Turkey Seeks to Purchase Used Fighter Jets, Approaches Qatar

Turkey is looking to buy used Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and has reached out to Qatar regarding a potential sale. This was reported by Middle East Eye, citing its sources.

According to the media outlet, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Air Force Commander Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu traveled to Doha yesterday to discuss the details of the possible deal. Qatar currently has 24 of these fighter jets in its inventory.

In recent years, Ankara has been exploring options to modernize its air fleet, which mainly consists of outdated American F-16 aircraft. Turkey has also been developing its own Kaan fighter jet, but the first prototypes are not expected to enter service until the 2030s.

Additionally, Turkey is negotiating with the British to purchase 40 Eurofighter Typhoons, but the price demanded by London does not meet Ankara's expectations. As is known, the U.S. excluded Turkey from the fifth-generation F-35 production and purchase program after Ankara acquired Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

Following this, Turkey began discussions with the U.S. about possibly purchasing 40 upgraded F-16 Block 70/72 jets, but those discussions have yet to yield results. The topic was even discussed during a recent meeting in New York between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. leader Donald Trump.