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The first indication of the aircraft’s
selection was given by Prime Minister David Cameron,
who also said that eight Hawk 128 advanced jet
trainers were part of the deal signed in the Omani
capital of Muscat Dec 21.
The exact financial breakup is not available
but the deal is estimated to be around USD 4 billion
(UK Pounds 2.5 billion).
The contract was confirmed by BAE Systems, which
is part of the Eurofighter consortium, while the
Eurofighter office in Munich issued a statement
welcoming Oman as “the seventh customer to
operate the world’s most advanced new generation
swing-role/multi-role combat aircraft.”
Construction will begin in 2014, and deliveries
by 2017.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest Gulf nation in terms
of land mass and oil revenue, has already opted
to buy 72 Eurofighter aircraft to replace its
Tornado fleet, sold by BAE in the 1980s.
Notably, Eurofighter lost to the French Rafale
in India’s six-nation Multi Role Combat Aircraft
(MRCA) competition over higher pricing, but it
is now being actively considered by UAE and Qatar,
company sources say.
Incidentally, the Gulf states also look for offsets,
but not necessarily in defence manufacturing exclusively
as in India. Both Saudi Arabia and UAE have set
excellent examples in deriving offsets advantages
to the tunes of 30 per cent over each major deal,
and benefitted in establishing general merchandise,
oil, ship-building and even some weapon industries.
Said CEO of Eurofighter, Enzo Casolini,: “We
are pleased to welcome Oman as the newest member
of our Eurofighter family. Eurofighter Typhoon
is an exceptional aircraft and is already proven
and trusted by six nations to effectively perform
in all operational environments. This is wonderful
news and another milestone in the history of our
successful programme. We are looking forward to
developing a long-term partnership with the Royal
Air Force of Oman.”
Since entry-into-service in 2004, more than
340 aircraft have been delivered to six nations:
the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and export customers
Austria and Saudi Arabia.
There are now 20 Eurofighter Operating Units (squadrons)
all over the world. So far the worldwide Eurofighter
fleet has achieved over 160,000 flying hours.
The Eurofighter sales campaign in the Arab Gulf
is spearheaded by Britain, which is trying to
sell at least 100 aircraft to save its defence
exports economy.
Although the Rafale International consortium
of Dassault, Thales and Snecma is in final discussions
with the Indian Government to secure an agreement,
Eurofighter says that it continues to be in race
till an agreement actually fructifies. Company
officials point out that the UAE had almost made
the selection of Rafale but then, during the Dubai
Air Show in 2011, “signs of any deal fell
apart.”
However, the UAE has not made any announcement
and it will be interesting to see what happens.
As for India, official sources indicate that
the negotiations with Rafale are intensive but
smooth and an agreement should be on the anvil
within a few months, hopefully by March 2013.
The Typhoon is built by Eurofighter GmbH, which
includes BAE Systems, Italy’s Finmeccanica,
and EADS locations in Spain and Germany. The engine
is provided by Germany’s Eurojet, which has
partnership with the British Rolls-Royce also.
As for the Hawk trainers, they are being flown
by UAE, Bahrain and some other states in the region
for quite some time. Britian has sold nearly 1000
of them so far.
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