Two-seat Eurofighter Typhoon T.1 of 29 Squadron taxying at RAF Coningsby

Turkish Pilots Start Eurofighter Typhoon Training at RAF Coningsby

by Fortune Leroy | Sep 29, 2026 | Aviación militar, Noticias | 0 comments

Turkey will not receive its first Eurofighter Typhoon until 2030. Its first Typhoon pilots, however, are already in Lincolnshire.

On 27 September, the Royal Air Force announced that two Turkish Air Force pilots have started conversion training with 29 Squadron at RAF Coningsby, the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit. They are the first of the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri to learn the jet, and they will stay in Britain long enough to teach the next ones.

Datos rápidos

OMS: Two Turkish Air Force pilots
Dónde: 29 Squadron, the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit, RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire
Anunciado: 27 September 2026 by the Royal Air Force
Course: Up to nine months of conversion training, then three months of instructor training
Afterwards: Both will serve as instructors at Coningsby until Turkey's jets arrive
El trato: 20 Eurofighter Typhoons with weapons, support and training, valued at more than £8 billion
Primera entrega: 2030

From Classroom to First Sortie

The course starts on the ground. According to Group Captain Batu, programme director of the Türkiye Programme Management Office, the two pilots will spend the first weeks learning the Typhoon's systems and the procedures used in UK military airspace before they fly.

“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.”

Group Captain Batu — Programme Director, Türkiye Programme Management Office, quoted by the Royal Air Force, 27 September 2026

After that comes the flying. The conversion course can last up to nine months, followed by three months of instructor training. Once qualified, the two Turks will not go home. They will stay at Coningsby as instructors with 29 Squadron until the first Turkish aircraft arrive in 2030, building the experience that the Turkish Air Force will need to stand up its own Typhoon force.

Two Eurofighter Typhoons of 29 Squadron seen from below — Two Typhoons of 29 Squadron, the unit now training Turkey's first Typhoon pilots, photographed from below. Photo: SAC Taz Hetherington / MOD, Open Government Licence

Why Turkey Is Buying Typhoons

For years, Turkey's fighter plans ran through the F-35 and the F-16. Its removal from the F-35 programme in 2019, after it bought Russia's S-400 air defence system, left a gap that the home-grown KAAN fighter will take years to fill. The Typhoon is the bridge.

According to the RAF, the contract covers 20 Typhoons along with weapons, support and training, and is worth more than £8 billion. The UK Ministry of Defence says it will sustain around 20,000 jobs at sites in Edinburgh, Warton, Samlesbury and Bristol. It follows the UK-Türkiye Security and Defence Partnership signed at the NATO summit in Ankara in July 2026.

Coningsby has done this before. The RAF already runs 12 Squadron as a joint UK-Qatar Typhoon squadron. For the RAF, training a foreign customer's first pilots is part of selling the aircraft.

Two Typhoons take off and land as a pair at RAF Coningsby, where the Turkish pilots are now training. Video: Ted Coningsby.

A Head Start of More Than Three Years

More than three years may sound like a long time to train two pilots. It is not. A new fighter fleet needs instructors, maintainers and planners who know the aircraft before it lands, and the only place to get that experience is inside an air force that already flies it.

By the time the first Turkish Typhoon touches down, these two pilots will have spent years flying and teaching on it at Coningsby. That is the whole point.

Sources: Royal Air Force, UK Ministry of Defence, AeroTime, aeroTELEGRAPH, Defence Industry Europe, FlightGlobal

Preguntas frecuentes

Where are Turkish pilots training on the Eurofighter Typhoon?

Turkey's first two Eurofighter Typhoon pilots are training with 29 Squadron at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, England. 29 Squadron is the Royal Air Force's Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit. The RAF announced the start of their training on 27 September 2026.

How long is Typhoon conversion training?

The two Turkish Air Force pilots will spend up to nine months on Typhoon conversion training at RAF Coningsby, followed by three months of instructor training. They start with several weeks of ground school on Typhoon systems and UK military airspace procedures.

When will Turkey receive its Eurofighter Typhoons?

Turkey's first new Eurofighter Typhoons are due in 2030. Until then, the first two Turkish Typhoon pilots will stay at RAF Coningsby as instructors with 29 Squadron.

How many Typhoons is Turkey buying?

According to the Royal Air Force, Turkey is buying 20 Eurofighter Typhoons in a deal that also covers weapons, support and training and is worth more than £8 billion. The UK Ministry of Defence says the contract will sustain around 20,000 UK jobs.

Why is Turkey buying the Eurofighter Typhoon?

Turkey was removed from the F-35 programme in 2019 after buying the Russian S-400 air defence system. Its own KAAN fighter is still in development, so the Eurofighter Typhoon gives the Turkish Air Force a modern fighter in the meantime.