fighter fleet from becoming outdated. Erdogan sought compensation for $1.4 billion Turkey had paid into the program.
“We did not – and do not – earn this money easily,” he said in 2021. “Either they will give us our planes or they will give us the money.”
Losing access to the fifth-generation F-35 gave Turkey’s rival Greece an advantage. Athens has had the majority of its F-16s upgraded by the United States to the cutting-edge Block 72 standard. Additionally, it acquired 24 Dassault Rafale F3R multirole 4.5-generation fighter jets from France and has ordered F-35s from the U.S. Left unanswered, these acquisitions would give the Hellenic Air Force a game-changing technological edge over its larger Turkish counterpart.
The Eurofighter is a comparable fighter to the 4.5-generation Rafale and will also come equipped with the Meteor missile. Turkey’s order of 24 slightly used Typhoons means it will soon have an equal number to Greece’s Rafale fleet. And once the new Tranche 4s arrive from Britain, Ankara will almost have twice as many Eurofighters as Greece has Rafales—although Ankara probably won’t deploy all of its Typhoons to face Athens over the Aegean Sea.
“Weakness in the air has been a concern for Turkey in recent years as Greece collaborates with France on Rafales and with the USA on F-35,” George Tzogopoulos, a senior fellow at the Centre International de Formation Européenne, told me. “But I would say that the Turkish policy goes beyond its interest in closing the gap.”
“The Turkish government certainly feels vindicated to see that despite having good ties with both the West and the East, the West (at least Europe for now) rewards it with good contracts and plenty of strategic trust,” Tzogopoulos said.
“In my opinion, Europe, in particular the EU, should have negotiated a political agreement with Turkey (that would take the interests of Greece and Cyprus into account) before engaging in transactions about weapons and perhaps military loans in the future.”
Greece expects its first delivery of fifth-generation F-35s in late 2028. By then, Turkey hopes its homegrown TF Kaan stealth fighter will have entered service. It also hopes to regain entry into the F-35 program and buy at least 40 jets.
The Eurofighter will enhance Turkish air power in the interim.
“By concluding this deal, Turkey is not merely acquiring fighter jets,” Bakir said. “It is also preserving its technological competitiveness amid efforts by pro-Israel and Greece US-Congress to undermine Turkey’s technological and military advancement, bridging the time gap until the most advanced indigenous Kaan fighter jet is ready.”
“Most importantly, this agreement establishes a long-term partnership with the UK, providing access to technology and influence that will enable Ankara to achieve greater autonomy and independence.”