How is Turkey’s study to buy used Eurofighters explained
OF MANOS CHARALAMPAKI – SOURCE: THE NEWS – [Μετατροπή σε κείμενο: ]
Even the purchase of second-hand Eurofighter Typhoon fighters is being rapidly investigated by Ankara, since it finds that Greece, even with the six Rafales it has already acquired, will be able to outperform Turkey state by state and not only in the air.
Turkey’s study to immediately acquire not new Eurofighters, but used ones, in order to be able to quickly join operational missions, reveals the concern of the Turkish officials for the great quality upgrade of the Greek Armed Forces.
It is noted that the Air Force has purchased a total of 24 Rafale fighters and the first six have arrived since last January in Tanagra and will soon be 100% operational. With the advanced radar that they will have, they will be able to engage multiple targets in the Aegean, while of course it should not be forgotten that they have weapons capable of inflicting significant blows from very long distances.
Under these conditions, the Turks have realized that soon Greece will excel in the air of the Aegean but will also be able to lock large areas at sea and on land thanks to the Rafale’s trump cards. That is why they are considering alternative scenarios in case they fail to upgrade their fighters or eventually acquire new F-16s from the US. Recently, Ankara has been trying to capitalize on its good relations with Britain with the aim of immediately including used Eurofighter Typhoon fighters in its Air Force.
The purchase of new fighters would require more procedures and time, which is why it is estimated that Ankara wants to avoid it and focuses on second-hand ones. Of course, it should be pointed out that even this solution will not bring immediate results for the Turkish air force. And this is because – if the purchase of the Eurofighters is finally qualified – it will be the first time that Turkey will have fighters from another country besides the USA. In other words, it will have to acquire the know-how and enter into other maintenance and infrastructure processes.
The truth is that Ankara does not have many options to acquire a fighter with higher capabilities than the F-16s it already has. The Eurofighter Typhoon seems to cover it, since it is a fighter quite similar to the Rafale. It is a multi-role aircraft, like the Rafale, that is, and it is classified among the fighters between the 4th and 5th generations (4,5). One of its strengths is that it has a higher thrust/weight ratio.
This means that he can accelerate faster and thus becomes very effective in interceptions. It is also considered more flexible thanks to its design. However, experts report that the Rafale is better in one-on-one dogfights. In terms of flight costs, Rafales seem to be more economical. One hour of flight for a Rafale is estimated at 28,000 dollars, while for a Eurofighter Typhoon at 32,400 dollars.
