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Talks are also understood to have focused on developing a replacement for the Typhoon
PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY IMAGES
Britain and Saudi Arabia have discussed co-investing in developing a next-generation fighter jet and drone, as part of a £5bn Typhoon deal.
On Friday, defence secretary Gavin Williamson and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed the outline of a deal for Saudi Arabia to buy 48 Eurofighter Typhoon jets. That deal, which would follow the kingdom’s purchase of 72 of the aircraft in 2007, would help preserve skills at BAE Systems’ Warton factory in Lancashire.
Talks are also understood to have focused on developing aircraft that will eventually replace the Typhoon. A joint statement from the two governments said they had agreed a number of defence collaborations to “deepen and broaden co-operation”.
Britain’s defence aerospace industry is desperate for a government commitment to build a next-generation fighter, but the Ministry of Defence is wrestling with a £20bn black hole in its budget. Hopes of a Typhoon replacement were stoked recently when Williamson launched a combat air strategy.
Few expect Britain to go it alone, however, and France and Germany are already collaborating on a new jet.
Saudi investment would help spread the multibillion-pound burden of developing a new aircraft. It would also help the kingdom develop indigenous skills — a key pillar of bin Salman’s “Vision 2030” plan to modernise and reduce the country’s reliance on oil.
The Saudi “memorandum of intent” — which is not yet a firm deal — is likely to entail assembling a significant number of Typhoon jets in the Gulf. Final assembly would gradually be shifted from Warton to Saudi Arabia — although it would help sustain skills at the plant well into the next decade
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/saudis-eye-drones-in-typhoon-deal-6sm8fl7tr
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