Saudi Arabia buys 72 Eurofighters

It depends on the timeline of this purchase and the terms of the deal. Even if the UK has agreed already to supply them with missiles, fielding of the Meteor won’t begin until at least past 2010. This is why I want to know when they’re going to receive these fighters and the terms of the missile package.

Don't Saudi F-15's already use the AMRAAM (as well as Saudi Tornadoes)? If so I shouldn't think missile stocks are a problem.

Originally posted by waynos
Not so.

Waynos,

I was not suggesting that it was 11billion for each plane, but the cost of the EF. I would imagine the deal included other things like a air defence system and radars

What I was wondering was about the cost of the planes for India, because $8 billion divided by 200 equals about $40million each while 120 planes allow for $66.66 million a plane. The EF is probaly the most capable fighter in the competition as of now but it is a lot more than the cost of the original planes like the Mirage 2000 and MiG-29. Although India wants a TOT and possibly a production line in India, it will still cost more than they can afford.

BAE buoyed by £10bn Eurofighter deal

BAE Systems today received a substantial boost when the government announced the agreement of a £10bn deal to sell Eurofighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is buying 72 Eurofighters to replace its Tornado aircraft. The deal is a coup for the consortium consisting of BAE, the Franco-German aerospace group EADS and Finmeccanica, of Italy.

The Eurofighter - also known as the Typhoon - was competing against two rival planes, the US-made Joint Strike Fighter and the French Rafael.
Link

Isn't this a gaint leap in the past day. The deal is roughly $18billion and is sure to include other items. Generally, $18 billion is what some countries spend in a year on defence

[edit on 18-8-2006 by chinawhite]

Waynos, I was not suggesting that it was 11billion for each plane, but the cost of the EF. I would imagine the deal included other things like a air defence system and radars

No, I know you weren't, but neither can you deduce that the Typhoon is too expensive for India from looking at this deal. Its not possible to deduce anything about the price of the Typhoon from this. It also include much more than you imagine. UK-Saudi deals tend to involve a TOTAL defence package, including domestic work and also UK manpower and expertise, they are so wide ranging that the bare unit cost of the planes is impossible to calculate from the outside.

Maybe the Typhoon is too expensive for India, maybe it isn't, but nothing about this deal will provide any clues.

[edit on 18-8-2006 by waynos]

Damn thats one good looking hard hitting fighter bomber.

sweet piccie dude of the euro as a bomb truck - never thought i'd see the day as the much vaunted JSF is supposed to eat that role alive...

Any how good on the saudis for choosing the eurofighter. the sad thing is that they will have as many as the RAF here in the UK, and as a sum more front line combat capable aicraft per se...... sad sad days for the RAF.

Originally posted by waynos
Don't Saudi F-15's already use the AMRAAM (as well as Saudi Tornadoes)? If so I shouldn't think missile stocks are a problem.

I’m not sure if they use the AMRAAM, or if they do what version they may have. So if someone could clear that up I’d appreciate it.

We need KPI to tell us how conceptually outdated the Eurofighter is and how the US planners are in some way incompetant and some other random off topic rant without quote functions btw did I tell you all....

Anyway, I'm surprised it did work out at the originally cited 72 airframes. The Saudi air defence network is one of the best in the world, at least on paper. As for conspiracy theories about the Saudi's invading Israel or whatever, nonsense IMO.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
I’m not sure if they use the AMRAAM, or if they do what version they may have. So if someone could clear that up I’d appreciate it.

here ya go:

www.armscontrol.org...

Saudi Arabia
$3.18 billion

500 AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles.

Continuation of contractor maintenance and training technical services, spare and repair parts, support equipment, modification facilities, and labor to accomplish programmed depot maintenance on the F-15 aircraft.

Continuation of U.S. Air Force and contractor technical services, spare and repair parts, support equipment and simulators in support of the Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 aircraft.

Continuation of U.S. supported effort to modernize the Saudi Arabian National Guard to include, among other items, 1,827 TOW 2A missiles, advanced tactical communication systems, and 132 Light Armored Vehicles.

so they have at least 500 aim120c - and thats just 1 year - year 2000.

go to the beginging of the story and fill in the gaps or go far enough back and see the source. They planned from the begining to use the middle east as the answer to the end. Go to the Institute for Historical Review and read "Behind the Belfour Declaration: Britain's Great War Pledge to Lord Rothschild", it's an eye opener and they've used it to the max....

Perhaps the a/c are to counter Iran's immense militarybuild-up. Its an arms race..

Originally posted by Daedalus3
Perhaps the a/c are to counter Iran's immense militarybuild-up. Its an arms race..

Hopefully because it's about time for a Saudi Arabia and indeed the GCC as a whole to be able to stand up for themselves with zero help from the U.S. They aren't even remotely broke and yet they require U.S. intervention to help stave off the various dictators surrounding them. I think that you can only play it safe only so far and it's not like the 1973 Oil Embargo didn't unite the Middle East albight against the U.N.