Turkey still in talks to procure Eurofighters from Qatar, Oman

Turkey said on Thursday that talks were continuing with Qatar and Oman on procuring Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, after a deal it inked with Britain on Monday to buy 20 of the jets.

The deal between NATO allies Turkey and Britain aims to deepen their ties and bolster Turkish air defences. Ankara has said it was also seeking to procure 24 more jets, albeit lightly used, from Qatar and Oman.

Some analysts called the deal, which British Prime Minister Keir Starmer put at 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion), expensive.

At a briefing in Ankara, Turkey's Defence Ministry said the value of the deal, which included the jets, equipment for the aircraft and various ammunition, was 5.4 billion pounds.

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that the deal included a weapons package that includes the MBDA Meteor air-to-air missiles and Brimstone ground attack missiles.

In a statement issued on Monday, BAE Systems said the deal included an arms package of Meteor missiles and associated integration packages for Turkish weapons systems.

"Under the agreement, BAE Systems will manufacture major airframe components, conduct the final assembly of the aircraft and lead the weapons integration at its sites in Lancashire," it said, adding "the weapons package will be primarily provided by MBDA".

While the first batch of the 20 jets is expected in 2030, Ankara has also been negotiating with Gulf allies Qatar and Oman to procure more to meet its immediate needs.

"Work on the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets that will be procured from Qatar and Oman to meet our Air Force's mission needs is continuing," the ministry said, without elaborating.

During his trip to Turkey on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed the purchase of 20 Eurofighter jets, saying they would bolster the military alliance in the face of the threat from Russia.

"Russia's militant revisionism jeopardises the Euro-Atlantic security as a whole... and in this context, the German government expressly welcomes Turkey's decision... to procure 20 Eurofighter jets," he told journalists in Ankara.

"These aircraft (will) serve the collective security of the alliance," he added.