Turkey is in advanced talks with Qatar to acquire its fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons

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Turkey is in advanced talks with Qatar to acquire its fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons. Qatar operates 24 Tranche 3 Typhoons that entered QEAF service as recently as 2022. The move is seen as a stopgap measure to supplement Turkey’s (ageing) F-16 fleet and bridge the gap as the domestically developed TAI TF KAAN project takes shape.

Turkey is in talks with Qatar to acquire second-hand Eurofighter Typhoon jets, according to the UK-based Middle East Eye outlet.

Ankara has not publicly confirmed these negotiations.

The move is seen as a response to the lack of concrete progress on the procurement of new F-16 Block 70s and F-110 engines — critical for the domestically produced KAAN fighter jet — during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent visit to the US last month.

Talks are reportedly taking place at the highest levels. Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and the commander of the Turkish Air Force, General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, were in Doha on Tuesday to discuss the potential acquisition, according to regional media reports. The Turkish Ministry of Defense confirmed that Güler met with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, for both official and delegation-level meetings.

Ankara is seeking a stopgap solution to fill the capability gap until its indigenous fifth-generation fighter, KAAN, enters service in the early 2030s. Turkey’s extensive F-16 fleet is considered to be aging rapidly, creating an urgent need for modern aircraft.

Qatar, which currently operates 24 Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 3A aircraft and has ordered an additional 12 Tranche 4s, could offer a faster delivery timeline compared to acquiring new jets. Regional sources claim that while negotiations are ongoing, an agreement may be close, though no formal confirmation has been issued.

This potential deal with Qatar runs in parallel to Turkey’s ongoing negotiations with the United Kingdom. On July 23, 2025, Ankara signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding to buy 40 new Eurofighter jets, but the deal has stalled. Ankara reportedly considered the initial British offer too costly, and talks over the final terms remain unresolved.

Any transfer, whether from Qatar or the UK, would require approval from the Eurofighter consortium, which comprises Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. Regional sources suggest that consortium members are open to the deal, viewing Turkey as a future customer for Tranche 4 upgrades and additional purchases.

Turkey’s push for new fighters follows its 2019 removal from the US-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program after it acquired Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. Analysts say this has left the Turkish Air Force with a significant capability gap.

While the Turkish Air Force is eager to quickly acquire modern aircraft, defense industry insiders caution against costly stopgap purchases, instead advocating for prioritizing upgrades to the existing F-16 fleet using domestic technology.