|
Roger Whitcomb
|
Britain 'unlikely' to meet Eurofighter Typhoon commitments
Ministry of Defence sources insist that the RAF does not need that many to meet Britain's defence requirements.
By Amy Wilson
Published: 7:55PM BST 10 Jun 2009
Britain is unlikely to buy all of the remaining 48 Eurofighter Typhoon jets it has signed up for, despite on Wednesday Germany pledging to take up its full order of aircraft because of defence needs. Sources in the Ministry of Defence said it was "highly unlikely" the UK would purchase all of the 48 aircraft outstanding from the 232 it signed up to buy in 1998. They insisted the RAF does not need that many to meet Britain's defence requirements, because the newer versions of Eurofighter can perform a wider range of roles.
If the UK did not buy the full 232 aircraft it would be liable for large financial penalties, according to the Eurofighter consortium which is building the planes. The defence companies which make up the group are BAE Systems, Finmeccanica of Italy and EADS in Germany and Spain. They represent each of the four partner countries involved.
Last month, Britain signed up to the third tranche of the Eurofighter programme, which has been split in two, although it did not commit to a specific number of planes. Britain is down to buy 88 jets in the third tranche, 40 of which are expected to come in the first run. The Ministry of Defence is still negotiating on price with the defence companies, and it is expected a contract for the first 40 will be signed before the summer break. "The contract for the RAF's Tranche 3 Typhoon aircraft will be signed once there is a satisfactory conclusion to the ongoing negotiations," a spokesman for the MoD said. "Subject to the satisfactory outcome of these negotiations it is hoped the MoD will be in a position to sign a contract later this year."
Before Britain agreed to go ahead with the third tranche, Eurofighter's supporters warned pulling out could result in the Government having to pay up to £2bn in compensation and fines to the partner countries, as well as losing out on cheaper maintenance and upgrade deals agreed with BAE Systems.
At the height of production, building Eurofighter will support 5,000 jobs at BAE, 4,000 at engine-maker Rolls-Royce and its suppliers and a further 16,000 posts across the UK aerospace industry. In total, 40,000 UK defence jobs are linked to the Eurofighter project.
When the agreement on the third tranche was signed, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "This will strengthen Britain's defence capability, and will create new jobs in advanced manufacturing that Britain needs to emerge stronger and fitter from this global downturn."
Any further export orders for the Eurofighter will not affect whether the UK reaches the 232 total order, the MoD sources said. Britain hopes to offset the cost of the programme by selling 24 of its order of Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia.
Germany said it has an "operational need" for the 180 Eurofighters it ordered, quashing rumours it may reduce the total because of budgetary constraints.
|
Home
Pages: 1
