Great News: Saudi signed contract to buy 72 Eurofighters

A £20 billion fighter jet contract which would safeguard thousands of jobs in Lancashire has been signed, according to reports.
The deal to sell 72 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Saudi Arabia has been agreed with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), although a formal announcement is not expected to be made, according to The Observer newspaper on Sunday.

It said that plans for the contract, which would see 24 of the jets built at BAE Systems' base in Warton, near Preston with the rest built in the Middle East kingdom, to be signed by King Abdullah on his visit to the UK in October have been dropped.

Reports suggest that fears of a resurfacing of corruption allegations surrounding the deal, which led to a long-running investigation by the Serious Fraud Office that was controversially ended in December, are behind the decision not to formally announce the signing.

The deal would be a massive boost for BAE's 10,000-strong workforce at its bases in Warton and Samlesbury, near Preston in Lancashire, where more than 4,600 people are directly employed on the Typhoon project.

It is believed the agreement is worth £5 billion to supply the jets, a further £5 billion on weapons systems and a potential extra £10 billion from maintenance and upgrades.

A spokesman for BAE and the MoD was unavailable.

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[edit on 17-9-2007 by emile]

news.bbc.co.uk...


this nearly a month old (and thought i had seen it before)

Originally posted by Harlequin
news.bbc.co.uk...


this nearly a month old (and thought i had seen it before)

Its Saudi Arabia confirming the purchase.

Yup, this is the final confirmation and rubber-stamping..

Could someone argue how the purchase of 72: of "the second most
powerfull aircraft ever produced"; by a country constantly on the verge of overthrow by militants; in the most volatile and militarised corner of the world is good news.

Anyone

Jensy

reply to post by jensy


The House of Saud is one of the most stable and powerful entities in the region. And yes they are also an ally, given the circumstances. By keeping them dependant on Western sources for weaponry we ensure influence, compliance and control, as well as monetary, economical and geo political advantages. If we do not support them someone else will and they are too valuable an asset, not only regionally but globally as well, to let that happen. The other side is arming their proxies and we are arming ours, Saudi Arabia just recently announced a large defense deal with the US worth billions...

Hmmm, because that theory worked well for Iran in 79....

Sorry for the one-liner!

Iran is an example of what can go wrong, sure, partially it's our fault for not seeing it coming. Personally I cannot see Saudi Arabia undergoing the same type of "revolution" anytime soon, not only the US but the world needs them to remain stable. The most likely candidate for a modern version of the 1979 Islamic Revolution is Pakistan. And they posses nuclear weapons and quite a substantial military capability.

I dunno, Saudi Arabia really doesn't seem to like us much. Every time I wound up in the region we got briefings on them kicking us out, threatening our people and calling us infidels.

The only reason they let us in their country to begin with was to protect them from Iraq. As soon as Iraq was out of the picture, they kicked us out and got the worlds largest airbase(PSAB, if I remember correctly) out of the deal.

Personally I have trouble trusting them,they seem to be playing both sides.

They kicked you out?
They are your ally not your vassal aren't they?
I remember they still allow US use airport in their country, although you pay for this, but they can forbid you.

The purpose of Saudi buying Eurofighter just is for protect themselves from Iran, in my view.

I posted this thread before the confirmation

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by WestPoint23


Saudi isnt ruled by someone the US put in place unlike
Iran which the US overthrew and placed its own puppets

Iran is a fine example of KEEP YOUR TROUT OUT MY COUNTRY

[edit on 20-9-2007 by bodrul]