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Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic welcomed the Türkiye-U.K. Eurofighter deal in a written statement on Tuesday, following the signing of a cooperation agreement between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday in Ankara.
"We welcome the agreement between the Republic of Türkiye and the UK on the export of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Türkiye," Erginbilgic said in a statement, adding, "This demonstrates the Defense Industrial Strategy’s focus on the combat air sector and growing U.K. exports, while strengthening Türkiye's defense industry."
Rolls-Royce is part of the EUROJET consortium, which supplies the EJ200 engine, manufactured in Bristol, for the Typhoon.
"The Typhoon is the backbone of combat air fleets across the globe, and we are proud to power this critical capability through our participation in the EUROJET consortium that supplies the Bristol-built EJ200 engine," Erginbilgic said.
"Continued investment and support for the Typhoon program not only enhances national security for our customers worldwide but also sustains thousands of jobs in the U.K. This will boost the skills base and supply chain our world-leading defense industry relies upon and provide the foundations for the next generation of combat air," he concluded.
The Türkiye-U.K. Eurofighter deal marks a new milestone in bilateral defense relations, with President Erdogan describing the agreement as a "new sign of Türkiye-U.K. strategic relations" and asserting that it will pave the way for joint defense projects.
Erdogan thanked Starmer and his team for their work within the Eurofighter Consortium, also expressing appreciation to the leaders of other allied countries in the consortium for their constructive approach.
Speaking at a joint news conference, Prime Minister Starmer said the agreement "will bolster security across NATO, deepen our bilateral defense cooperation, and boost economic growth here and in the United Kingdom, securing 20,000 British jobs."
Following the meeting, Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler told reporters that Türkiye plans to acquire Eurofighter Typhoon jets from several countries, including 20 from the U.K. and 12 each from Qatar and Oman.
Guler added the jets from Qatar could potentially arrive early next year.
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