First Turkish air force pilots begin training on RAF Typhoon fighter jets at Coningsby

Two Turkish air force pilots have started training on RAF Typhoon fighter jets at RAF Coningsby as part of an £8bn deal with Ankara to deliver 20 Typhoon aircraft. 

The pair will train with 29 Squadron, the Royal Air Force's Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit, based in Lincolnshire. 

Their conversion training will take up to nine months, with follow-on instructor training taking a further three months.

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"They will spend the initial weeks learning Typhoon systems, and the procedures used in the UK military airspace before they launch on their first sortie," Group Captain Batu, Programme Director, Turkey Programme Management Office, said. 

"I know that these Turkish pilots are incredibly excited about this new venture and are extremely proud to have been selected as their nation's first-ever Typhoon pilots."

Following the duo's graduation, the pilots will stay with 29 Squadron as instructors until Turkey receives its first delivery of new Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from BAE Systems in 2030. 

Alongside the 20 Typhoon fighter jets, the deal between London and Ankara also includes the associated weapons, support and training needed to fly the aircraft. 

The Turkish agreement will strengthen Turkey's national combat air capabilities whilst bolstering Nato's presence in a key operational region of the world and enhancing the strategic partnership between the air forces. 

Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet 

The RAF Typhoon fighter jets is a multi-role aircraft which entered service with the RAF in 2003. 

With its multi-role capability and variety of weapons, the Typhoon FGR4 is capable of engaging numerous target types. 

The Typhoon can carry a vast range of air-to-surface weapons and can remain on task for long periods of time with large, flexible weapon loads. 

It is armed with an internal 27mm Mauser cannon, ASRAAM, Meteor and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway IV precision-guided bombs, Storm Shadow and Brimstone air-to-ground missiles. 

The jets have been deployed in numerous operations such as on Nato air policing missions, for the Quick Reaction Alert, and on Operation Shader, supporting counter-ISIS operations in Iraq and Syria.