Defence

The four-nation Eurofighter consortium is celebrating a major milestone in a UK-led programme to supply Saudi Arabia with 72 Typhoons, with the service's first two examples having been formally rolled out late last week.

Performed at UK partner BAE Systems' Warton site in Lancashire on 11 June, the event included a flypast by the Royal Saudi Air Force's first of 24 Tranche 2 Typhoons scheduled to be completed at the site under a government-to-government deal dubbed Project Salam. Riyadh's first single-seat example made its first flight from Warton last October, and several more are now undergoing flight test and development work.

© BAE Systems

"Limited aircrew and technician training has already started in the UK in preparation for the delivery of the first Typhoon aircraft to Saudi Arabia later this summer," says the UK Ministry of Defence.

New Eurofighter chief executive Enzo Casolini meanwhile expects Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK to sign a Tranche 3A contract for a combined 112 aircraft around late June, with their commitment to prevent a previously threatened gap in production of the type.

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