Germany denies blocking Eurofighter jet sale to Türkiye
Eurofighter jet fighters from the United Kingdom fly over the North Sea after being refueled by an MRTT aircraft coming from Eindhoven Air Base as part of the NATO exercise "Ramstein", near Eindhoven on April 2, 2025. (AFP Photo)
Germany’s Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection has rejected claims that the government has blocked the sale of Eurofighter jets to Türkiye.
In a written response to a question from Turkish news agency Anadolu, ministry spokesperson Tim-Niklas Wentzel clarified that the current interim government has not made any decision on the Eurofighter jet sale.
He added that significant decisions regarding arms exports will be made by the new government, set to take office next month.
“The new government will decide on matters concerning comprehensive arms and equipment exports; the current interim government will not make decisions on this in advance,” Wentzel said.
The statement came after a report by German media outlet Handelsblatt on April 17 claimed that the German caretaker government, led by the Social Democrats and Greens, had blocked the planned export of around three dozen Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Türkiye.
Sources familiar with internal discussions reportedly said that the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges was a primary factor in halting the export, which Berlin officials described as “an attack on Turkish democracy.”
Türkiye’s Eurofighter procurement plans
Türkiye’s interest in acquiring Eurofighter jets began in 2022 amid challenges to modernize its aging fleet. The procurement process has unfolded as follows:
- 2022–2023: Türkiye initiated talks with the United Kingdom and Spain, seeking to bypass German objections.
- November 2023: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the U.N. General Assembly.
- November 2024: Germany approved the sale, and Türkiye submitted its technical requirements.
- January–March 2025: Türkiye received and began evaluating a formal proposal from the UK Ministry of Defense.
The procurement plan reportedly includes up to 40 jets, with 20 used Tranche 1 aircraft from the UK and 20 new Tranche 4 jets, which are intended to enter service by 2030.
The incoming CDU-SPD coalition government, set to assume power in mid-May, will ultimately decide the fate of the Eurofighter deal.
While the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is reportedly more supportive of moving forward with the export to maintain cohesion within the Eurofighter consortium, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has pushed for using the deal to apply pressure on Ankara over democratic concerns.
Türkiye’s position on the process
In response to the media reports, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler reaffirmed that the Eurofighter procurement process is proceeding as planned. He emphasized that Türkiye’s primary engagement is with the UK rather than Germany.
At the National Sovereignty and Children’s Day reception in Ankara on April 23, Guler told reporters, “The Eurofighter process is proceeding exactly as planned. Our counterpart is not Germany, it is the United Kingdom. Everything on our side is continuing according to plan.”
The Eurofighter Typhoon program is a joint project involving Germany, the U.K., Spain, and Italy. Germany’s restrictive arms export policies have long created tensions within the consortium, with the UK and France often critical of Berlin’s stance.
Germany’s defense industry strategy, outlined in the coalition agreement, aims to harmonize European arms export rules and calls for faster, more coordinated export licensing, particularly among NATO allies.
