Saudis' Typhoon order secures 3,000 BAE jobs

Posted on: Aug. 24th, 2006 || Source: nw-enquirer.co.uk | E-mail Article | Print Article

Saudis' Typhoon order secures 3,000 BAE jobs

SOME 3,000 jobs at BAE Systems' Warton and Samlesbury aircraft plants have been secured for well into the next decade following the agreement between the UK and Saudi Arabian governments to replace the latter's ageing fleet of Tornado fighters with Lancashire-built Typhoons.

The two governments have announced that they had reached an agreement which paves the way for the purchase of 72 Typhoon aircraft by the Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force. It has been estimated that the aircraft will cost about £5.4bn, and another £5bn is expected to be spent on missiles, spare parts and training.

The deal, which could be worth up to £20bn over the next 25 years according to Financial Times’ estimates, is the latest stage in a more than 40-year relationship between BAE’s two Lancashire aircraft plants and Saudi Arabia, whose highpoint was the signing of the controversial Al Yamamah arms-for-oil deal by Mrs Thatcher in 1985. It remains the UK’s biggest ever overseas arms deal.

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