BAE Systems chief executive Charles Woodburn has welcomed Turkey’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) linked to a prospective order for Eurofighter Typhoons, but declined to discuss the company’s potential future advanced jet trainer pitch to the UK.

“Things are progressing pretty quickly and there is definitely a requirement to move quite fast,” he says of Ankara’s Typhoon commitment, but will not say when a contract could be signed.

“I’m not going to commit to a timeframe, but the MoU is a very significant step in that relationship,” he said during a second-quarter earnings call on 30 July.

Signed by the defence ministers of Turkey and the UK at the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul on 23 July, the pact “codifies the relationship between the countries, taking them one step closer to a full agreement on Typhoon”, the parties say, with “a mutual ambition to conclude the necessary arrangements as soon as possible”.

The number of aircraft being sought by Ankara has not been disclosed, but BAE will be responsible for final assembly at its Warton site in Lancashire.

Referring to the multinational Eurofighter programme, which also involves industrial partners Airbus Defence & Space (representing Germany and Spain), and Leonardo (Italy), he says: “We expect it to remain highly relevant in Europe and beyond for many years to come.” Annual production of the type is set to double to reach around 30 units from later this decade, after Germany, Italy and Spain all signed for follow-on batches.

BAE – which recently completed contracted final assembly of Typhoons for export customer Qatar – is also eyeing a prospective sale to existing operator Saudi Arabia, which has a need for 54 jets.

Meanwhile, Woodburn declines to comment following reports that BAE has been in discussion around a possible joint venture (JV) with Boeing and Saab on the T-7A Red Hawk, already on order for the US Air Force. This comes as the UK works towards launching a competition to replace the Royal Air Force’s BAE-produced Hawk T2 advanced jet trainers and aged T1-model examples used by its Red Arrows aerobatic display team.

“On the JV, there is no point in me adding to any speculation, apart from to say that training is a very important part of our overall portfolio, and particularly as it pertains to the air sector,” he comments.

And highlighting recent achievements by the company’s FalconWorks innovation unit – which have included a trial drone-against-drone engagement using BAE’s APKWS precision-guided rocket, the CEO says: “It will be fastest growing sector within Air over the next few years.”

BAE last year completed acquisitions of unmanned air system (UAS) producer Malloy Aeronautics, rapid prototyping company Callen-Lenz, and counter-UAS specialist Kirintec.

“We have already got a really good portfolio there, but if we can find more technology bolt-ons to FalconWorks we are very interested in that area, both in terms of drone and counter-drone [capability],” Woodburn states.

BAE reported sales totalling £14.6 billion ($19.3 billion) through the first six months of this year; up 11% from £13.4 billion in the same period last year. Its firm order backlog at the mid-year point stood at £75.4 billion.