London, Dec 21 (IANS) Oman has decided to buy 12 Eurofighter Typhoons, becoming the second Gulf country to opt for the four-nation warjet.
The first indication of the aircraft's selection was given by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who also said that eight BAE Hawk 128 advanced jet trainers were part of the deal, signed in Omani Muscat on Monday.
The exact financial breakup is not available but the deal is estimated to be around $4 billion.
The contract was confirmed by BAE Systems, which is part of the Eurofighter consortium. The Eurofighter office in Munich issued a statement welcoming Oman as "the seventh customer to operate the world's most advanced new generation swing-role/multi-role combat aircraft".
Construction will begin in 2014 and deliveries by 2017.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest Gulf nation in terms of land mass and oil revenue, has already opted to buy the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Notably, the Eurofighter Typhoon lost to the French Rafale in India's six-nation medium multi-role combat aircraft competition over higher pricing but is now being actively considered by the UAE and Qatar, company sources said.
The Gulf states also mandate offsets, but not necessarily only in defence manufacturingas in India. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have set excellent examples in deriving offsets advantages of 30 percent over each major deal and benefitted in establishing general merchandise, oil, ship-building and even some weapons industries.
Eurofighter CEO Enzo Casolini said: "We are pleased to welcome Oman as the newest member of our Eurofighter family. The Eurofighter Typhoon is an exceptional aircraft and is already proven and trusted by six nations to effectively perform in all operational environments. This is wonderful news and another milestone in the history of our successful programme. We are looking forward to developing a long-term partnership with the Royal Air Force of Oman."
Since entry-into-service in 2004, more than 340 Eurofighter Typhons have been delivered to six nations: Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain (making up the consortium) and to Austria and Saudi Arabia.
There are now 20 Eurofighter Typhoon squadrons operational in the six countries. So far, the worldwide Eurofighter Typhoon fleet has clocked over 160,000 flying hours.
The Eurofighter Typhoon sales campaign in the Arab Gulf is spearheaded by Britain, which is trying to sell at least 100 aircraft to save its defence exports economy.
Although the Rafale International consortium of Dassault, Thales and Snecma is in final discussions with the Indian Government to secure an agreement, Eurofighter says that it continues to be in race till an agreement actually fructifies. Company officials point out that the UAE had almost made the selection of Rafale but then, during the Dubai Air Show in 2011, "signs of any deal fell apart".
However, the UAE has not made any announcement and it will be interesting to see what happens.
As for India, official sources indicated to India Strategic defence magazine (www.indiastrategic.in) that the negotiations with Rafale are intensive but smooth and an agreement should be on the anvil within a few months, hopefully by March 2013.
The Typhoon is built by Eurofighter GmbH, which includes BAE Systems, Italy's Finmeccanica, and EADS locations in Spain and Germany. The engine is provided by Germany's Eurojet, which also has a partnership with Britain's Rolls-Royce also.
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