Sources close to the Eurofighter Typhoon programme told Flight Daily News that an initial Royal Saudi Air Force order for up to 50 aircraft is now "imminent", and signature of the contract has been "held back" for the Farnborough show.
An insider said that "an initial Saudi order for 24 Typhoons may not be too distant", and that although "it's all a bit cagey, it is closer to the vinegar stroke than [the order from] Singapore, with an 8/8/8/8 delivery profile to begin with."
Ever since the $37.5 billion (£20 million) Al Yamamah arms deal, Saudi Arabia has been seen as a potential customer for the Typhoon, and there have been frequent reports that BAE Systems has proposed a $2.25 billion (£1.5 billion) sale of 50 Eurofighter Typhoons (with options on another 50). These reports have always been denied.
Denials
Despite the denials, there are plenty of indications that a Saudi Eurofighter deal could be close. The Royal Saudi Air Force has a requirement for a modern fighter as a Tornado follow-on/replacement, and to replace the Kingdom's older F-15s, and the Kingdom is understood to want to model any future procurement on the Al Yamamah 'arms-for-oil' deal, making a BAE-brokered Typhoon purchase especially attractive.
When BAE's outgoing chairman, Sir Richard Evans was accused of spending some £60m of its shareholders' money to encourage prominent Saudis to close a new arms deal, he strenuously denied any wrongdoing, but did not deny that there had been payments, and instead said that the group had 'played by the rules'.
The increasing price of oil (which prompted Deutsche Bank to issue a 'buy' recommendation for BAE shares in May 2004) means that Saudi Arabia can now afford to upgrade its Tornados. Many believe that a Typhoon purchase might also be afforded, and that the Tornado upgrade and Typhoon purchase would form part of a single massive 'Al Yamamah 3' programme.
Source: Flight Daily News
