Response from Istanbul

The Turkish President arrived in Qatar today, the second stop of his tour after Kuwait and before his third and final visit to Oman.

President Erdoğan and his wife are accompanied by a large Turkish delegation including the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, the Ministers of Energy, Finance, National Defense Yasar Güler, Industry and the Head of the Secret Service (MIT) Ibrahim Kalin, and many others.

According to the Bloomberg agency, the Turkish President’s central pursuit in Qatar is the purchase of 24 used Eurofighter Typhoons, which has already been discussed between the two sides. Meanwhile, Reuters reports in today’s extensive analysis that Turkey, in order to boost its air power in time, has proposed to European partners and the US ways it could quickly acquire advanced fighter jets as it seeks to regain ground against regional rivals such as Israel, according to sources familiar with the talks.

Turkey is making efforts to add to its aging fleet 40 Eurofighter Typhoons, for which it signed a preliminary agreement in July, and later also US F-35 jets despite Washington sanctions currently blocking any deal.

The annoyance of Ankara

The Reuters analysis says Israel’s strikes with hundreds of US-supplied F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighter jets against Turkey’s neighbors Iran and Syria, as well as Lebanon and Qatar, have irked Ankara, prompting it to press for a rapid boost to its air power. Greece, Reuters reports, is expected to receive a batch of advanced F-35s within the next three years.

For Eurofighter Typhoons, Turkey is nearing a deal with Britain and other European countries in which it will immediately take delivery of 12 of them, albeit second-hand, from previous buyers Qatar and Oman to meet its immediate needs, the Reuters article said, citing a person familiar with the matter. It also notes that Eurofighter consortium members Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain will approve the second-hand aircraft sale proposal, in which they will provide Turkey with 28 new aircraft over the next few years, pending a final purchase agreement.

Erdogan is expected to discuss the proposal in Qatar and Oman with aircraft numbers, prices and timetables being the main issues. However, it seems that in the next period the search for solutions to strengthen Turkey’s air power will be at the first level of interest of the Turkish leadership.