The second tranche of the combat aircraft includes 236 jets valued at about 19 billion euros (23 billion dollars), the FT reported. The partner countries are now to sign a binding letter of intent to assure the consortium building the jets that the contract will go ahead.

The four are expected to agree on the content of the letter of intent at the latest by the end of this month.

Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain have ordered a total of 620 Eurofighter aircraft in three tranches from a consortium made up of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co (EADS), BAE Systems and the Italian group Alenia.

But Britain now wants production to be slowed down and has demanded that a plan to equip the jets with precision weapons be brought forward, according to recent media reports.

The FT said that EADS has complained over the inability of BAE Systems to agree with the Ministry of Defence over the terms of its Royal Air Force contract, which has stalled the talks on the second tranche.

The Eurofighter project, which is in competition with the US-made Joint Strike Fighter, has been beset by delays since it was conceived almost two decades ago.

WAR.WIRE