Türkiye is training its first Typhoon pilots in the United Kingdom while BAE Systems launches production of the 20 fighters expected starting in 2030.
Summary
Türkiye’s Eurofighter program enters a concrete phase. On September 27, 2026, the Royal Air Force announced the arrival at RAF Coningsby of the first two Turkish pilots called to fly the Typhoon. Their operational conversion with 29 Squadron could last nine months, before three additional months of instructor training. They will then remain in the United Kingdom to train other crews until the delivery of the first new aircraft in 2030. In total, ten Turkish instructor pilots and nearly 100 maintenance trainers are to be prepared in the United Kingdom. In parallel, BAE Systems confirms that manufacturing of the 20 Eurofighter Typhoons ordered by Ankara has already begun in the United Kingdom and in the other partner countries of the program. This training four years ahead of initial deliveries demonstrates that Türkiye is not merely preparing the purchase of a new aircraft. It is already building the human, technical, and industrial ecosystem necessary for its operation.
Türkiye Begins Training Its First Typhoon Pilots
The aircraft will not arrive before 2030. Yet its first pilots are already training.
The Royal Air Force announced on September 27 that two experienced pilots from the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri had joined RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to begin their conversion to the Eurofighter Typhoon.
They are assigned to 29 Squadron, the RAF’s Operational Conversion Unit tasked with transforming already qualified combat pilots into operational Typhoon pilots.
The timeline will be long. The conversion could take up to nine months. It will be followed by three additional months dedicated to instructor qualification.
The first few weeks will not be immediately dedicated to air combat. The pilots will first study the Typhoon’s systems, British procedures, and the operation of the United Kingdom’s military airspace before their initial flights.
The schedule is telling. Approximately one year will be required to transform these pilots into instructors. They will then remain with 29 Squadron until the arrival of the first Turkish Typhoons.
Training is therefore beginning more than three years before delivery.
Training Aims Above All to Make Türkiye Autonomous
Training two pilots so early might seem excessively premature. That is not the case.
The objective is to establish an initial national core capable of subsequently transmitting these skills to the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri.
These two pilots represent only the beginning of the setup. Under the agreements made with the British government, the RAF is to train ten Turkish instructor pilots.
Nearly 100 personnel responsible for training maintenance teams are also scheduled to pass through the United Kingdom.
This is an essential aspect of an air combat program. Buying a modern fighter does not consist of acquiring twenty airframes. One must simultaneously train pilots, mechanics, avionics specialists, armorers, and technicians responsible for propulsion or electronic equipment.
It is also necessary to have simulators, spare parts, technical documentation, and a support architecture.
BAE Systems received a specific contract covering this environment in March 2026. It notably covers spare parts and support equipment, pilot and engineer training, high-fidelity simulators, electronic warfare capabilities, and initial technical support for three years following entry into service.
The actual Turkish program is therefore much broader than the twenty aircraft visible on the contract.
Production of the Twenty Fighters Has Already Begun
The second major element of the announcement is industrial.
BAE Systems confirms that manufacturing of the Turkish aircraft is already underway in the United Kingdom and in the various Eurofighter partner countries.
Initial deliveries remain scheduled for 2030.
The Typhoon is specifically designed around a multinational industrial organization. The four historical partner countries are the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain. BAE Systems, Airbus, and Leonardo share the primary industrial responsibilities.
For the Turkish aircraft, BAE Systems acts as the prime contractor. The British company is responsible for manufacturing major airframe sections, integrating weapons, and conducting final assembly at Warton, Lancashire.
More than a third of each Typhoon is produced in the United Kingdom. The rest of the aircraft relies on the Eurofighter supply chain distributed across the partner nations.
This structure explains why launching production of a Typhoon means mobilizing several European industrial chains well ahead of final assembly.
The Turkish order also contributes to extending activity at British facilities into the 2030s. BAE Systems estimates that the Typhoon program supports over 20,000 jobs in the United Kingdom.
The Turkish Contract Far Exceeds the Price of the Aircraft
The various amounts announced can cause confusion.
In October 2025, the United Kingdom and Türkiye signed an agreement worth approximately 5.4 billion British pounds for twenty Eurofighter Typhoons along with a suite of armaments and integration.
BAE Systems estimated at the time that its own share of the program would represent approximately 4.6 billion pounds.
The package notably included MBDA’s Meteor long-range air-to-air missiles.
The RAF now presents the overall agreement with Türkiye as representing over 8 billion British pounds, or roughly 9 billion euros depending on exchange rates. This broader scope includes the aircraft, but also the armaments, support, and training necessary for their operation.
Simply comparing this amount to the number of fighters would therefore give a misleading image of the unit cost.
A substantial portion of the value rests on the capabilities that enable the aircraft to fight and remain mission-ready throughout their service life.
The Typhoon Becomes a New Pillar of the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri
Türkiye will become the tenth user nation of the Eurofighter Typhoon following the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar.
The acquisition gives Ankara access to a twin-engine aircraft designed from the outset for air superiority missions and progressively transformed into a multirole fighter.
The Typhoon features two Eurojet EJ200 engines each delivering approximately 60 kN of dry thrust and 90 kN with postcombustion. It can exceed Mach 2 at altitude and combine air-to-air combat, ground strikes, and air defense missions.
The value of the system, however, no longer stems solely from its aerodynamic performance.
The current Eurofighter has become a deeply digital platform. New evolutions focus on active electronically scanned array radars, electronic warfare, communications, and the integration of long-range armaments.
Türkiye is thus acquiring a system that continues to evolve, rather than an architecture frozen at the technological level of the Typhoon’s initial entry into service.
The Timeline Reveals the Difficulty of Creating a Combat Fleet
The most instructive insight this week is ultimately not that two Turkish pilots are at RAF Coningsby.
It is that they will remain there for several years.
Following their qualification, they will themselves serve as instructors with 29 Squadron while awaiting the arrival of the Turkish aircraft. When the first airframes roll off the line at Warton, Türkiye will thus already possess personnel who have accumulated several years of experience in the Typhoon environment.
This approach reduces the risk of a classic problem when introducing a new aircraft: receiving airframes while training and maintenance structures are not yet sufficiently mature.
A fighter without technicians or instructors remains a grounded aircraft.
That is why the program launched at Coningsby matters almost as much as factory production.
Initial deliveries remain scheduled for 2030. But for the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri, the transition to the Eurofighter Typhoon has already begun.