Turkey’s Qatar Eurofighter Deal Moves Forward: 24-Jet Target
Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence (MSB) says negotiations with Qatar over the acquisition of second-hand Eurofighter Typhoon jets are moving into a new phase. Ministry spokesman Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk gave the update at the weekly press briefing in Ankara on 22 October.
According to Aktürk, Turkish and Qatari delegations met repeatedly in August and September. Talks covered the aircraft and munitions package, pilot and maintenance-crew training, and technical and logistics support. The ministry said Doha is now expected to prepare and send a draft training programme and sales contract to Ankara, marking the next concrete step in the process.
No official figures on the number of jets, contract value, or delivery schedule have been released. Defence Minister Yaşar Güler previously said Turkey is seeking 12 aircraft each from Qatar and Oman, for a combined total of 24 used Eurofighters. The jets in Qatar’s inventory are Tranche 3A standard.
A parallel track with the UK
The Qatar and Oman talks run alongside a separate, already-contracted Eurofighter programme with the United Kingdom. Turkey signed a deal on 27 October 2025 for 20 newly built Tranche 4 Typhoons. BAE Systems has started production, with deliveries planned across three years: six aircraft in 2030, eight in 2031, and six in 2032.
A technical and logistics support contract with the UK followed on 25 March 2026. In September 2026, the first two Turkish pilots began type-conversion training at RAF Coningsby, a programme expected to last around nine months. A Turkish technical team also inspected maintenance facilities at the same base between 15 and 17 September.
Once the 24 used jets from Qatar and Oman are combined with the 20 newly built aircraft from the UK, the Turkish Air Force’s Eurofighter fleet will reach 44 jets — a bridging capacity meant to reinforce the existing F-16 fleet until the KAAN fifth-generation fighter reaches serial production.
Shared training infrastructure
Running the Qatar/Oman and UK tracks in parallel lets Turkey reuse the same training pipeline. RAF Coningsby effectively serves as a joint type-conversion hub for personnel destined for both the new-build and second-hand aircraft, covering flight training, simulators, weapons systems and maintenance procedures. Because Qatar’s own Eurofighter crews were trained in the UK, coordination between Ankara, Doha and London is expected to be smoother.
Why it matters
Turkey’s air power planning has diversified since its removal from the F-35 programme over CAATSA sanctions: ramping up KAAN production, modernising the F-16 fleet, and growing the Eurofighter fleet through both new-build and second-hand channels. With new UK deliveries not arriving until 2030, the Qatar and Oman jets would let the Air Force add fleet depth sooner. Today’s MSB statement signals the process is nearing a formal contract stage, though binding details on numbers, cost and delivery dates will only be confirmed once Qatar’s draft documents reach Ankara.
Sources
- Turkish Ministry of National Defence (MSB), Spokesman Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk — Weekly Press Briefing, 22 October 2026. (Primary source; official statement on the Qatar Eurofighter talks.)
