Saudi Arabia commits to Eurofighter Typhoon deal
 

In this weeks Flight magazine:-
Typhoon for Saudi

Yeah right. Whats the betting that this will get quietly forgotten as "operational requirements" change.

Typhoons
 

So the Saudis will get advanced deliveries taken from RAF production batches .... means the F3 will remain in service longer ... that'll muck some assumptions :ugh:

nb the photo is of a Typhoon with Meteor :ok:

sw

Times: BAE signs landmark Eurofighter contract with Saudis

BAE SYSTEMS was celebrating the first big export order for the Eurofighter last night after Britain and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding that could secure £10 billion of work for the British firm and its sub-contractors.

It is thought that up to 72 Typhoon jets will be delivered to the kingdom from 2008, but neither government would confirm the size of the order......

So where are you Fox3snapshot?

Now then Foxy,

" Fox3snapshot

Echo.....Echo....Echooooooo..oooooo
Sorry mate, signed sealed and delivered! They are getting Rafael....."

I won't be a boring old f@rt and say " I told you so " :)

From The Times:

"The first 24 jets to be delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force will be diverted from an allocation of 89 that had been assigned to the Royal Air Force from the second tranche of the programme. The MoD said that the decision to divert aircraft from the RAF would have no impact on operations.

BAE said in a statement that it welcomed the announcement. Under the agreement, BAE will provide so-called through-life service for the aircraft, as well as training and support to the Saudi Air Force. The company will invest in Saudi companies and transfer some technological expertise to Saudi firms, so that Saudi nationals undertake more of the service work."

Hmm, Tranche 2 airframes going to the desert rather than East Anglia - says a lot. And then a massive transfer of technology and service work to the country that gave birth to the vast bulk of the 911 operational staff.

Am I missing something here?

WWW

From The Guardian, Tuesday 27 September 2005 (slightly re-paragraphed, but not amended):


Blair in secret Saudi mission

Expulsions link to £40bn arms deal

David Leigh and Ewen MacAskill

Tony Blair and John Reid, the defence secretary, have been holding secret talks with Saudi Arabia in pursuit of a huge arms deal worth up to £40bn, according to diplomatic sources.
Mr Blair went to Riyadh on July 2, en route to Singapore, where Britain was bidding for the 2012 Olympics. Three weeks later, Mr Reid made a two-day visit, when he sought to persuade Prince Sultan, the crown prince, to re-equip his air force with the Typhoon, the European fighter plane of which the British arms company BAE has the lion's share of manufacturing.

Defence, diplomatic and legal sources say negotiations are stalling because the Saudis are demanding three favours. These are

1. That Britain should expel two anti-Saudi dissidents, Saad al-Faqih and Mohammed al-Masari;

2. That British Airways should resume flights to Riyadh, currently cancelled through terrorism fears;

3. That a corruption investigation implicating the Saudi ruling family and BAE should be dropped. Crown prince Sultan's son-in-law, Prince Turki bin Nasr, is at the centre of a "slush fund" investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.


The Saudis have been trying for years to get their hands on Mr Faqih, who they say was involved in a plot to assassinate the recently enthroned King Abdullah. Mr Faqih, who has asylum, denies support for violence, and privately neither the Foreign Office nor the security services regard him as a danger to Britain. Mr Masari fled Saudi Arabia in 1994, and the Major government made an unsuccessful attempt to exile him to the Caribbean island of Dominica under pressure from BAE.

The Typhoon, currently entering service with the RAF, has a price of more than £45m a plane. Saudi Arabia previously bought a fleet of its predecessor Tornados from Britain in the Al Yamamah arms deal. Mike Turner, the chief executive of BAE, Britain's biggest arms company, was quoted in Flight International magazine on June 21, just before Mr Blair's Riyadh trip, saying: "The objective is to get the Typhoon into Saudi Arabia. We've had £43bn from Al Yamamah over the last 20 years and there could be another £40bn."

There is concern within the Foreign Office at the apparent partiality of No 10 to BAE's commercial interests. Jonathan Powell, Mr Blair's chief of staff, and his brother Charles, Lady Thatcher's former adviser and now a BAE consultant, are believed to be in favour of the deal.

So - did the Saudis get these conditions?

If the Typhoo contract gets signed it will be time for a new slush fund.

Anyone know if Prince Sultan is the one who was on 96 Entry at Cranners?

Soddim: There is no slush fund and there is no evidence at all to support The Guardian's continuous allegations of impropriety against BAE. Never has been!

So, some of the company's execs have been questioned in the course of the SFO enquiry. You would expect that. Even The Guardian concedes all were released without charge. That leaves us with a number of people who have not committed a crime!

What point is The Guardian trying to make,? Other than to perhaps use its pages to promote the very personal and perhaps political views of an individual journalist.

The Saudi preference is for best possible kit - in all areas of its defence forces. In that respect, Typhoon fits the mould perfectly.

The chap on 96 Entry was Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, whereas the Crown Prince referred to in the Guardian article is Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.

I once watched Bandar doing doughnuts on the JMPG car park in his black DB6. Nice chap, as I recall.

Soddim: There is no slush fund and there is no evidence at all to support The Guardian's continuous allegations of impropriety against BAE. Never has been!

No. Of course not. Absolutely.....:rolleyes:

Saudi Princes.
 

Beagle, once you eliminate the identikit Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud etc. the two names don't really mean anything. What's left ie. Prince Bandar bin vs. Crown Prince doesn't illuminate matters.

SSOT,

" The chap on 96 Entry was Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, whereas the Crown Prince referred to in the Guardian article is Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud "

Change the text to read

" The chap on 96 Entry was Prince Bandar son of Sultan son of Abdul Aziz Al-Saud whereas the Crown Prince referred to in the Guardian article is Crown Prince Sultan son of Abdul Aziz Al-Saud "

If I've got it right, and I think I have then I think you will find that Bandar is Sultan's son.

Of course there is always the (faint) chance that I could be wrong.:D

Soddim,

As a former resident of the Magic Kingdom perhaps you could confirm my interpretation of the family tree of the House of Al Saud.

Prince Bandar son of Sultan son of Abdul-Aziz Al Saud...

Sultan was recently promoted from Prince to Crown Prince following the death of King Fahd.

Mutt

So then chaps, what are you implying?

backseatjock,

Don't know what you are smoking old chap but if you are a company spokesman you're doing a fine job.

As for the Saudis buying the best kit - they wouldn't know it if you gave it to them.

Believe me, I know.

jindabyne,

Personally, I am implying nothing. Just trying to explain the possible lineage of the two gentlemen in response to a previous post. :cool:

Echo

Sorry. My inadequately-worded comment was not directed at your good self. Quite why people choose to mock from the outset such a massively successful (potentially) UK deal which will benefit the taxpayer, industry, and yes, the RAF, is beyond my simple understanding. Slush fund? Saudi procurement capability? I care not.