RIVISTA ITALIANA DIFESA
Turkey looks at the TYPHOON amid F-16 uncertainty 29/09/2022 | Fabio Di Felice

For the first time, Turkey has officially announced a possible purchase of Eurofighter TYPHOONs in case of the deal for the Lockeed Martin F-16 FIGHTING FALCONs with the United States fails. The Turkey’s presidential spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, confirmed that the Turkish Government has already started negotiations with Europe regarding the TYPHOON, and the reason is because Turkey can never be without alternatives. Last year, the Middle-East country asked the US for 40 F-16 jets and almost 80 modernization kits for its existing 270 F-16 C/D fleet of FIGHTING FALCONs. Previously, Ankara was kicked out of the F-35 LIGHTING II program for its “not aligned” decision to purchase Russian S-400 missile defense systems and then seen CAATSA sanctions imposed by USA. Meanwhile, with its aging fleet necessitating an urgent upgrade, Turkey has seen its neighbor, and rival, Greece which has not only purchased advanced RAFALE fighter jets from France but has also set its path for joining the American F-35 JSF program. Despite Ankara’s Government decision to remove its veto on Finland and Sweden joining NATO, the US administration has not acted to unlock the F-16 fighters sale to Turkey. The decision to officially announce the existence of the TYPHOON option could have 2 different reasons: the first one is, of course, that Ankara’s leadership loses its patience to wait Washington decisions, and the second possible one could be just a psychological maneuver to put pressure on the American Congress for approving the sale. However, it looks like Turkey is reportedly impressed with the British-German-Italian-Spanish jet’s twin-engine, sensor fusion, avionics, and super-cruise capabilities, in the latest Tranche 3A or 4 versions, and it has been identified as perfect gap-filler until its domestic Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) TF-X sees the skies. As evidence confirming the announcement, General Hasan Kucukakyuz, the Commander of the Turkish Air Force, visited the United Kingdom, and inspected the UK Quick Reaction Alert that flies with TYPHOON aircraft. Other important factors that make the EUROFIGHTER the best choice for Ankara are the synergies between Turkish defense firms and European partner companies and the relative future opportunities for local upgrades. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is currently collaborating with BAE Systems (TF-X), Airbus and Leonardo (CN-235, COUGAR, A-400 and AW-129). The existing and consolidated cooperation between the local and the European companies will make collaboration on TYPHOON procurement easier and will improve local workforce know-how and experience.

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