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Türkiye plans to buy the necessary defense systems from NATO allies and other countries until its domestic fighter jet is ready for delivery, a Defense Ministry source said on Thursday.
Ankara has reportedly proposed to its European allies and the United States ways it could swiftly procure advanced fighter jets amid talks to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoons as well as U.S. F-16s and F-35s.
The reports came during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s regional tour to Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
Under a deal Ankara is nearing with Britain on the Typhoons, Türkiye would promptly receive 12 of them, albeit used, from previous buyers Qatar and Oman to meet its immediate needs, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Asked about the reports amid Erdoğan’s trip, the source said work on procuring the Typhoon jets continued and the process, which Ankara is running with Britain, was expected to be completed “in an appropriate time.”
“Until our domestic and national fighter jet Kaan’s deliveries start, the systems required to complete the tasks assigned to the Turkish Armed Forces are planned to be procured from relevant countries, primarily our allies,” the source told a briefing in Ankara.
Türkiye was removed from the U.S.-led multinational program building and buying the F-35 jets in 2019, and Washington imposed Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions following its purchase of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.
In May, Erdoğan expressed confidence that the sanctions would quickly be ended, and his meeting last month with U.S. President Donald Trump further cemented those hopes.
Washington’s Türkiye Ambassador Tom Barrack said in June that U.S. sanctions could be over by the year’s end.
Ankara is reportedly considering proposing a plan that could have included a U.S. presidential “waiver” to overcome the CAATSA sanctions and pave the way for an eventual resolution of the S-400 issue and F-35 purchase.
Despite boasting NATO’s second-largest army, Türkiye often faced arms embargoes in the past. That pushed it to significantly boost domestic capabilities and curb foreign dependence over the last two decades.
Today, it produces a wide range of vehicles and arms types domestically, including its own drones, missiles and naval vessels.
It’s own fifth-generation fighter jet, Kaan, is currently under development. Its mass production is expected to start in 2028.
The stealth fighter is sought to replace the Air Force’s aging F-16 fleet, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s.
