It would be a logistical nightmare to transfer the British planes to Ukraine—where mechanics would need to rebuild them, and pilots would need to learn to fly them from scratch.
The Royal Air Force’s (RAF) oldest Eurofighter Typhoons were retired earlier this summer and sent to the scrapyard after more than two decades in service. A total of 30 Tranche 1 Typhoons, which were first introduced in 2003, were retired, with 26 scrapped as of early July.
The decision to scrap the Typhoons was surprising, inasmuch as they had only “exhausted only 40 percent of their manufacturer-designated lifespan”—meaning that the old warbirds still had years of potential operations ahead. That has raised questions about why the aircraft were not transferred to Ukraine—or even sold to NATO member Turkey, which has sought to acquire additional fighters for its air force.
For Ankara, the aging Eurofighters could have been used for training until it received new models. Likewise, Kyiv has sought to acquire modern fighters to bolster its air defenses and counter Russian missiles and drones.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) reportedly dismissed such transfers, citing the “poor technical condition” of the aging aircraft, while the Tranche 1 models had numerous limitations that impacted their combat capabilities.
Old Planes Might Do Ukraine More Harm than Good
The biggest hurdle to transferring aging aircraft is the cost. Maintaining old warplanes for combat operations is an expensive endeavor and requires a steady supply of parts. As the RAF is not retiring its newest Typhoon models, it would prefer to keep its stock of spare parts for its own use—and would not have an abundance of parts made available to either Turkey or Ukraine. At the same time, some of the older components specific to the Tranche 1 variants of the Typhoon may no longer be made.
As Technology.org argued, there were other options beside the scrapyard, namely cannibalizing multiple non-functional aircraft to produce a smaller number of functioning ones: “Those 26 Eurofighter Typhoons in poor condition could become a handful of good jets.” This technique has been used abundantly by air forces around the world when a plane is no longer made—e.g. the US Air Force raiding Boeing 707s to keep its aging E-3 Sentry AWACS planes in the air—or access to parts is cut off via sanctions, as in the case of Iran’s endangered fleet of F-14 Tomcats.
Indeed, earlier this year, the US Air Force transferred several F-16 Fighting Falcons to Ukraine that were no longer airworthy, but had parts that could help keep Kyiv’s other F-16s flying.
In the case of the Typhoons, however, Ukraine does not already operate any of the aircraft, so cannibalizing a dozen or more fighters to keep a handful in service is simply not worth the effort—particularly given that Ukrainian pilots do not know how to fly the Typhoon and would need to learn from scratch.
Technology.org added that such a transfer would only complicate the logistics for the Ukrainian Air Force, “which already has to deal with several different types of jet fighters.” And while Kyiv needs aircraft, it needs capable aircraft first and foremost: “Bad weapons can do more harm than good.”
The only reason the aircraft should have been spared the scrap heap is if Ukraine were to receive the Typhoon in the future. In that case, the old Eurofighters would have been like the American F-16s, not combat-capable but donors of parts. The flip side of that coin is that should Kyiv be given any aircraft, the Typhoon is still being produced, and more capable spares would likely be available.
The Eurofighter Typhoon Is Still in Widespread Use
Even as the oldest Eurofighters have been retired and scrapped, the RAF will continue to operate its Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 variants until the early 2040s. In addition, the UK’s military continues to receive the fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
London has already adopted the F-35B, the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant for use with its Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, with plans to acquire the F-35A, the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) models that will gradually replace the older Tranche 1 Eurofighter Typhoons and serve alongside the newer aircraft.
The twin-engine Typhoon features a canard-delta wing and an airframe that is constructed mainly from composite materials that are 30 percent lighter than more traditional aircraft materials. Just 15 percent of its surface is metal, making it difficult – albeit not impossible – to detect by radar.
Twin Eurojet EJ200 engines power the Eurofighter, each utilizing a single-stage turbine that drives a three-stage fan and a five-stage compressor, which features annular combustion and vaporizing burners. This configuration can provide 90 kN of thrust, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.8. The engines can log up to 1,200 flying hours before requiring unscheduled maintenance.
As of August 2025, 680 Eurofighter Typhoons have been delivered. The aircraft remains in service with the air forces of multiple countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. Outside of NATO, Austria, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have also adopted the aircraft. Currently, four of the surviving prototypes are on display in museums in Germany, Italy, and the UK.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock / sam-whitfield1.
