BAE secures Saudi Typhoon support deal
BAE Systems, Europe’s biggest defence contractor, yesterday said it had signed a three-year deal to provide support and maintenance for Typhoon warplanes sold by Britain to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF).
BAE, one of three major contractors involved in building the multirole Eurofighter Typhoon, said it had agreed to provide a “full availability service contract” that includes training in Britain for Saudi pilots and aircraft technicians.
The company did not give a value for the deal, though some estimates put it as high as £450m.
Britain sold 72 Eurofighter Typhoons to Saudi Arabia in 2006 and the RSAF has begun flying operations following the delivery of the first four combat planes, BAE Systems said in a statement.
With the global fighter market heating up in the face of perceived new threats and demand to replace old fleets, analysts say after-sales support is a lucrative source of top-up revenue.
Global fighter sales are worth $17bn (£10.8bn) a year and the after-market generates at least as much again, according to Washington-based consultant Richard Aboulafia of Teal Group.