Turkey pressing for Western fighter

22/10/2025 15:24

Anxious to bolster its air power, Turkey has proposed to European partners and the U.S. ways it could swiftly obtain advanced fighter jets as it seeks to make up ground on regional rivals such as Israel.



NATO-member Turkey, which has the alliance's second-largest military, aims to leverage its best relations with the West in years to add to its ageing fleet 40 Eurofighter Typhoons, for which it inked a preliminary agreement in July, and later also U.S.-made F-35 jets, despite Washington sanctions that currently block any deal.



Strikes by Israel - the Middle East's most advanced military with hundreds of U.S.-supplied F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighters - on Turkey's neighbours Iran and Syria, as well as on Lebanon and Qatar, unnerved Ankara in the last year.



They laid bare key vulnerabilities, prompting its push for rapid air power reinforcement to counter any potential threats and not be left exposed.



Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has sharply criticised Israel's attacks on Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East and once warm relations between the two countries have sunk to new lows.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Turkey's bases, rebel allies and support for the army in Syria posed a threat to Israel.