Oman is in talks to buy Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from the UK in a deal potentially worth billions of pounds and which could help ease the budget crisis at the Ministry of Defence.
Downing Street said yesterday the Gulf state had indicated its intention to buy the aircraft for the Royal Air Force of Oman. The decision came in the wake of “wide-ranging discussions” over the past three years between Gordon Brown, prime minister, and the Sultan of Oman “on the importance of the close relationship between our two countries”. Number 10 declined to give details of how many jets Oman was interested in buying, but said the deal would sustain British jobs. Defence industry sources said the order could be for as many as 24 aircraft, as Oman has been looking to replace its 24 ageing Jaguar jets for some time. Oman has a close relationship with the UK which has supplied the sultanate with defence equipment for decades. The decision is potentially good news for the MoD which has been struggling with a budget shortfall in its equipment programme estimated at £36bn over the next 10 years by the National Audit Office. One of its largest – and most expensive – equipment commitments is the Typhoon. The UK is committed to buy 88 Typhoons from the aircraft’s third production run as part of its membership of the Eurofighter consortium which also includes Spain, Germany and Italy. Pressures on defence budgets led the four nations last year to agree to split the batch into two chunks, with the first bought immediately and the second requiring commitments in 2011. Under that agreement the UK signed up for an initial 40 aircraft, although it was also allowed to count export orders to countries including Saudi Arabia towards its total so it only had to pay for 16 aircraft. Failure to take part in the agreement would have cost the UK an estimated £2bn in contractual penalties and would have led to thousands of job losses. A deal with Oman could potentially help to reduce the UK’s commitment even further and help the MoD cut future expenditure. The deal is also good news for BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence contractor, which builds the aircraft together with European partners. The initial work is likely to take place at BAE’s site in Wharton in Cheshire. “Oman is a country with which we have a long and valued relationship and we stand ready and willing to support any requirement it has,” said BAE. An initial deal could be worth at least £1.4bn to the company but could lead to billions of pounds’ of maintenance and support work. The multi-role fighter was originally designed to intercept Soviet bombers.
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April 3, 2010 at 9:55 am