Bagwell said the RAF would likely axe its 55 Tranche 1 Typhoons by mid-decade because it would cost too much to bring them up to the required multirole standards offered by Tranche 2 and Tranche 3. That would mean the RAF Typhoon fleet would top out at 107 machines. But the Typhoon fleet could shrink even further, Bagwell said. The "great unknown in the plans is the awful lot of potential export customers," he said.
The proposed deal with Oman is in the final stages of negotiation; discussions are now underway about where those dozen or so aircraft might come from. The RAF's Typhoon force could fall further if the planes are diverted from the Air Force's order and are not replaced. Difficulties in Britain's 72-plane sale to Saudi Arabia are creating more uncertainty. The first 24 are being diverted from the RAF's Tranche 2 order, and the service is to get more Tranche 3 aircraft instead. The other 48 are to be assembled in Saudi Arabia as part of an effort to build up local industry. But industry sources said the plan has run into difficulties that raise questions about how Britain will fill the Saudi order.
Bagwell said options could include taking additional aircraft from the RAF production run and replacing them later. "Should we get the buybacks out of Saudi Arabia and Oman as planned, we will be back to the number of Typhoons I need," he said. "At the moment, if I don't get the [Omani] buyback and this is under discussion ... it could take me down to 95 aircraft."
Sunday Times:
Typhoon Squadron for Oman
BAe Systems looks set to land a huge order for Typhoon fighter jets from Oman that could be worth up to £1.2 billion to the defence giant.
According to a source, the Gulf state has written to the government and asked for a squadron of aircraft, amounting to between 12 and 15 planes..............Oman plans to buy third-generation typhoons, which have far superior technological capability to their predecessors.
..........Oman's order will be deducted from the 40 Tranche 3 fighters ordered for the RAF....