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The chief executive of the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium said Türkiye's $10.7 billion order for the fourth-generation fighter jet could trigger additional export contracts worth billions more, potentially reshaping the program's future production outlook.
Türkiye's initial purchase of 20 aircraft "may have a wake-up call effect with the rest of the nations," Eurofighter CEO Jorge Tamarit Degenhardt told Breaking Defense on the sidelines of the International Fighter conference Wednesday. He added that the order could expand further under an agreement signed with Britain at the International Defense Industry Fair.
Degenhardt said the consortium now expects pending export campaigns to materialize across multiple countries. "We would be expecting all other export campaigns to materialize — Saudi [Arabia], Qatar, Portugal, Austria. Let's see," he said. The company is also pursuing new business with Poland.
According to an infographic presented at the conference, potential new export opportunities spanning Austria, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Qatar total 134 aircraft. If those contracts are secured, export orders would exceed purchases by Eurofighter's home nations of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The consortium currently maintains a backlog of 157 jets, Degenhardt said this week. He noted the program "could [eventually] reach a critical mass of backlog" as additional orders arrive.
Eurofighter has been working toward an ambitious production increase, targeting 30 aircraft annually by 2028—more than double current output. That expansion hinges on finalizing new export contracts, Degenhardt told Breaking Defense and other media in June.
The sales push comes as European nations recapitalize their combat fleets amid Russia's war against Ukraine and heightened security concerns following Moscow's series of drone incursions across the continent. With the exception of the UK, all Eurofighter home nations have placed new orders recently.
When the consortium set out in 2023 to secure 150 to 200 new aircraft contracts—a target that drew skepticism—Degenhardt said the plan "was structured" despite appearing "optimistic" to outside observers. "It's not based on dreams," he added.
As European air forces work to integrate the Eurofighter with Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II, Degenhardt described the pairing as conceptually offering "very synergetic operation." He envisioned the F-35 conducting Suppression of Enemy Air Defense missions while the Typhoon operates in an "assassin role" delivering strike capabilities.
However, he cautioned that "interoperability needs to be developed, even from the technical aspects" for effective joint operations.
The consortium has begun "preliminary discussions" with the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, its management body and contracting authority, about reforming existing contract models. The proposed changes could include regulatory and framework updates aimed at reducing supply chain lead times, Degenhardt said.
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