BERLIN
Airbus Defence and Space CEO Michael Schoellhorn said talks on selling Eurofighter jets to Türkiye are approaching the final stages, and he's very optimistic the negotiations will soon conclude successfully.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu, Schoellhorn said Germany's past reservations about the sale of Eurofighters have been overcome, and the new coalition government led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made clear it will not block the sale.
“Well, I think in terms of the German export control discussions, those are a thing of the past,” Schoellhorn said, referring to years of German domestic political debate. “The German government has stated very clearly: we will not be blocking, we support the idea of delivering Eurofighters to Türkiye. So that, I think, is done,” he stressed.
Schoellhorn said the talks are approaching final stages, with BAE Systems -- the UK partner in the Eurofighter consortium -- now leading negotiations with Ankara for the sale of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets.
“Now it's a commercial and technical discussion that takes place between Eurofighter -- in this case led by BAE Systems, our partner in the Eurofighter consortium -- and the Turkish state,” the CEO said, adding that he's very optimistic the talks with Ankara will conclude successfully soon.
Türkiye, which maintains NATO's second-largest military force, plans to acquire 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets -- multi-role combat aircraft jointly manufactured by the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
The talks stalled over the past few years as Germany's previous Social Democrat-led coalition government had reservations about the sale, largely due to the opposition from its coalition partner, the Greens.
When Chancellor Friedrich Merz formed a new government in May, however, the policy shifted. His Conservatives emphasized the need to scale up Europe's defense industry and strengthen NATO's capabilities amid new geopolitical challenges.
Long-term cooperation
Schoellhorn said the Eurofighter deal could establish a long-term partnership with Türkiye, as they scale up production and develop more advanced models with new technologies.
“Eurofighter is more than just an aircraft. There’s a system behind it. There's a weapon set behind it. There is, in the future, connectivity that's coming with it. There will be man-unmanned teaming solutions,” Schoellhorn said, referring to new technology that enables collaboration between a human pilot and an AI-controlled or autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle.
“So I think if Türkiye becomes part of the Eurofighter club, if I may say, there are a lot of user groups that we have where the users come together, they exchange ideas, you learn together, you learn faster. And we interface as an industry with these user groups so that we can provide solutions that the users really want. So it's much more than just buying an aircraft,” he said.
Eurofighter Typhoon jets are currently used by five European countries -- the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Austria -- and four Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.
CEO Schoellhorn, who served as a helicopter pilot in the German military before joining the defense industry, said he has had many opportunities throughout his career to visit Turkish industries and collaborate with Turkish partners. He said he was impressed by the successes of the Turkish aerospace and defense industries.
“I have learned by myself the capabilities and the skills of the Turkish industry in general. So that's an asset to have. Now, Türkiye has invested a lot into defense and that's being seen,” Schoellhorn said.
“We are actually already collaborating, for instance, with my Spanish part of Airbus. We are collaborating with Türkiye on the jet trainer, on the Hurjet that will be bought likely by Spain and we are in discussions on how we can do that together,” he added, referring to Spain's plan to purchase the Hurjet jet trainer, which is manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).
'Europe cannot solely depend on US’
Schoellhorn, who has led Airbus Defence and Space since 2021, emphasized that European governments must increase defense spending and facilitate Europe-wide collaboration, as recent geopolitical developments have shown that Europe faces genuine threats and cannot rely exclusively on the US for its defense and security.
"I think the European governments have realized in what situation Europe is, security-wise. I think they have also realized that they cannot solely depend on the US," Schoellhorn said. "The US might be having to do something else, so Europe needs to ramp it up. And that's happening.”
He noted that defense spending and financial resources for the industry have increased in recent years, but emphasized that a more strategic approach and coordinated policies are still needed.
"When it comes to agreeing on what the strategic priorities are, what should the money go to first? Is there a plan behind it? I think there is still discussion needed. Because obviously, we can't do everything in a few years that was not done in 30 years. But I think we are on a good track."
The German CEO also expressed hope for closer cooperation between European and Turkish defense industries, which has been limited in recent years due to political differences and objections from several EU members -- specifically Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration -- to including Türkiye in joint EU defense procurement programs.
“Industry is not the one to decide what the politicians should deal amongst themselves. I think these should be resolved by discussion,” Schoellhorn said. “Türkiye is not part of the EU, but Türkiye is a member of NATO. And as such, there should be a way and a route for collaboration.”
