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Britain to buy more Eurofighter jets despite downturn
London (AFP) May 14, 2009 Britain said on Thursday it is to buy a third group of Eurofighter jets, after coming under pressure to go ahead with the order despite the global slowdown. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the new planes would bolster the Royal Air Force (RAF) and "create new jobs in advanced manufacturing that Britain needs to emerge stronger and fitter from this global downturn." While not saying how many it will buy, the Ministry of Defence said it would sign a contract for the Typhoon jets after completing negotiations with the aircrafts' makers and partner nations Germany, Italy and Spain. "We look forward to receiving an affordable bid from European industry that will allow us to proceed with a programme that will deliver advanced multi-role aircraft to the Royal Air Force," said Defence Secretary John Hutton,. "Subject to the satisfactory outcome of these negotiations, I hope that we will be in a position to sign a contract later this year," he added, adding that London has still to decide on the number and cost of the planes. Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain were meant to buy 620 Eurofighters -- made by Airbus's Franco-German parent company EADS, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica -- but a third tranche of 236 aircraft has been held up. Last month the head of Airbus, Thomas Enders, called on Britain to stop stalling over its Eurofighter order amid speculation that the country's dire financial position is prompting a rethink. The Eurofighter, seen as a replacement for the Tornado, has been dogged by delays and cost over-runs. The global financial crisis has made other countries less keen on ordering billions of euros' (dollars') worth of military hardware, not least Germany, which is due to buy 68 aircraft in the third tranche. Each jet is reported to cost 100 million euros (130 million dollars). Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Russia to build 12 fighter jets for Vietnam: reportMoscow (AFP) May 14, 2009 Russia has secured an order from Vietnam for 12 Su-30MK2 fighter jets worth more than 500 million dollars (368 million euros), the Vedomosti newspaper said Thursday, citing top aviation industry officials. The contract with Russian state arms exporters Rosoboronexport was inked in January, according to the paper. The supersonic fighter jets are to be sold without on-board weapons, and no ... read more |
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