Many Will Be Made In Kingdom

Good news for several European aerospace companies, as Saudi Arabia announced last week it will purchase up to 72 Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets from a consortium including Britain's BAE Systems, Airbus parent company EADS and Italy's Alenia Aeronautica.

The deal, valued by analysts to be worth about $11.4 billion in capital, continues the Saudi tradition of purchasing arms from Britain that dates back to the 1960s. In fact, the fighters will replace the British-made Tornado, as well as several other aircraft in Saudi Arabia's air force.

"This is excellent news for the British defence industry, for BAE, Rolls Royce and all the component suppliers in the UK," said Shadow Defense Minister Gerald Howarth. "The fact that Saudi Arabia has selected the Typhoon is a vote of confidence in the superb capabilities of the aircraft which faced active competition."

What's good for BAE and others comes at as a blow to French aerospace manufacturer Dassault, however -- which had been counting on the middle eastern country to be the first foreign customer for its Rafale combat jet, according to Reuters.

As part of the deal, Saudi Arabia confirmed earlier this week an unspecified number of Typhoons will be assembled in that country -- meaning the consortium will also invest in local training for Saudi workers to assemble the jets.

"At a time of great turbulence in the Middle East this further military contract will help to strengthen the already very close ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia, one of the most important forces for stability in the Middle East," Howarth added.

FMI: www.eurofighter.com