Ankara and London are negotiating a potential arms package, which would include Eurofighter fighters, C-130J aircraft, frigates and tank engines.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar visited London on Sunday and met with his British counterpart, Ben Wallace. According to the Middle East Eye news site, the negotiations on the eventual purchase of armaments were confirmed by the statements of three different sources, who remain on condition of anonymity.
The sources said that during their meeting Akar and Wallace explored the possibility of Ankara acquiring Eurofighter combat aircraft, the RAF’s soon-to-be decommissioned C-130J transport airplanes and Type 23 frigates, as well as engines for Turkey’s aging M60 battle tanks. The multi-billion dollar UK-Turkey deal could exceed $10 billion.
«We are assessing our options on these platforms, but we are not at the final stage of negotiations,» said one of the Turkish sources, who spoke to MEE on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Commenting on the talks, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense told Middle East Eye, «The defense secretary met with his Turkish counterpart to discuss strengthening defense ties between the two countries. They discussed a range of topics, including procurement, and progress was made in a number of areas.»
A contingency plan
Ankara requires U.S. Congressional approval to finalize a deal with the Biden administration for the purchase of 40 new F-16 Block 70/72s, and 79 modernization kits to upgrade its older F-16s to the Viper variant.
But if Congress, despite Joe Biden’s commitment to push the sale project through, does not come to fruition soon, Turkey is prepared to implement a contingency plan. In this regard, during a press conference President Recep Tayyip Erdoga commented that «it is not only the United States that sells fighter jets in the world. England sells, France sells, Russia sells, it is possible to get it from anywhere. For this, there are some who are already sending us signals».
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The Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) has some familiarity with this model of combat aircraft, as Qatar sent some of its Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Turkey under a bilateral agreement that allows Doha to deploy elements of its Air Force on Turkish territory for training purposes.
