Germany has blocked the sale of Eurofighter jets to Turkey due to the detention of Erdogan’s main opponent

Germany has once again blocked the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey due to the detention of Istanbul’s opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

This is reported by the TurDef publication.

According to information available to TurDef, Germany has vetoed the planned export of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Turkey, citing democratic problems in the country.

The interim federal government, now headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has blocked the delivery of about 40 Typhoon fighters that Turkey wanted to purchase to upgrade its fleet of combat aircraft.

The blocking was the second time Turkey has attempted to purchase the aircraft, despite pressure from Italy and the United Kingdom, which are seeking the contract to support local Typhoon production and assembly facilities.

The aircraft could potentially be exported to BAE Systems’ main facility in Wharton, where production and assembly for export customers such as Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and others were carried out.

It should be noted that Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and one of Turkey’s leading opposition politicians, intended to run for president.

In March 2025, despite his arrest, Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), officially nominated Imamoglu as a presidential candidate in the 2028 elections.

This was the reason for the new blockade, as Germany had previously expressed concern about human rights violations and Turkey’s military operations against Kurdish forces (YPG/PKK), which in some cases were supported by the US coalition.

There were fears that Eurofighter warplanes could be used to strike civilians or allied Kurdish forces.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that Turkey had submitted a request to purchase 40 Typhoon fighters from BAE Systems.

The request was sent to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense, which is to decide on the sale of the aircraft and the export of British technology to Turkey.