The United Kingdom and Türkiye have signed a contract worth up to £8 billion for 20 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, with Downing Street stating the order will sustain around 20,000 skilled jobs across the UK supply chain. The government describes it as the first new UK Typhoon export order since 2017 and says the first delivery to Türkiye is expected in 2030. Ministers also frame the agreement as strengthening NATO’s collective deterrence and interoperability.
The deal was concluded on 27 October during Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first visit to Ankara, following a programme that included engagements with Turkish and RAF Typhoon pilots and a wreath-laying at Anıtkabir. The official announcement emphasised closer UK–Türkiye security cooperation in a strategically sensitive region.
According to the government, 37% of each Typhoon will be manufactured in the UK. Final assembly and significant airframe work will take place at BAE Systems in Warton and Samlesbury; Rolls‑Royce in Bristol will produce modules for the EJ200 engines and act as the hub for engine support; and Leonardo in Edinburgh will supply the aircraft’s radar. The programme supports thousands of roles in Lancashire, the South West and Scotland.
Officials have also linked the contract to continuity on the UK final‑assembly line. Industry reporting over the summer noted a pause in Typhoon assembly at Warton amid order gaps; the government now says the Turkish order secures the line for years ahead. While commercial details are not disclosed, the production profile implied by a 2030 first delivery suggests long‑lead items will begin moving into the pipeline in the near term.
For NATO, the UK argues the purchase will enhance fast‑jet mass on the Alliance’s southern flank and improve joint operations. Typhoons already underpin RAF tasks from NATO Air Policing to UK Quick Reaction Alert and Operation Shader; a Turkish Typhoon fleet would train and operate alongside allied jets using common munitions and mission data standards.
Export licensing remains a formal step. UK defence exports require authorisations issued by the Export Control Joint Unit under the Export Control Act 2002 and Export Control Order 2008, assessed against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria adopted in December 2021. For complex military exports, ECJU targets decisions on most Standard Individual Export Licence applications within 20–60 working days, though sensitive cases can take longer.
Because Eurofighter is a four‑nation programme, partner approvals are also relevant. German consent-reported on 23 July via its Federal Security Council-cleared a principal hurdle for deliveries to Türkiye and reduced programme risk ahead of final contracting milestones.
The announcement sits within a wider UK–Germany defence and industrial framework agreed in July 2025, where the two governments committed to deepen cooperation and boost joint defence exports. Earlier in the year, London and Berlin also set out work on a new long‑range strike capability under the Trinity House Agreement, signalling a broader alignment on defence industrial policy.
The delivery timeline points to training, infrastructure and in‑service support packages being sequenced over the second half of the decade. The government has not published details of weapons or support equipment in this release; any associated munitions and mission systems would be licensed separately under the same statutory criteria.
For the domestic industrial base, the Turkish order arrives as the UK seeks to maintain sovereign fast‑jet design and manufacturing skills ahead of the Global Combat Air Programme entering service in the mid‑2030s. The Typhoon line provides near‑term workload for BAE Systems, Rolls‑Royce and Leonardo while GCAP advances in parallel.
Today’s announcement follows Norway’s late‑summer decision to select UK Type 26 frigates in a separate £10 billion partnership, which the government says will support around 4,000 UK jobs. Taken together, ministers present these outcomes as evidence of a push to make defence an engine of growth while tightening allied defence ties.
Parliamentary oversight of licensing continues alongside the industrial activity. The Commons Business and Trade Sub‑Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls is responsible for scrutinising licensing policy and practice, and may examine the government’s handling of large, sensitive exports as data becomes available.