Rolls Royce signs deal for Saudi Typhoon fleet

MILITARY MIGHT: The new deal is the first step towards building fighter planes in the kingdom. (Getty Images)

Rolls Royce has signed contracts with British aerospace company, BAE Systems, to assist in the maintenance of the EJ200 engines installed in the Saudi Arabian Air Force’s Typhoon fleet.

The two, three-year contracts are part of the ‘Salam Support Solution’ agreement between the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

The new contracts will see the initial support for the engines being conducted in Saudi Arabia. This will include repairs being done onsite and preparing engines and modules for transport back to Europe if serious maintenance is required.

Martin Fausset, managing director, Rolls Royce Defence Aerospace, said: “We gained a lot of experience while supporting the UK’s EJ200 fleet and look forward to delivering a high level of service performance to the Royal Saudi Air Force.”

Saudi Arabia has been pursuing the modernisation of its armed forced for a number of years. Rolls Royce’s deal with BAE Systems is part of a wider reaching contract, worth a total of $41bn, to provide the Saudi Arabian government with 72 Eurofighter Typhoons.

Al Smith, senior vice president, Rolls-Royce, Middle East added that signing the contract with BAE Systems is the first of many steps towards building the EJ200 engine in Saudi Arabia.

He said that the support staff will involve a mixture of Saudi and foreign nationals, which would tie in with the agreement by the governments to have 48 of the planes built in the kingdom.

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