Saudi To Assemble Some of Its 72 Eurofighters

[EagleEyes]

Saudi To Assemble Some of Its 72 Eurofighters

Saudi Arabia said on Aug. 21 an unspecified number of the 72 Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes it bought in a deal with the multinational Eurofighter consortium will be assembled in the kingdom.


The cabinet said in a statement after its weekly meeting the aircraft "were bought at the same price offered to the British air forces and part of them will be assembled and made in the kingdom".


Saudi Arabia said late on Aug. 17 it would take up to 72 of the combat war jets from the multinational Eurofighter consortium which includes British defense contractor BAE Systems, Airbus parent firm EADS and Alenia Aeronautica, part of Italy’s Finmeccanica.


The kingdom did not disclose the value of the deal which analysts estimate at about $11.4 billion but said it provided for defense technology transfer.
Britain and Saudi Arabia agreed that the Gulf state would purchase the planes after having signed an initial deal in December.


The cabinet statement, carried by state media, said the Typhoon deal comes under the kingdom’s policy to modernize its armed forces equipment, adding it provides for training Saudi nationals. It did not give further details.


BAE is expected to invest in local training for thousands of Saudi nationals.
The jets will replace British-made Tornado and other planes in a deal which marks a defeat for France’s Dassault Aviation, which was hoping for its first export customer for the Rafale combat jet.


Saudi Arabia has a long history of buying arms from Britain dating back to the 1960s, and usually pays in oil.

http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=2049100&C=mideast

 

[Cheetah786]

correct me if iam wrong but didnt british insatlled the current royals in Arabia so i guess this is called payment or am i wrong :read:

 

[TexasJohn]

correct me if iam wrong but didnt british insatlled the current royals in Arabia so i guess this is called payment or am i wrong :read:

Does Saudi even have the skilled labor to assemble an aircraft? Most of their labor force are expatriates ( Indians, Pakistanis, etc.).

Waht are they going to do? Train a bunch of "desis" to do the job?

 

[RAPTOR]

Does Saudi even have the skilled labor to assemble an aircraft? Most of their labor force are expatriates ( Indians, Pakistanis, etc.).

Waht are they going to do? Train a bunch of "desis" to do the job?

The British will assemble them on Saudi soil. What more do you want?

 

[sigatoka]

Does Saudi even have the skilled labor to assemble an aircraft? Most of their labor force are expatriates ( Indians, Pakistanis, etc.).

Waht are they going to do? Train a bunch of "desis" to do the job?

I fail to understand your cynicism. I mean you are a desi working in the U.S. prospering and contributing in your small way to the nations prosperity, why shouldnt other "desis" be given the same opportunity to do so in Saudi Arabia?

From an economic viewpoint the fact that the labour force is expatriate makes no difference, in a way the most of the worlds population where it resides is expatriate. Infact liberalising the movement of labour will bring massive gains in welfare to the world than the reduction of tarriffs by a few percent will (this is because trade is already quite "free" while labour is highly restricted).

 

[A.Rahman]

The Saudi government doesn’t really need these planes. They don’t defend themselves, they are defended by "Western" powers in the region. Neither do they intervene when people are killed in Lebanon or Iraq. These jets will be polished in their hangers and used for training, but will never see combat.

It helps the British economy and arms industry much more than it will help the Saudi military.

Shares in BAE Systems hit a three-year high on Wednesday, up 22.25 pence to 370p.

Jobs will be sustained, and billions of dollars will be available to pursue the research and development of new weapons, which could be used for Britain’s next invasion. The British government can do all of this, safe in the knowledge that they have sold the planes to a regime that won’t use them, hence keeping their friends in Israel safe.

 

[KashifAsrar]

The Saudi government doesn’t really need these planes. They don’t defend themselves, they are defended by "Western" powers in the region. Neither do they intervene when people are killed in Lebanon or Iraq. These jets will be polished in their hangers and used for training, but will never see combat.

It helps the British economy and arms industry much more than it will help the Saudi military.

Jobs will be sustained, and billions of dollars will be available to pursue the research and development of new weapons, which could be used for Britain’s next invasion. The British government can do all of this, safe in the knowledge that they have sold the planes to a regime that won’t use them, hence keeping their friends in Israel safe.

I agree 100% !! These saudis do not have the guts to stand in a conflict with West or Israel !! These planes are for the training and joy rides of the Saudi Airforce !!

 

[Janbaz]

Joy Rides, well said. Like to show off in front of poor Iraqis and Lebanese