Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom andRecep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey
According to the Turkish government, the Turkish-British agreement for the supply of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters to Turkey signals a realignment in the balance of power, highlighting London as a bridge between the West and Ankara, and restoring the Greek-Turkish air balance of power to a symmetrical level by 2030.
Ankara has reached an agreement with the British government to purchase 20 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, worth around £8 billion pounds, with deliveries to begin towards the end of the decade.
The announcement was made in Ankara, as part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the Turkish capital. Britain, it appears, has undertaken to promote the program/sale in collaboration with Germany and Italy, countries participating in the Typhoon consortium.
Germany's change of stance – which had been vetoing the deal for months due to human rights concerns and Turkey's stance on Gaza – unblocked the deal, giving London the "green light" to take on the role of "political intermediary" between NATO and Ankara.
A British government source told the Guardian newspaper that the sale "strengthens the collective security of the Alliance," while in Ankara, Defense Minister Yasar Guler spoke of a "landmark move" in the country's strategy for self-reliant air power.
Greece - Turkey: balance of power
The Eurofighter Typhoon purchase comes at a time of rebalancing of the Greek-Turkish balance of power in the air.
Greece has already received the Rafale F3Rs and moving towards delivery of the F-35As by late 2028, while Turkey is relying on the modernization of its F-16 Block 70 fleet, the development of the domestic stealth fighter KAAN and now the reinforcement of its combat air fleet with the Typhoons.
Although no superiority is emerging for either side, a "parallel upgrade" is emerging: both Air Forces will have multi-level squadrons of western technology by 2030, with comparable Beyond-Visual-Range engagement capabilities (i.e. BVR engagement capabilities) and interoperability with NATO.
The Turkish upgrades, however, also have a political dimension: it is a loud message for autonomy from the US, but also an attempt at avoiding complete dependence on inferior Russian or Chinese technology.
One could say, looking at the developments from a Greek perspective, that Athens wasted billions on purchases that do not provide it with any advantage – and, on the contrary, Turkey invested billions in the "purchase" of autonomy, as will be seen more clearly below.
The British "game"
The agreement with London is not an isolated one. BAE Systems (the UK's largest defense and aerospace group – and one of the top five globally) is already working with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) on the KAAN program, which is the first Turkish-made stealth fighter.
The Typhoon sale cements this relationship and acts as a “reciprocal gesture” for the technical support of the British to the KAAN program, strengthening the UK’s footprint in the Turkish defence industry.
Simply put, London is selling aircraft and buying influence, while simultaneously turning a blind eye to Turkey's domestic human rights record, its ongoing belligerent rhetoric against a NATO member, its ongoing illegal occupation of an EU member state, and the atrocities it has recently been involved in from North Africa to the Caucasus, and throughout the Middle East.
For Turkey, the alliance with Britain acts as a counterweight to the American decision that removed Turkey from the F-35 program and is also seen in Ankara as a safeguard against European pressures for Turkey to remove the "casus belli" threat (i.e. the "cause of war" threat) against Greece in order to be included in the EU's SAFE* program (* SAFE - Security Action for Europe).
The US-Britain "tug of war"
The Typhoon agreement illuminates a new reality or, more precisely, the study of the relationship between Washington and London, and the pursuit of their common geopolitical goals.
Washington remains cold towards Ankara due to the Russian S-400 missiles it refuses to part with and Erdogan's (very positive) line towards Moscow, while London is investing in being "the bridge" - offering weapons, technology and even the ridiculous political recognition of Turkey by Britain as an "ally" that is fully inline with the interests of NATO, and the west in general.
For its part, Ankara is taking full advantage of the complexities of the US-Britain tug-of-war, repositioning its relationship with NATO not as an equal "ally" interested in the shared security objectives of the organization, but as a rogue member state that gave itself the unilateral right of "multidimensional cooperation."
Turkey's purchase of the Typhoons, in this context, is less a military contract and more a Turkish declaration of geopolitical autonomy, something that should worry Washington.
The Greek reading of the agreement
For Athens, the Turkish-British agreement confirms that Turkey will go to great lengths to not be left without the alternatives, even if it means putting the entire region at risk. The Western market – and especially the European one – remains open to a Turkey that manipulates and skillfully plays the card of its geopolitical size and weight in a region (and era) where rapid changes are taking place.
This means that Greece must see its arms policy not as a numbers race, but as an investment in strategic depth, technological superiority and diplomatic credibility. Above all, perhaps, it will need a very clear, cross-party agreed-upon strategy for the country's foreign policy - something that successive Greek governments have struggled with since the country gained its independence two centuries ago.
Ultimately, the "balance of power" will not be judged by who has more fighters, but by who integrates their air (and overall) power into a stable framework of alliances, exercises, and political consistency.
Turkey is trying to achieve this through "flexibility" and ensuring relative autonomy. For its part, Greece seems to have lost this margin (of autonomous political choices) and therefore appears to be an overly willing and obedient ally. But is this enough to ensure the country's sovereignty?
Ankara has reached an agreement with the British government to purchase 20 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, worth around £8 billion pounds, with deliveries to begin towards the end of the decade.
The announcement was made in Ankara, as part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the Turkish capital. Britain, it appears, has undertaken to promote the program/sale in collaboration with Germany and Italy, countries participating in the Typhoon consortium.
Germany's change of stance – which had been vetoing the deal for months due to human rights concerns and Turkey's stance on Gaza – unblocked the deal, giving London the "green light" to take on the role of "political intermediary" between NATO and Ankara.
A British government source told the Guardian newspaper that the sale "strengthens the collective security of the Alliance," while in Ankara, Defense Minister Yasar Guler spoke of a "landmark move" in the country's strategy for self-reliant air power.
Greece - Turkey: balance of power
The Eurofighter Typhoon purchase comes at a time of rebalancing of the Greek-Turkish balance of power in the air.
Greece has already received the Rafale F3Rs and moving towards delivery of the F-35As by late 2028, while Turkey is relying on the modernization of its F-16 Block 70 fleet, the development of the domestic stealth fighter KAAN and now the reinforcement of its combat air fleet with the Typhoons.
Although no superiority is emerging for either side, a "parallel upgrade" is emerging: both Air Forces will have multi-level squadrons of western technology by 2030, with comparable Beyond-Visual-Range engagement capabilities (i.e. BVR engagement capabilities) and interoperability with NATO.
The Turkish upgrades, however, also have a political dimension: it is a loud message for autonomy from the US, but also an attempt at avoiding complete dependence on inferior Russian or Chinese technology.
One could say, looking at the developments from a Greek perspective, that Athens wasted billions on purchases that do not provide it with any advantage – and, on the contrary, Turkey invested billions in the "purchase" of autonomy, as will be seen more clearly below.
The British "game"
The agreement with London is not an isolated one. BAE Systems (the UK's largest defense and aerospace group – and one of the top five globally) is already working with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) on the KAAN program, which is the first Turkish-made stealth fighter.
The Typhoon sale cements this relationship and acts as a “reciprocal gesture” for the technical support of the British to the KAAN program, strengthening the UK’s footprint in the Turkish defence industry.
Simply put, London is selling aircraft and buying influence, while simultaneously turning a blind eye to Turkey's domestic human rights record, its ongoing belligerent rhetoric against a NATO member, its ongoing illegal occupation of an EU member state, and the atrocities it has recently been involved in from North Africa to the Caucasus, and throughout the Middle East.
For Turkey, the alliance with Britain acts as a counterweight to the American decision that removed Turkey from the F-35 program and is also seen in Ankara as a safeguard against European pressures for Turkey to remove the "casus belli" threat (i.e. the "cause of war" threat) against Greece in order to be included in the EU's SAFE* program (* SAFE - Security Action for Europe).
The US-Britain "tug of war"
The Typhoon agreement illuminates a new reality or, more precisely, the study of the relationship between Washington and London, and the pursuit of their common geopolitical goals.
Washington remains cold towards Ankara due to the Russian S-400 missiles it refuses to part with and Erdogan's (very positive) line towards Moscow, while London is investing in being "the bridge" - offering weapons, technology and even the ridiculous political recognition of Turkey by Britain as an "ally" that is fully inline with the interests of NATO, and the west in general.
For its part, Ankara is taking full advantage of the complexities of the US-Britain tug-of-war, repositioning its relationship with NATO not as an equal "ally" interested in the shared security objectives of the organization, but as a rogue member state that gave itself the unilateral right of "multidimensional cooperation."
Turkey's purchase of the Typhoons, in this context, is less a military contract and more a Turkish declaration of geopolitical autonomy, something that should worry Washington.
The Greek reading of the agreement
For Athens, the Turkish-British agreement confirms that Turkey will go to great lengths to not be left without the alternatives, even if it means putting the entire region at risk. The Western market – and especially the European one – remains open to a Turkey that manipulates and skillfully plays the card of its geopolitical size and weight in a region (and era) where rapid changes are taking place.
This means that Greece must see its arms policy not as a numbers race, but as an investment in strategic depth, technological superiority and diplomatic credibility. Above all, perhaps, it will need a very clear, cross-party agreed-upon strategy for the country's foreign policy - something that successive Greek governments have struggled with since the country gained its independence two centuries ago.
Ultimately, the "balance of power" will not be judged by who has more fighters, but by who integrates their air (and overall) power into a stable framework of alliances, exercises, and political consistency.
Turkey is trying to achieve this through "flexibility" and ensuring relative autonomy. For its part, Greece seems to have lost this margin (of autonomous political choices) and therefore appears to be an overly willing and obedient ally. But is this enough to ensure the country's sovereignty?
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