A week may be left from the meeting of the leaders of Greece and Turkey and their government ministers at the High Cooperation Council of the two countries that will take place in Athens, but the "neighbours" are "sleeping and waking up" with anxiety over the acquisition of Eurofighter aircraft after German Chancellor Solts' door on the issue.
Britain has taken it upon itself to persuade Solts on the issue of selling Eurofighters to Turkey
Turkish media reports citing sources in his country's Ministry of Defence that Britain will help Ankara overcome the obstacles Germany is putting up to the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey.
The same sources recalled that the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets came on the agenda during the meeting between Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and his British counterpart Grant Shapps in Ankara last week and that London has fulfilled its promise to Turkey on this issue, saying it intervened to persuade Germany.
Turkey wants to procure 40 latest-generation Eurofighter aircraft, 20 initially and another 20 later.
The sources also said that all technical studies for the F-16s have been completed and a decision from the US Congress is awaited.
Terror for the Meteor missiles of the Greek RAFALE
Another Turkish media outlet points out on the subject that to avoid a weakness in its air force, Turkey plans to add the 40 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to its inventory in 2026, about two years before Greece acquires F-35 fighters in 2028.
Greece had ordered 24 Rafale fighter jets from France. According to information from open sources, 8 Rafale aircraft were delivered to Greece, including two new and six used.
Greece applied to the US for 24 F-35s in late 2019. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, "We will receive the first F-35s in 2028."
The Turkish Air Force has 244 F-16s with Block 30, Block 40 and Block 50 levels. If the US approves the sale of 40 F-16s and 79 Block 70-level modernization kits, the number of Block 70-level aircraft will be 119.
However, even if the sale of 40 aircraft is approved, there is a possibility that these aircraft, which will be produced in the US, will take longer to reach Turkey and enter the inventory.
By choosing to add 40 Eurofighter Typhoons to its inventory in two batches, Turkey was aiming to close the vulnerability that could arise from Greece's possession of F-35 and Rafale aircraft.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is capable of launching Meteor-Beyond Visible Air to Air missiles. It was announced that the Meteor missile used by Greece on its Rafale aircraft has a range of 200 km.
Turkey lags behind in this range with the air-to-air missile capability of its F-16 fleet.
The Turkish Air Force plans to balance this strength acquired by Greece in air-to-air combat scenarios by having the Meteor missile and the Eurofighter aircraft that will launch it next season.
If Turkey acquires Eurofihter these will join its Air Force in 2026
According to information obtained by Milliyet, the first batch of aircraft will be delivered soon.
Training of fighter pilots and ground maintenance crew before and after flight will also be completed within 2 years.
Thus, Eurofihter aircraft are planned to be actively integrated into the Air Force fleet in 2026.
With this planning, Turkey will have thwarted the temporary air superiority scenario that Greece plans to create with its Rafale and F-35 warplanes, especially from 2028 onwards.
Finally, sources said they are working at high speed to ensure that the Kaan national fighter aircraft will soon make its first flight and enter the Turkish Armed Forces' inventory.
Greece talks to Turkey from a position of strength
The above largely explains Turkey's change of heart and the fact that it is coming to the dialogue table with Greece.
This is perhaps the first time in the last 50 years that Turkey has been so isolated, maintaining poor relations with the US-Israel-EU, in contrast to Greece, which has maintained the best relations in recent years.
Moreover, it is understood that even in the best case scenario for the Turks, that they will succeed in acquiring the Eurofighter, their integration into their Air Force will take place in 2026, which for the next two years makes the Greek Air Force dominant in the Aegean and SE Mediterranean.
Following this, the Mitsotakis government will have to come to the Greek-Turkish talks with a "new air" and without delay reach the resolution of hot issues with Turkey, such as the delimitation of the continental shelf and the EEZ.
