ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim on Wednesday as Ankara seeks to acquire some of Doha’s used Eurofighter Typhoon jets, according to a Turkish security source.

Erdogan arrived in Doha from Kuwait on Tuesday.

“Turkiye has been trying to negotiate to acquire some of Qatar’s used Eurofighters,” the source said.

“In exchange, Turkiye has offered access to its new-generation fighter jet, the Kaan, as part of a potential technology transfer arrangement.” So far “no concrete progress” had been made with the negotiations still ongoing, the source added.

Turkiye wants to modernise its air force and has in recent years sought to buy 40 new Eurofighter Typhoons built by a four-nation consortium of Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The move came after Washington booted Ankara out of its F-35 fighter programme in 2019 over Turkiye’s purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defence system.

The purchase had raised fears it would give Nato’s main adversary a window into Western jet operations.

Strategic bluff

Some defence observers see Ankara’s push to acquire the Eurofighters as a “strategic bluff” aimed at putting pressure on Washington to readmit it to its fighter jet programme.

“For Turkiye, the priority remains the F-16 and F-35 programmes,” the Turkish source said.

In May, Erdogan expressed confidence that the sanctions would quickly end, and his meeting last month with US President Donald Trump further cemented those hopes.

Washington’s Turkey Ambassador Tom Barrack said in June that US sanctions were likely to be over by the year’s end.

But the Turkish source said it was likely to take a bit longer.

“Due to the current political gridlock in the US Congress, progress on these deals is unlikely before the new year.”

In 2017, Qatar placed an order for 24 Eurofighter jets, and in December, Doha reportedly said it was looking to acquire another 12 more, according to several defence news outlets.­

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2025