Turkey could announce a preliminary deal for a multibillion-dollar order of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets as early as this week, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report.
Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid reacted to the potential deal, expressing his concern over the implications it could have on Israel’s safety, and blaming its advancement on the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli government.
“Turkey already has the largest and most powerful navy in the Middle East, and now it has set itself the goal of also reaching an air balance with Israel, said Lapid. “This is dangerous, and our dysfunctional government has allowed this deal to move forward without doing anything about it.”
The Turkish and UK governments have reached advanced talks, and the outline of an initial contract may be announced at the International Defense Industry Fair in Istanbul as early as this week. Analysts estimate the deal could be valued at around $5.6 billion for a maximum of 40 jets, but the exact number and aircraft details are still being discussed, WSJ reported.
The Eurofighter was developed by a partnership of three of Europe’s largest defense companies, BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo. The deal would significantly boost Europe’s defense industry — as well as Turkey’s air defense capabilities.
Turkey has tried to purchase Eurofighter jets from the consortium of its manufacturing countries, UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy, since 2023, but had failed to reach Germany’s approval of export license due to issues with Ankara’s foreign policy.
But Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the new chancellor of Germany, said at a press conference last week that the negotiators were nearing a decision that could make an export license possible, WSJ reported.
Lapid commented on Israel’s failure to stop the progress of the exchange.
“If Israel had a functioning Foreign Ministry, or a normal government, it would have long ago prevented the deal being formed to sell “Eurofighter Typhoon 4.5″ aircraft to Turkey by Germany and Britain,” he stated.