Qatar Trying to Sell Off Eurofighters Just Three Years After They Arrived

The Qatar Emiri Air Force is seeking to retire its 24 Eurofighters from service, just three years after they began deliveries to the country in 2022. The Defence Ministry ordered Eurofighter Tranche 3A variants which are significantly more advanced than those fielded by the European partner states that developed the aircraft, and integrate the new Captor-E active electronically scanned array radar. Talks have been held to sell the fighters to Turkey, which has struggled to modernise its fleet due to ongoing disputes with the United States that led to its expulsion from the F-35 program. The Qatari Defence Ministry ordered the Eurofighter, the French Rafale and the American F-15QA in parallel, with analysts widely concurring that the decision to split orders between the three aircraft was intended to strengthen ties with a greater number of suppliers, at the expense of causing significant inefficiencies within the fleet.

While the Eurofighter Tranche 3A is a significantly superior fighter to the obsolete F-16 variants that Turkey currently fields, the aircraft is significantly less capable than Qatar’s cutting edge F-15QA fighters, and in many respects also less capable to its Rafales. The Eurofighter’s combat capabilities have been widely criticised, with the program failing to secure any sales outside the Gulf region, other than a small early sale to Austria, while its performance in exercises has reportedly left much to be desired particularly compared to American fighter types such as the F-18E/F and F-15, and moreso the F-35A. The fighter has accordingly lost every tender in which it has competed against the F-35, while consistently being ranked behind the F-15 and F-18 by clients such as South Korea and Finland.

The Turkish Defence Ministry is reportedly seeking to procure further less capable Eurofighters from Oman, and possibly to acquire new aircraft. This would mark a significant boost to the program, particularly as the United Kingdom has ceased further procurements to focus funding on the F-35, while Germany which has faced significant industry pressure not to abandon the Eurofighter, has divided procurement funding between it and the more capable American aircraft. Turkey’s relatively poor relations with France and inability to order American fighters, and its status as a core member of NATO which prevent it from considering non-Western alternatives, have provided it with little choice other than the Eurofighter, providing the program with a rare opportunity for sales in a market where its competitors are absent.