Only four months ago, UK government officials confidently predicted Oman would shortly buy an undisclosed number of Eurofighter Typhoons. The motivation was clear: Oman could assume a portion of the UK government's order commitment on Tranche 3A for the Eurofighter program, relieving pressure on the UK's strained defense budget.
Well, something may have changed since April.
Yesterday, the US Congress was informed that Oman had requested a possible order for (wait for it ...) Lockheed Martin F-16s!
It's unlikely that Oman will buy both fighters. The Royal Air Force in Muscat needs to replace about 16 Sepecat Jaguars. Yesterday's notice by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) indicates that Oman could buy as many as 18 F-16s worth $3.5 billion.
It wouldn't be the first time that the F-16 has embarrassed a European government. France had appeared to lock-in a deal with Morocco for Dassault Rafales, yet somehow the F-16 triumphed.
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