Bill Jermyn has gone back to Blighty. We all wish Joyce and Bill all the happiness for the future.
Eric is due to leave this week.
Steve and Caroline Sawyer have also left for UK. They are hoping to move into their newly built home as soon as possible.
£6bn Deal
Business
Editor
THE
British government and BAE Systems are in talks that could lead to a
multi-billion-pound aircraft and support-services deal..
Experts
said the centrepiece of a deal, which would be named after the two 1980s Al
Yamamah (Dove of Peace) agreements, would be a Saudi order for up to 48
Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, valued at almost £3 billion.
That value could double with the inclusion of spares and support, while Al Yamamah 3 could also encompass construction of a new air base and the eventual purchase by the Saudis of about 40 BAE Hawk trainers to replace their ageing American F5 aircraft.
|
Contacts
between BAE and the Saudis have been taking place for months with the
focus on a possible Hawk order, but until recently it was thought any
deal was at least a year away. Experts
said the pace of discussions was hotting up and the Royal Saudi Air
Force was expressing keen interest in Typhoon, as the export version of
Eurofighter is known. The air force could use the Typhoons to replace
its four squadrons of Tornado fighter bombers. The Saudis acquired the
48 Tornado Air-Defence Variants more than a decade ago, after the Al
Yamamah 2 deal. After
the surge in the oil price, which has almost trebled in 18 months, Saudi
Arabia is now in a strong position to modernise its armed forces. Prince
Sultan, the Saudi defence minister, indicated last month that the
kingdom was in discussions with European and American defence ministers
about possible equipment purchases and offset agreements. "The
Saudi armed forces have strategies for five to 10 years that are
proceeding ahead on a sound basis," Prince Sultan said. "It is
normal to increase the size of the armed forces. The strategies are
based on maintaining the kingdom's security and the service of the Arab
and Islamic nations, particularly the countries of the Arab Gulf
Co-operation Council." The
Saudis are discussing an order for French Leclerc tanks, either through
an outright purchase or through a deal involving some local manufacture.
Britain
was hoping to sell Vickers' Challenger 2 tank to the Saudis. Of the
European countries, the Saudis have traditionally favoured Britain as an
aircraft supplier while buying ships from France. America has supplied
both aircraft and tanks to the kingdom. |
The
oil-price surge has replenished the country's financial reserves, which had
been eroded when the price sank into single figures.
Saudi Arabia is understood to have cleared outstanding amounts due to BAE from earlier supplies of equipment and services. Under Al Yamamah 2, the Saudis finance their purchases through a dedicated amount of oil production, believed to be 400,000 barrels a day at present.
The
Al Yamamah agreements are government-to-government arrangements, so any deal
would be signed by Tony Blair and either King Fahd, the Saudi ruler, who is
seriously ill, or Crown Prince Abdullah, King Fahd's heir and the acting head
of state.
A
Typhoon purchase would be only the second export order for the four-nation
Eurofighter programme. Greece has said it wants to buy up to 80 aircraft,
although the order has yet to be confirmed.
A
Saudi order would be a boost for the European Aeronautic, Defence and Space
Company (EADS), which floats on European stock markets this week. EADS,
dominated by the French and Germans, has a 62% workshare in Eurofighter, with
BAE holding the rest. However, BAE would be the prime contractor for Al
Yamamah 3 and would enjoy the lion's share of profits.
· BAE executives this week leave Farnborough, where they have been based for almost 10 years, for a head office near Pall Mall in central London.
Dave Nichols and Dave Portch have been on a course together lately, just like old times....says Dave!!! (Which one though?)
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