Royal Air Force’s two Eurofighter fighter jets landed today at the Mürted Air Field Command in Ankara. This marks the second appearance with 19 years of interval.
Eurofighter fighter jets showed capacity in Ankara for the second time after approximately 19 years. The Eurofighter consortium offered this aircraft to the Turkish Air Force in 2005 when Turkiye was a member of the JSF program, but the F-35A had not yet made its maiden flight. Italy represented the consortium at the time. One aircraft participated in the IDEF held at the Hippodrome in Ankara and performed a demonstration flight. A horse died of a heart attack due to the engine noise of this aircraft.
The Turkish Air Force rejected the offer because the aircraft was considered expensive, had insufficient air-ground capability and a high failure rate. Eurofighter’s first version was called Tranche 1 and was designed for air interceptor missions.
Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler recently stated that two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets participating in the exercise in Qatar would come to Turkiye on their way back to the country and be inspected by Turkish authorities. The planes entered Turkish airspace today and landed in Mürted.
At the same time, Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler met with the United Kingdom Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence for Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle, who visited Ankara.
On the other hand, the planes were welcomed by Air Force Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, Deputy Minister Şuay Alpay and military personnel on duty.
