Britain’s Keir Starmer and Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara on Monday to finalize an agreement worth about $11 billion.
Published October 27, 2025
Turkiye has reached an agreement with Britain to buy 20 Eurofighter Typhoons for about $11 billion, as the Turkish government seeks to strengthen its air defense system while developing its own fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara on Monday and signed the agreement.
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Britain’s Ministry of Defense described the move as “the biggest fighter jet deal in a generation” and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed it as “a new symbol of the strategic relationship” between “two close allies”.
Speaking in Ankara, Mr Starmer said the deal was also a victory for NATO, which counts Britain and Turkiye among its members.
“This is the south-east flank of NATO and keeping that capability connected to the UK is very important for NATO,” the British Prime Minister said.
The first Typhoon ordered under Monday’s agreement is expected to arrive in Ankara in 2030, Starmer said.
In July, Turkiye and Britain signed a preliminary agreement to transport 40 Typhoons, and the plan was approved by other members of the Eurofighter consortium – Germany, Italy and Spain.
Turkish officials said the Turkish government wants to buy 120 jets to strengthen its fleet before its own KAAN jets enter service.
Turkey’s defense ministry has said it wants to buy 12 more Typhoons each from Qatar and Oman, as part of efforts to close the gap with regional rivals such as Israel.
Last year, Turkiye confirmed a $7 billion deal with the United States to buy 40 F-16s, but the order is facing delays.
President Erdoğan also recently spoke with US President Donald Trump about the possibility of Turkiye re-entering the Washington-led F-35 fighter jet program, which was excluded in 2019 as a result of the purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
Starmer’s first visit to Turkiye as prime minister coincided with the filing of new charges against jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is seen as Erdogan’s main political rival.
Turkish prosecutors on Monday charged Imamoglu, who was arrested in March on corruption charges, with involvement in “espionage”. He vehemently denies any wrongdoing and maintains that the charges against him are politically motivated.
