British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a deal on Monday in which Türkiye bought 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion), his office said, deepening the NATO allies' defence ties and bolstering Turkish air defences.
In July, Türkiye and Britain had signed a preliminary purchase deal for 40 Typhoons approved by Eurofighter consortium members including Germany, Italy and Spain, represented by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
Starmer met President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday to sign the agreement, which comes as Türkiye seeks to leverage the advanced warplanes to make up ground with regional rivals such as Israel, which has unleashed strikes across the Middle East this year.
Türkiye, enjoying its warmest ties with the West in years, has sought to procure the Eurofighters and also potentially U.S.-made F-35s to backstop its ageing fleet of mostly F-16s.
TURKEY HAS NATO'S SECOND BIGGEST MILITARY
Europe has increasingly turned to Turkey, NATO's second-largest military and a major exporter of armed drones, to reinforce its eastern flank and potentially backstop any future post-war stabilisation force in Ukraine.
Last week, citing a person familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that Turkey was nearing a deal in which it would promptly receive 12 Typhoons, albeit used, from previous buyers Qatar and Oman to meet its immediate needs, with more new jets coming from Britain in future years.
Last week, Erdogan visited Qatar and Oman in part to discuss the plan.
Turkey, which wants to fill a gap before its own KAAN fighters are ready in coming years, opened talks on obtaining the Typhoons in 2023. Last year Ankara secured a $7-billion deal with Washington for 40 F-16s that have faced delays.
Air attacks by Israel - the region's most advanced military power with hundreds of U.S.-supplied F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighters - on Turkey's neighbours Iran and Syria, as well as on Lebanon and Qatar, have unnerved Ankara over the past year and persuaded it to revamp its defences, officials said.
The visit marked Starmer's first to Turkey since taking office last year.
Around 50 tourism companies attended the "China Visitors Summit" in Baku on Sunday (17 November). The event, organised by the State Tourism Agency, wa...
The UK has announced its most extensive asylum reforms in decades, replacing automatic routes to permanent settlement with temporary protection review...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 17th of November, covering the latest developments you need to...
Australia says it won't co-host the COP31 climate summit with Türkiye amid an ongoing stalemate between the two countries over which one should stage...
Far-right candidate José Antonio Kast is gaining momentum ahead of Chile’s 14 December runoff, despite trailing slightly behind Communist-backed Je...
Around 50 tourism companies attended the "China Visitors Summit" in Baku on Sunday (17 November). The event, organised by the State Tourism Agency, was the first time it was held in Azerbaijan's capital, and brought together representatives from the tourism industries from both countries.
The UK has announced its most extensive asylum reforms in decades, replacing automatic routes to permanent settlement with temporary protection reviewed every 30 months.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 17th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Australia says it won't co-host the COP31 climate summit with Türkiye amid an ongoing stalemate between the two countries over which one should stage the United Nations conference next year.
Russia announced on Sunday that its forces had made significant advances in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, capturing two settlements as part of what it described as a broader offensive aimed at securing full control of the strategic territory.
Storm Claudia, which brought violent weather to Portugal, has resulted in the deaths of three people and left dozens injured, authorities reported on Saturday. Meanwhile, in Britain, rescue teams were organising evacuations due to heavy flooding in Wales and England.
Ukraine is facing a sharp escalation in fighting across several fronts, with Russian forces launching large-scale offensive operations while Kyiv intensifies long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory.
U.S. President Donald Trump purchased at least $82 million in corporate and municipal bonds between late August and early October, including new investments in sectors benefiting from his policies, according to financial disclosures made public on Saturday.
Japan urged China on Saturday to take "appropriate measures" after Beijing issued a warning to its citizens against travelling to Japan, amid an ongoing dispute over Taiwan.
Around 50 tourism companies attended the "China Visitors Summit" in Baku on Sunday (17 November). The event, organised by the State Tourism Agency, was the first time it was held in Azerbaijan's capital, and brought together representatives from the tourism industries from both countries.
The UK has announced its most extensive asylum reforms in decades, replacing automatic routes to permanent settlement with temporary protection reviewed every 30 months.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 17th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Far-right candidate José Antonio Kast is gaining momentum ahead of Chile’s 14 December runoff, despite trailing slightly behind Communist-backed Jeannette Jara in the first round of voting.
Ukraine is facing a sharp escalation in fighting across several fronts, with Russian forces launching large-scale offensive operations while Kyiv intensifies long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment