ANKARA: Turkiye is negotiating with Qatar and Oman to acquire used Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets as part of its effort to bolster its air force capabilities, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments released Friday.
Turkiye aims to purchase dozens of Eurofighters and other advanced jets as a stopgap measure to strengthen its fleet until its domestically developed fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet becomes operational.
In July, Turkiye and United Kingdom signed a preliminary agreement for the sale of Eurofighter Typhoons, which are produced by a consortium made up of the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. However, reports indicate that the Turkish government is also seeking to source secondhand jets from Gulf nations to meet its immediate needs.
“We discussed the ongoing negotiations with the Qatari and Omani sides regarding the purchase of Eurofighter warplanes,” Erdogan told journalists Thursday during a flight returning from a Gulf tour that included Qatar and Oman.
“The talks on this technically detailed matter are progressing positively,” he said, according to a transcript released Friday.
During his three-day tour of Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman, Erdogan oversaw the signing of several agreements, including in the defense sector, his office said, without providing details.
Turkiye, a member of NATO, is also pursuing the country’s return into the US-led F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was removed in 2019 following its acquisition of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems. The US had cited security risks to the F-35 program.
Erdogan raised the issue of Turkiye’s reentry into the program during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House last month.
Turkish officials have stated that the country plans to acquire a total of 120 fighter jets — 40 Eurofighters, 40 US-made F-16s and 40 F-35s — as a transitional fleet until the KAAN is expected to enter service in 2028 at the earliest.
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Turkiye in talks with Qatar and Oman to buy used Eurofighter jets, Erdogan says
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Turkiye in talks with Qatar and Oman to buy used Eurofighter jets, Erdogan says
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the talks in comments released Friday as part of a plan to strengthen Turkiye’s fleet until its domestically developed KAAN fighter jet becomes operational
Israeli attacks on Lebanon kill four, including security officer and child
- Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli strike on village of Yanuh in the south killed three people
- Israeli gunfire also killed one person in the border village of Aita Al-Shaab
BEIRUT: Israeli attacks on Lebanon killed four people on Monday including a Lebanese security forces member and his child, hours after the Israeli army seized a member of Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya.
Israel frequently strikes Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire aimed at ending more than a year of hostilities with militant group Hezbollah.
On Monday, Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on the village of Yanuh in the south killed three people.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted Ahmad Ali Salameh, who it alleged was Hezbollah’s head of artillery and had been working to restore the group’s capabilities.
In addition to Salameh, the strike killed a member of Lebanon’s security forces and his three-year-old child, who were passing by, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The Israeli military said the incident was “under review” after it was made “aware of the claim that uninvolved civilians were killed.”
Later on Monday, the health ministry reported that Israeli gunfire killed one person in the border village of Aita Al-Shaab, with the Israeli military saying it killed a Hezbollah member.
It alleged he was “gathering intelligence on (Israeli) troops and operated to rehabilitate Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”
In addition to recurring attacks, the Israeli army still has troops deployed on five border positions in Lebanon it deems strategic.
Monday’s incidents come hours after the Jamaa Islamiya group, an ally of Palestinian militants Hamas, accused Israel of seizing one of its officials, Atwi Atwi, from his home in the Hasbaya district, south Lebanon, and taking him to an unknown location.
The group, which has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel during the war with Hezbollah, condemned “the Israeli occupation forces’ infiltration.”
The Israeli military said that it “apprehended a senior terrorist” in the group who was then “transferred for further questioning in Israeli territory.”
Atwi’s capture came hours after Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam completed a two-day visit to the south, which suffered extensive damage during the conflict with Hezbollah, with thousands displaced.
Salam in a statement condemned Atwi’s “abduction,” calling it a “blatant attack on Lebanese sovereignty, a violation of the ceasefire agreement and “a breach of international law.”
Hezbollah meanwhile called on the state to “take deterrent measures and firm and clear positions, and to act immediately at all political, diplomatic and legal levels, and to work seriously to protect citizens.”
Lebanon accuses Israel of having abducted several other citizens since the start of the hostilities.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan said last month that Israel was holding “20 Lebanese prisoners,” alleging 10 had been abducted “inside Lebanese territory after the ceasefire.”
Lebanon says Israel must release these detainees and withdraw from the border positions it retains, in addition to halting air strikes on Lebanon.
Israel frequently strikes Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire aimed at ending more than a year of hostilities with militant group Hezbollah.
On Monday, Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on the village of Yanuh in the south killed three people.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted Ahmad Ali Salameh, who it alleged was Hezbollah’s head of artillery and had been working to restore the group’s capabilities.
In addition to Salameh, the strike killed a member of Lebanon’s security forces and his three-year-old child, who were passing by, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The Israeli military said the incident was “under review” after it was made “aware of the claim that uninvolved civilians were killed.”
Later on Monday, the health ministry reported that Israeli gunfire killed one person in the border village of Aita Al-Shaab, with the Israeli military saying it killed a Hezbollah member.
It alleged he was “gathering intelligence on (Israeli) troops and operated to rehabilitate Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”
In addition to recurring attacks, the Israeli army still has troops deployed on five border positions in Lebanon it deems strategic.
Monday’s incidents come hours after the Jamaa Islamiya group, an ally of Palestinian militants Hamas, accused Israel of seizing one of its officials, Atwi Atwi, from his home in the Hasbaya district, south Lebanon, and taking him to an unknown location.
The group, which has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel during the war with Hezbollah, condemned “the Israeli occupation forces’ infiltration.”
The Israeli military said that it “apprehended a senior terrorist” in the group who was then “transferred for further questioning in Israeli territory.”
Atwi’s capture came hours after Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam completed a two-day visit to the south, which suffered extensive damage during the conflict with Hezbollah, with thousands displaced.
Salam in a statement condemned Atwi’s “abduction,” calling it a “blatant attack on Lebanese sovereignty, a violation of the ceasefire agreement and “a breach of international law.”
Hezbollah meanwhile called on the state to “take deterrent measures and firm and clear positions, and to act immediately at all political, diplomatic and legal levels, and to work seriously to protect citizens.”
Lebanon accuses Israel of having abducted several other citizens since the start of the hostilities.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan said last month that Israel was holding “20 Lebanese prisoners,” alleging 10 had been abducted “inside Lebanese territory after the ceasefire.”
Lebanon says Israel must release these detainees and withdraw from the border positions it retains, in addition to halting air strikes on Lebanon.
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