France targets Saudi defence deals

looks like france is close to deffence ties with Saudi with boarder security equipment and their latest air craft rafale

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Not least, the bosses of two of France's leading defence companies, Thales and Dassault Aviation.

Saudi Arabia is set to spend billions of dollars updating its military hardware, from fighter jets to security equipment.

The oil-rich Middle East kingdom has traditionally sourced its arms from suppliers in the US and Britain.

The massive al-Yamamah arms deals between BAE Systems' predecessor British Aerospace and Saudi government in the 1980s was the biggest of its kind in British history.

But, as the political ties between Paris and Riyadh grow warmer, French defence companies believe they are close to muscling in on the action.

Hmmm, does this mean the Saudi's are angling for an even better price on their Typhoons are have they used the Typhoon to get Rafales at knock down prices? The Typhoon order seems secure but you can never be 100% certain.

Originally posted by waynos
The Typhoon order seems secure but you can never be 100% certain.

Last I heard the Saudi's were close to a 10 billion pounds deal, for 48 Eurofighters, with an option for 24 more.

On the 21st of December 2005 Saudi Arabia had signed an agreement with the UK government, which included a commitment to acquire at least 24 Eurofighters.

The RAF had complained the Saudi purchase could lead to supply shortages in the UK. (see: £40bn Saudi fighter jet deal brings RAF shortage fears). They later dismissed that.

Yes zion but the Saudi's routinely employ brinkmanship in this way and you can never be sure which way they will jump (which is how they want it). The negotiations for Al Yamamah were conducted in exactly the same way, except for Tyhoon and Rafale read Tornado and F-15E.