Israel fears its air power will be eroded when Turkey buys 40 Eurofighter Typhoons

Defence affairs analysis

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has strongly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to prevent Turkey from continuing its plan to purchase advanced Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets that could change the landscape of the Jewish state's air power in the Middle East.

According to Lapid, the Netanyahu-led government has shown negligence in diplomatic and defense aspects by not taking proactive steps to thwart negotiations between Turkey, the United Kingdom and Germany to acquire the 4++ generation fighter aircraft.

"If Israel had a functioning Foreign Ministry or a normal government, the deal to sell Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Turkey by Germany and the United Kingdom would have been blocked long ago," Lapid said.

He also warned that Turkey is now working hard to rival Israel's air power dominance in the region, something that could undermine the Zionist regime's long-standing military strategic advantage.

"Turkey has the largest and most powerful navy in the Middle East and now they want to achieve parity with Israel in airspace. This is a very dangerous situation, and our dysfunctional government is letting this deal go on without taking any action," he added.

Lapid's warning reflects growing concerns among Israel's political and security elite over Turkey's efforts to aggressively accelerate the modernization of its armed forces.

Although Israeli defense officials admit that the Eurofighter Typhoon does not surpass the capabilities of aircraft used by the Israeli Air Force such as the F-35I “Adir” and F-15I “Ra'am”, the purchase of up to 40 of these jets by Turkey is still seen as a serious long-term strategic challenge.

"This is not a game-changing threat to our Air Force. The Typhoon is a capable aircraft but not superior to our jets," a senior Israeli defense official told The Jerusalem Post .