Eurofighter for Turkey: assembly of the first jet begins in Britain, with a Turkish Air Force delegation on the production line

Construction of the first Eurofighter Typhoon for Turkey has begun. BAE Systems announced on Thursday, November 5 that the forward fuselage of the aircraft is already being assembled at its facilities in northern England. It is the first of the 20 new Typhoons the Turkish Air Force will receive, a year after Ankara signed the contract to become the tenth user nation of the fighter.

As the British company says in a post on X, the work is not only done in Britain. Critical components are also built in the other countries of the Eurofighter consortium, while Airbus Defence and Space in Germany makes the centre fuselage of the first Turkish aircraft itself.

A Turkish Air Force delegation at Samlesbury

A delegation of the Turkish Air Force recently visited BAE Systems’ production facility at Samlesbury in Lancashire to see for itself how the project is progressing. The company also published a photo of the visit, showing delegation members being shown around the production line.

Dave Ward, BAE Systems’ vice president for Turkey, spoke of an “exciting moment for the programme”. The progress, he said, shows the Turkish customer that European defence industry is working hard to keep its commitments. “Typhoon will be a core frontline fighter for Turkey, further strengthening its position as the backbone of NATO’s fighter air power, and this new milestone is an important step towards making that a reality,” he added.

What it means for the Aegean

For Ankara the Eurofighter is the main solution for filling the gap in its fighter fleet while issues remain open over the F-35 and the engines of the domestic KAAN fighter; see our report on the F-35 and KAAN. In Athens the programme is watched closely, chiefly for the weapons that will accompany the aircraft, with long-range Meteor air-to-air missiles at the centre of Greek concerns. Greece already has Rafales armed with Meteor and is awaiting its first F-35s.

By joining the programme, Turkey was added to the countries that have chosen the Typhoon: the four consortium nations (Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain), Austria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. At Samlesbury BAE Systems builds fuselage sections, while final assembly of the aircraft the company produces takes place at Warton, also in Lancashire. For the company, the start of forward-fuselage assembly is the latest milestone of a programme that has just completed its first year.