Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Doha on Tuesday night as Ankara seeks to purchase used Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Qatar, according to a Turkish security source speaking to AFP.
اضافة اعلان
Erdogan, coming from Kuwait, is scheduled to meet with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Wednesday.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to speak to the press, said: "Turkey is trying to negotiate the purchase of some of Qatar’s used Eurofighter jets."
Turkey reportedly offered in return access to its next-generation fighter jets as part of a potential technology exchange arrangement. The source noted that no tangible progress has been achieved so far in the ongoing talks.
Turkey has been aiming to modernize its air force and has sought to purchase 40 new Eurofighter Typhoons in recent years, produced by a consortium of Germany, the UK, Spain, and Italy.
This move comes after Washington removed Ankara from its F-35 fighter program in 2019, in response to Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, raising concerns that Russia might gain access to Western aircraft operations.
The Turkish source emphasized that Turkey’s main priority remains the F-16 and F-35 programs.
Earlier in May, Erdogan expressed confidence in a swift resolution regarding Turkey’s participation, and his meeting last month with former President Donald Trump reinforced these hopes. In June, the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrett, indicated that American sanctions would likely end by year’s end, though the Turkish source predicted it could take longer due to political gridlock in Congress, making progress on the agreements unlikely before the new year.
Qatar ordered 24 Eurofighter jets in 2017 and reportedly planned to purchase an additional 12 jets last December, according to defense media outlets.
