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Britain reveals Eurofighter jet deal with Saudi Arabia
LONDON - Britain announced on Friday it had agreed a multi-billion-dollar defence deal to supply 72 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Saudi Arabia, handing a boost to the European aerospace sector.
The choice of Eurofighter marks a victory for the British-led consortium that builds the aircraft, which had faced competition for the order from the US-based Joint Strike Fighter and the French-made Rafale jet.
The Eurofighter Typhoon, largely manufactured by Britain’s BAE Systems in partnership with Italy, Germany and Spain, will replace the Tornado warplanes supplied to Saudi Arabia in another massive but controversial deal two decades ago.
No financial details about the agreement have been released -- but the Financial Times reported on Friday that the deal was worth around 10 billion pounds (18.8 billion dollars, 14.7 billion euros).
The report added that value of the order could more than double over the next 25 years if BAE Systems maintains and upgrades the planes for Saudi Arabia.
The deal to supply the aircraft to Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude oil exporter, will be finalised before the end of the year, a source close to the Eurofighter consortium told AFP.
BAE Systems said that the Saudi and British governments have ”agreed the required commercial principles which will effectively initiate the purchase of Typhoon aircraft”.
A statement from the Saudi ministry of defence carried by the official SPA news agency said that Riyadh had ordered 72 jets.
Britain’s ministry of defence confirmed that “the required commercial principles have now been agreed which has initiated the purchase of Typhoon aircraft”
The two governments had signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2005, aimed at establishing a closer partnership in modernising the Saudi armed forces and developing close service-to-service contacts, especially through joint training and exercises.
The order is the biggest export deal for the beleaguered Eurofighter Typhoon project. The aircraft has been plagued by problems including mechanical faults, production delays and overspending.
It is produced by a consortium comprising the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) with 46 percent, BAE Systems with 33 percent and Italy’s Alenia/Finmeccanica with 21 percent. BAE Systems is expected to be the biggest beneficiary from the contract.
The Eurofighter is a multi-role combat jet with a range of 2,500 kilometres (1,560 miles) and can be equipped with a mix of missiles depending on its mission.
On the back of Friday’s news, European defence and aerospace companies mostly made strong gains in late afternoon trade.
In London, BAE Systems soared 3.75 percent to 373.5 pence, while the FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.42 percent to 5,925.30 points.
Finmeccanica added 0.71 percent to 17.02 euros in Milan trade, where the SP/Mib index gained 0.22 percent to 37,582 points.
However in Paris, EADS slid 0.30 percent to 22.32 euros while the CAC 40 index won 0.12 percent to 5,150.82.
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