Power in the skies: How the fighter-jet deal recast Ankara-London relations

Türkiye’s agreement to buy military equipment from Britain is only one way the two nations can work hand in hand in the future, says Gökhan Yücel

Seeing the British prime minister and President Erdoğan together this week at the Presidential Complex in Ankara was a reminder of how shared interests can realign long-standing partners. Their handshake over a multi-billion-dollar trade agreement – centred largely on defence cooperation – epitomised not only a contract but also a new confidence between Britain and Türkiye

Sir Keir Starmer called the deal “a win for British workers, a win for our defence industry, and a win for Nato security.” Türkiye’s President Erdoğan hailed it as “a new symbol of the strategic relations” between the two nations. Indeed, this was not merely about fighter jets or procurement figures; they shared a recognition that global security, economic resilience, and technological progress are increasingly intertwined.

This brings the partnership full circle. For centuries, Türkiye has stood as the nexus of the world – one foot in Europe, the other in Asia, joined by the Bosphorus that has carried ideas, goods and people between continents. To anyone who has walked the streets of Istanbul, the symbolism of this type of connection is unique. It is a city – and Türkiye is a country – that has learned to live with multiplicity, to poise tradition with transformation, and to turn geography into strategy. And it is precisely this quality – this ability to blend geopolitics with geo-economics – that underpins this revitalised partnership.

And there are some surprising bonds between the UK and Türkiye, with Britain benefiting from Türkiye’s film and travel industry, as well as its iconic tourism.

Gökhan Yücel says that there are many levels on which Britain and Turkey can cooperate (Gökhan Yücel)

Today, more than 87,000 foreign companies operate in Türkiye, and more than 3,300 of them are British. Yet the potential for further cooperation with Britain is even bigger.

The agreement with Keir Starmer securing a deal to supply Türkiye with 20 Typhoon fighter jets reflected renewed mutual commitments in security, sustainability and technology, plus a critical strategic priority, enhancing Türkiye’s air force capacity for our protection and stability.

The deal should not merely be read through the lens of hard power, though, but also a reflection of Türkiye’s determination to act as what I call a 360-degree power, where military capability, economic partnership and cultural influence combine to unite rather than divide continents, markets and ideas. Türkiye, thus, meticulously amalgamates all three forms of power – hard, soft and smart – into a coherent strategy of influence.

When Joseph Nye coined the term soft power in the 1990s, he argued that countries could no longer rely on coercion alone – the traditional tool of hard power. They had to attract, persuade and inspire via soft power.

In January, David Lammy, then the British foreign secretary, acknowledged this very prescription when he convened the “soft power council” – a cross-sector effort bringing together experts from across culture, sport, the creative industries and geopolitics, in service of growth and security.

The United Kingdom has long pursued this through its “GREAT” campaign – a blueprint that unites trade, culture and innovation under one national brand. The “Türkiye Century” grand strategy seeks to realise this ambition, encouraging hard power credibility with soft power attraction and smart power agility. In essence, both nations have come to admit that, in the 21st century, a nation’s narrative is not separate from its power – and vice versa.

Soft power speaks to attraction – to the power of culture, ideas and emotion. Here, Türkiye has quietly become a creative superpower. The country’s television dramas reach more than one billion viewers in more than 170 countries, making Turkish content the second most watched globally after the United States. Türkiye’s position as Europe’s fastest-growing gaming market, home to global success stories such as Peak Games and Dream Games, reveals how creativity has fused with entrepreneurship.

Türkiye’s circle of influence translates cultural resonance into tangible investment potential by forming a wider creative economy that merges cultural storytelling with digital entrepreneurship. Türkiye’s soft power, then, is not a rhetorical asset; it is a strategic one – building a strong nation brand, a peacemaker, a talent hub, a testbed, and a trusted partner that investors can bank on.

This country-brand journey has also strengthened Türkiye’s persuasive capacity, allowing it to project influence through dialogue, development and diplomacy – a role increasingly appreciated and praised by the international community for its peace initiatives and humanitarian efforts.

In the traditional sense, hard power refers to material assets – military capability, economic leverage and infrastructure. In Türkiye’s case, the powerhouse depiction translates directly into strategic investments. The industrial mainstay bridges Europe, Asia and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, and provides not only the engine of mobility but also the infrastructure of value chains. Within a four-hour flight radius of Türkiye are 67 countries with a total GDP of $30 trillion and 1.3 billion people. Istanbul airport is Europe's busiest aviation hub. In 2024, Istanbul airport served more than 80 million passengers and facilitated 517,000 flights, connecting travellers to more than 330 destinations through 115-plus airlines – a scale matched by very few airports worldwide. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines serves more countries than any other carrier, operating scheduled flights to more than 352 destinations. Also, Türkiye has the third largest diplomatic network, overtaking most traditional diplomatic heavyweights.

With more than $280 billion in cumulative foreign direct investment since 2003, Türkiye has built credibility as both a producer and a connector. Its manufacturing base ranks 13th globally. Hard power, as far as Türkiye is concerned, no longer relates to geopolitics per se – it is about continuity, adoption and growth.

Between these two poles of soft and hard lies smart power – the strategic combination of hard and soft resources to achieve influence and prosperity. Türkiye’s smart power finds its most vivid expression in its technology entrepreneurship ecosystem. The country has produced six unicorns and attracted more than $5 billion in early-stage venture capital in the last four years alone. Startups such as Trendyol, Insider and Getir demonstrate the maturity and scalability of Türkiye’s innovation landscape.

In the end, what makes Türkiye compelling for a partner such as Britain is not only its geography but in the way it connects routes of trade, patterns of culture, and codes of technology into a single, resilient framework.

As the United Kingdom currently refines its "GREAT" vision, and "Türkiye Century" advances its targets, both nations are drafting a new curriculum of 360-degree influence built on trust, innovation, investment, creativity and shared purpose. Both sides seek a stable path forward – one shaped by clarity of purpose and steadiness of vision. When diplomacy is guided by shared goals and mutual empathy, success becomes inevitable. Good policies make good politics, which is why this is win-win.

Gökhan Yücel is head of communications at the Presidential Investment and Finance Office in Türkiye