Germany approves delivery of 40 fighter jets to Türkiye

The German government has approved the delivery of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Türkiye, according to a report on Wednesday.

The German Federal Security Council approved Türkiye’s preliminary request for the 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported.

Türkiye’s request was submitted in March 2023 and the aircraft will be manufactured in the UK using parts supplied from Germany.

There has been pressure from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for Germany to approve the deal.

The Eurofighter is produced by a consortium that includes the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Without the approval of the German government, the other partners cannot export it to third countries.

During a joint news conference with Starmer in London last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: “We also discussed the issue of export licenses. There hasn’t been a final decision yet, but we’re on the way to a good decision that could also make a corresponding export license possible.”