TR Air-Force EF Typhoon

[IC3M@N FX]

That is correct, but the Technology and Expertise we have acquired – both Software and Hardware – are based on US technology from the late 200Xs, the development of which was completed in Turkey in 2015 as part of the CCIP programme.
The Tranche 4 Eurofighter is already based on technology from the 2020s – both hardware and software – from the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. This means that we have already reached the cutting edge of the Europeans’ 5th-Generation Technology without Stealth (Avionics, Communications, Radar, Sensorfusion etc.), at least as far as the Electronics and their Logic as a Fighter Aircraft are concerned, and how they define it. It will therefore serve as a Reference Platform (Benchmark) for the TAI KAAN.

Since the Tranche 2 P3Eb,
the Eurofighter has been a fully mature platform; with Tranches 3 and 4, it ranks among the world’s best 4.5+ generation fighter aircraft – probably ahead of the F-16, F-18, the Rafale and the SU-35S.

 

[Fatman17]

BAE Systems begins production of Turkish Eurofighter Typhoons

British workers have started building the first Eurofighter Typhoon jets Türkiye will actually fly, confirming a defense deal announced last October is now moving from paperwork into an actual factory floor. BAE Systems said manufacturing is already underway in the

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EFT production starts for TuAF

 

[Nutuk]

EF is in my opinion a severe investment that is not worth the money we pump in it.

The costs is not only the buying of the planes, we also have:
- to educate the pilots and ground crews
- adjust infrastructure
- buy a lot of weapons for these aircraft
- become partly dependent on EU nations


And for what? do we get them before 2030? NO! Deliveries are between 2030-32

It's a waste of valuable funds that can be better spend on Hurjet LCA / Kaan

 

[Pokemonte13]

EF is in my opinion a severe investment that is not worth the money we pump in it.

The costs is not only the buying of the planes, we also have:
- to educate the pilots and ground crews
- adjust infrastructure
- buy a lot of weapons for these aircraft
- become partly dependent on EU nations


And for what? do we get them before 2030? NO! Deliveries are between 2030-32

It's a waste of valuable funds that can be better spend on Hurjet LCA / Kaan

the investment depend on how many aircraft we will end up owning. There a huge fixed initial cost and variable cost if we were to buy the other 20 new aircraft the cost per airframe would go down and delivery would be before 2035 not to mention that Eurofighter will be more capable than any other jet in our inventory even kaan until it reaches full maturity. Hürjet LCA would only make sense once our F16 start leaving service or you want to prop up the numbers. Overall plan is still 400 manned platforms till 2040
230 F16
44-64 eurofighter
-+100 Kaan
Not enough room for LCA

 

[TR_123456]

the investment depend on how many aircraft we will end up owning. There a huge fixed initial cost and variable cost if we were to buy the other 20 new aircraft the cost per airframe would go down and delivery would be before 2035 not to mention that Eurofighter will be more capable than any other jet in our inventory even kaan until it reaches full maturity. Hürjet LCA would only make sense once our F16 start leaving service or you want to prop up the numbers. Overall plan is still 400 manned platforms till 2040
230 F16
44-64 eurofighter
-+100 Kaan
Not enough room for LCA

You sure about the F-16's till 2040?

 

[boredaf]

Hurjet LCA

You are overestimating the capabilities of Hürjet. It simply cannot replace F-16s or Eurofighter unless it is designed from ground up because it is first and foremost a trainer.

And, let's not forget, we don't have an engine for it, we don't even have an engine project for it and getting engines for a fighter jet would be harder than getting them for a trainer and make the entire plane dependent on others in the first place. Unless it is designed from scratch to use, perhaps, 2 TF10K, which would take too much time and too many resources for a questionable return.

 

[uçuyorum]

You are overestimating the capabilities of Hürjet. It simply cannot replace F-16s or Eurofighter unless it is designed from ground up because it is first and foremost a trainer.

And, let's not forget, we don't have an engine for it, we don't even have an engine project for it and getting engines for a fighter jet would be harder than getting them for a trainer and make the entire plane dependent on others in the first place. Unless it is designed from scratch to use, perhaps, 2 TF10K, which would take too much time and too many resources for a questionable return.

F404 acquisition likely wont be a problem since they gave us F110 for kaan now, for the time being at least.

 

[Nutuk]

There a huge fixed initial cost and variable cost if we were to buy the other 20 new aircraft the cost per airframe would go down and delivery would be before 2035 not to mention that Eurofighter will be more capable than any other jet in our inventory even kaan until it reaches full maturity.

Based on which assumption? I do not remember EF successes in major battles. Yes EF did some bombings over Iraq and Afganistan in coalition partner missions. But bombings are common for any fighter jet, nothing special.

When was the last time an EF shot another fighter jet out of the sky?

Eurofighter combat record:
No air-to-air combat against manned aircraft to date; has shot down several hostile drones (2024–26)

2011 Libya UK/Italy air to ground strike and reconnaissance only
2015 - 19 anti ISIS UK Precision air to ground strikes; no air to air combat
2024 - 25 drone defense UK destroyed several Iranian / Houthi drones


Sorry but EF combat record is very meager to say it will be better than the Kaan. I am not saying that it is a bad aircraft, maybe it did not get the chance to proof herself but everything points to that it is not worth the amount of resources we pour into this 4th generation jet while the rest of the world is pursuing 5th and 6th generation.

 

[Saithan]

Maybe you are right. Maybe Hürjet LCA is waiting for the success of KAAN. Once it's inducted to Service, I doubt they'd prevent selling 100 engines for Hürjet LCA version. Especially if the takeoff price is cheaper than alternatives. These are just guesses though.

But at the end of the day it is also a question of how versatile Hürjet is in its current airframe and what kind of armaments it can carry in LCA mode and for what roles.

Any big change would likely require a complete new airframe.

 

[Saithan]

Based on which assumption? I do not remember EF successes in major battles. Yes EF did some bombings over Iraq and Afganistan in coalition partner missions. But bombings are common for any fighter jet, nothing special.

When was the last time an EF shot another fighter jet out of the sky?

Eurofighter combat record:
No air-to-air combat against manned aircraft to date; has shot down several hostile drones (2024–26)

2011 Libya UK/Italy air to ground strike and reconnaissance only
2015 - 19 anti ISIS UK Precision air to ground strikes; no air to air combat
2024 - 25 drone defense UK destroyed several Iranian / Houthi drones


Sorry but EF combat record is very meager to say it will be better than the Kaan. I am not saying that it is a bad aircraft, maybe it did not get the chance to proof herself but everything points to that it is not worth the amount of resources we pour into this 4th generation jet while the rest of the world is pursuing 5th and 6th generation.

But I remember we talked that EF was going to replace our oldies F4, so I guess the knowledge and knowhow is going to be to similar extent and those bases that housed F4?

 

[Nutuk]

I agree, but seen the timeframe of deliveries (2030-32) and Kaan blk10 - 20 planned in that timeframe too someone needs a real good explanation why we throw out billions for a foreign fighter with all the dependencies, weapons integration limitations etc.

The primary idea was early induction of EF jets from Qatar and Oman.
Now if that is not going to happen (there is no single announcement when the planes would come) than what other advantages do we have buying these extra expensive planes from the UK???

If someone can explain it, be my guest!

 

[TurkWolf]

I agree, but seen the timeframe of deliveries (2030-32) and Kaan blk10 - 20 planned in that timeframe too someone needs a real good explanation why we throw out billions for a foreign fighter with all the dependencies, weapons integration limitations etc.

The primary idea was early induction of EF jets from Qatar and Oman.
Now if that is not going to happen (there is no single announcement when the planes would come) than what other advantages do we have buying these extra expensive planes from the UK???

If someone can explain it, be my guest!

Honestly, the only explanation that makes sense is that our leadership simply does not believe KAAN will be ready in time for the capability gap we’re facing. If they were fully confident that KAAN Block‑10 and Block‑20 would arrive on schedule and in meaningful numbers, there would be zero logic in spending billions on a foreign fighter with all the usual downsides ,dependency, integration limits, and long‑term cost.

So the EF purchase feels like a “better than nothing” insurance policy.

 

[maluus]

Honestly, the only explanation that makes sense is that our leadership simply does not believe KAAN will be ready in time for the capability gap we’re facing. If they were fully confident that KAAN Block‑10 and Block‑20 would arrive on schedule and in meaningful numbers, there would be zero logic in spending billions on a foreign fighter with all the usual downsides ,dependency, integration limits, and long‑term cost.

So the EF purchase feels like a “better than nothing” insurance policy.

You know, maybe leadership know things we don't know or have other things on their mind. But I'm sure they evaluated all the options and possibilities and decided accordingly

 

[Nutuk]

You know, maybe leadership know things we don't know or have other things on their mind. But I'm sure they evaluated all the options and possibilities and decided accordingly

Yep that is the only hope left.

EF against whom do we need it?
Iran? No need
Israel? insufficient
Greece? Well that's a bummer to buy aircraft from the EU to use against an EU member, good luck with that! We give them a reason not to deliver them at all, just like the UK did not deliver our ships in WW1


I don't know, hope indeed that our leadership has very valid reasons that no one else can see

 

[TurkWolf]

You know, maybe leadership know things we don't know or have other things on their mind. But I'm sure they evaluated all the options and possibilities and decided accordingly

Yep that is the only hope left.

EF against whom do we need it?
Iran? No need
Israel? insufficient
Greece? Well that's a bummer to buy aircraft from the EU to use against an EU member, good luck with that! We give them a reason not to deliver them at all, just like the UK did not deliver our ships in WW1


I don't know, hope indeed that our leadership has very valid reasons that no one else can see

To be honest, we don’t actually know the political calculations behind this purchase. It might not be purely about capability at all. It could easily be about signalling .basically showing the US that Türkiye has other options, other partners, and isn’t dependent on Washington’s games and annoyance. Spending money to annoy the US or remind them we’re not stuck with F‑16s might sound strange, but it’s one possible scenario behind closed doors.

Personally, I don’t fully agree with the stop‑gap logic. I don’t see any immediate threat that requires rushing to buy extremely expensive jets from the UK. And I don’t think we’re in a situation where we desperately need a temporary fleet to “hold the line.” But again, we don’t know what the leadership sees, what intelligence they have, or what political pressures they’re dealing with. All we can do is make educated guesses.

If I had to lean one way, I’d say the people in charge genuinely feel we need some kind of deterrence insurance in case KAAN slips, gets delayed, or doesn’t mature as fast as planned. That’s probably the safest explanation.

Not ideal, but a hedge against uncertainty.

 

[Zafer]

Once we have nailed the TF35k development we can ditch every foreign product acquisition, we will know in 2 years.

The next challenge the world is going to face is supply chain disruptions that will cause plans to collapse. No nation is immune to supply chain failures so promises given now may not be kept later. The solution is going for watered down or cheap systems that can be made inhouse. If you can't make the top notch you go for the easier.

EF Typhoon is a mistake that can turn into an opportunity, if we can get the second hand ones on the cheap it can be worth it otherwise it will be a mistake you can not avoid.

 

[Racim]

EF against whom do we need it?

hey i am new here so i might be wrong.
turkey is in a win - win situation with them buying EFT.

- they get a new squad of plane that will last longer and can put the surending country in a difficult place. much as greece rafale or russia su35. where a F-16 modernized would not hold in bvr.
- they also get acces to new weapons, they can easly learn the tech and use it for their own missile developement.
- not to forget the Captor mk2 radar can give them intrest in the wide angle type of radar.
- with the EFT engines. they will def try to copy it or learn 1 or 2 things from it.

not saying that the turkey AF is weak but a F-16 blk50 ot blk70 would not hold against a rafale or a su35. nor does it have the BVR power to do so.
even if that money was put into KAAN project, that will the AF with the f16s untils 2035 or so.