Tue, Aug 22, 2006
Many Will Be Made In Kingdom
Good news for several European aerospace companies, as Saudi
Arabia announced last week it will purchase up to 72 Eurofighter
Typhoon combat jets from a consortium including Britain's BAE
Systems, Airbus parent company EADS and Italy's Alenia
Aeronautica.
The deal, valued by analysts to be worth about $11.4 billion in
capital, continues the Saudi tradition of purchasing arms from
Britain that dates back to the 1960s. In fact, the fighters will
replace the British-made Tornado, as well as several other aircraft
in Saudi Arabia's air force.
"This is excellent news for the British defence industry, for
BAE, Rolls Royce and all the component suppliers in the UK," said
Shadow Defense Minister Gerald Howarth. "The fact that Saudi Arabia
has selected the Typhoon is a vote of confidence in the superb
capabilities of the aircraft which faced active competition."
What's good for BAE and others comes at as a blow to French
aerospace manufacturer Dassault, however -- which had been counting
on the middle eastern country to be the first foreign customer for
its Rafale combat jet, according to Reuters.
As part of the deal, Saudi Arabia confirmed earlier this week an
unspecified number of Typhoons will be assembled in that country --
meaning the consortium will also invest in local training for Saudi
workers to assemble the jets.
"At a time of great turbulence in the Middle East this further
military contract will help to strengthen the already very close
ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia, one of the most important
forces for stability in the Middle East," Howarth added.
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