Saudi Arabia buys 72 Eurofighters
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Saudi Arabia buys 72 Eurofighters*
Eurofighter
The Eurofighter has taken more than 20 years to design and build
Saudi Arabia has confirmed it is to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft
from the UK, in a deal that could be worth more than £6bn.
The contract, brokered between the Saudi government and the Ministry of
Defence, will safeguard thousands of jobs at UK defence firm BAE Systems.
Saudi Arabia is buying the Eurofighters to replace its range of Tornado
jets which were also made by BAE.
The Eurofighter was developed by BAE with European firms EADS and Alenia.
Confidential figure
"The required commercial principles have now been agreed which has
initiated the purchase of Typhoon aircraft and the associated commitment
to the industrial plan to be launched," said the Ministry of Defence.
The real beneficiary is the oppressive regime in Saudi Arabia, one of
the world's worst abusers of human rights
Pressure group Campaign Against Arms Trade
Check BAE's share price
The ministry added that as the financial details of the deal were
confidential, it could not reveal exactly how much it was worth.
Some newspaper reports have suggested it could total as much as £10bn.
The Eurofighter's UK headquarters is at Warton, Lancashire, where BAE
employs 9,000 people in its aircraft division.
Confirmation of the Saudi deal, which was first proposed in December,
saw BAE's shares close 2.64% higher in Friday trading in London.
Criticisms
Yet while the announcement is welcome news for UK business, it will
inevitably attract criticism from those who say UK defence companies
should not do business with Saudi Arabia because of the Saudi
government's poor record on human rights and democracy.
Pressure group Campaign Against Arms Trade criticised the deal, claiming
that while it had been subsidised by UK taxpayers, the Ministry of
Defence and BAE had "failed to demonstrate any gains for the British
public".
"The real beneficiary is the oppressive regime in Saudi Arabia, one of
the world's worst abusers of human rights," it added.
The 72 planes will be assembled by BAE in the UK from parts made by all
the partners in the Eurofighter project.
BAE itself makes the front and rear fuselage, while European defence
consortium EADS and Italy's Alenia build the wings.
Long delays
The Saudi deal is the first confirmed order for the Eurofighter to come
from outside the European Union.
Inside Europe, the plane has been ordered by the UK, Germany, Spain,
Italy and Austria.
The development of the Eurofighter has been hit by rows and delays, and
the project going significantly over-budget.
With work first starting in the early 1980s, the maiden flight did not
take place until 1994.
The plane is in competition with the French Rafale.