The pilots, both experienced combat aviators, are training with 29 Squadron, the RAF unit responsible for Typhoon conversion. That course could last up to nine months, with a further three months of instructor training to follow.
The plan is for both pilots to remain with the squadron as instructors after graduation, until the first new Typhoons are delivered to Türkiye in 2030. They will initially study the aircraft’s systems and UK military airspace procedures before flying their first sortie.
“It was an honour to welcome the first two Turkish Air Force pilots as they engage on their conversion training onto the Eurofighter Typhoon, where they will operate side by side with Royal Air Force personnel,” said Group Captain Batu, programme director of the Türkiye Programme Management Office. “They will spend the initial weeks of training learning Typhoon systems, and the procedures used in UK military airspace before they launch on their first sortie.”
The Ministry of Defence said the contract will help sustain a UK workforce of 20,000 across production activities in Edinburgh, Warton, Samlesbury and Bristol. It said the aircraft will expand Türkiye’s combat air capabilities and strengthen cooperation between the two NATO air forces.
The training follows a UK-Türkiye Security and Defence Partnership signed in July. RAF Typhoons currently carry out NATO air policing, protect UK airspace on quick-reaction alert and support operations against Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
