Oman begins Typhoon purchase formalities
The Sultanate of Oman has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to BAE Systems and the Eurofighter consortium for a number of Typhoon fighters.
It was at Farnborough airshow in 2008 the Omani first expressed an interest in the Eurofighter aircraft and in April 2010 the then UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced a deal had been done. There is no clear confirmation on numbers although it is believed it could be around 20 aircraft in the requirement. It is not yet clear whether these will be refurbished Tranche 1 aircraft from the RAF or include at least 12 Tranche 3 fighters from the current UK order.
At the Dubai Airshow in November last year there was greater speculation that the formal RFP was to be issued but at the same time there were suggestions that the Omani force could be considering American alternatives.
The Eurofighter industry consortium will allow partner nations Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK to sell on some of their production aircraft to third parties, as long as such transactions do not interfere with its own export campaigns with the Typhoon. The Oman aircraft will come from the UK.
The UAE is also looking at purchasing Eurofighters having dropped the French made Rafale in November.
Post a comment