Saudi on course to buy Eurofighter

From DefenseNews

Saudi Arabia said on April 3 that a deal to purchase Typhoon Eurofighter jets from Britain, believed to be worth billions of dollars, was on course after technical committees signed relevant documents.

”The papers of the Eurofighter jets deal were signed by the (Saudi and British) technical committees on March 28,” Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz told reporters.

The documents “are now being studied by the political leadership (as a prelude to) signing them,” said Sultan, who is also defense minister of the oil-rich kingdom.

”The deal is on course, and there are no obstacles to it because it is in the kingdom’s interest,” he added.

Saudi Arabia and Britain have signed a memorandum of understanding under which London will supply Riyadh with the Typhoon Eurofighter, which is largely manufactured by defense and aerospace giant British BAE Systems in partnership with other European countries.

The new planes will replace the Tornado warplanes that London supplied to Riyadh in a multi-billion-dollar deal two decades ago.

The Saudi crown prince did not give details about the new deal, which is reported to be worth up to $70 billion.

However, Saudi Arabia has played down the value of the contract. A defense ministry official said in December that the reported figure of $70 billion was “much higher than what was agreed upon.”