Starmer signs £8bn Typhoon jet deal with Turkey

The UK has agreed to sell 20 Typhoon jets to Turkey in a deal worth up to £8 billion.

Sir Keir Starmer signed the deal during a visit to Ankara on Monday, describing it as “a win for British workers, a win for our defence industry, and a win for Nato security”.

The agreement is the largest fighter jet deal in almost 20 years and the first new order for UK Typhoons since 2017, helping support thousands of British jobs.

Sir Keir said the deal also represented a boost for Nato security, telling broadcasters in Turkey: “Having that capability locked in with the United Kingdom is really important for Nato.”

Monday’s deal represents the conclusion of long-running discussions, with Ankara reported to have been seeking to buy Typhoons since 2023.

Memorandum of understanding

In July, Defence Secretary John Healey signed a memorandum of understanding with his Turkish counterpart paving the way for the export deal after Germany reportedly signed up to the agreement.

The jets, also known as Eurofighters, are produced in a partnership between the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Around 37% of the production takes place in the UK, including final assembly at BAE Systems plants in Warton and Samlesbury, near Preston, Lancashire.

Downing Street said the Typhoon programme directly supported nearly 6,000 jobs at the two plants, with Monday’s deal saving the Warton production line.

The programme also supported more than 1,100 jobs in the South West of England, including at the Rolls-Royce plant in Bristol, and 800 jobs in Scotland.

Mr Healey said: “This is another major export deal for the UK and is the biggest jet exports deal in a generation.

“It will pump billions of pounds into our economy and keep British Typhoon production lines turning long into the future.

“This deal goes far beyond the procurement of aircraft.

“It is the leading edge of the growing defence and industrial partnership between our two nations.”

40 jets

Previous reporting suggested the UK would agree to provide 40 jets, rather than the 20 announced on Monday.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said 20 jets was “still a significant number” and it was “a decision for the Turks in terms of future orders based on their operational requirements”.

The first delivery of the new jets is expected to take place in 2030.

Sir Keir’s visit to Ankara is his first trip to Turkey since becoming Prime Minister, although he has met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan several times at international summits.

During his visit, the Prime Minister laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish Republic, before finalising the Typhoon deal at the presidential palace in Ankara.

In their meeting, the pair also discussed the ceasefire in Gaza and the war in Ukraine.

And they agreed to relaunch Tatli Dil, a UK-Turkey forum to “bring together government, business and scientists to forge new relationships between the two countries”, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.

But Amnesty International urged the Prime Minister to “carefully consider the human rights records of countries like Turkey the UK does business with”.

Arguing that a “massive crackdown on human rights” was taking place in the country, Amnesty’s foreign affairs director Polly Truscott said the group “urges Keir Starmer to use this opportunity to question the disturbing state of human rights in Turkey and to ensure UK business dealings don’t exacerbate or provide diplomatic cover for human rights abuses”.