BAE Systems targets 300 Typhoon exports (Eurofighter)

The Daily Telegraph ^ | 29 Aug 2009 | Amy Wilson

[sukhoi-30mki]

BAE Systems targets 300 Typhoon exports

BAE Systems will go head-to-head with the US in the lucrative fighter plane export market as it attempts to sell up to 300 Eurofighter Typhoons abroad to keep production going when domestic orders dry up.

By Amy Wilson

The biggest potential export markets for BAE and its consortium partners, EADS and Finmeccanica, are India, Japan and Saudi Arabia, which is already buying 72 Typhoons. An order from Switzerland could come as soon as next year and the consortium is also pursuing sales in Greece and Romania. It also has long-term ambitions in Brazil, Malaysia and Finland.

Typhoon's biggest competitor is the US, which sells the F15 and F18 to the export market; France's Rafale fighter which it built after leaving the Eurofighter consortium; and Sweden's Gripen plane. Its other competitor is another BAE product, the F35 joint strike fighter, which the company is building in a partnership led by Lockheed Martin of the US.

India wants to buy 126 aircraft at a cost of $10bn (£6.2bn), but it wants to take over the majority of manufacturing on half of the planes, meaning whichever nation or group of nations it chooses will have to be willing to share sensitive defence technology.

BAE estimates the total export market in countries it can compete in is about 900 aircraft, with a "through life" value of £90bn. That includes servicing and upgrades until the aircraft goes out of service, usually a period of about 40 years for a Typhoon.

Typhoon sales to existing customers, mainly the partner nations of the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy, will come to an end around 2016 and Britain has already made it clear it is unlikely to buy the full 232 aircraft it originally signed up for.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Typhoon sales to existing customers, mainly the partner nations of the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy, will come to an end around 2016 Photo: Reuters

[PittsburghAfterDark]

As much as I’d like to see the F-22 or F-35 be offered up for export to keep the lines going I’m wary.

There are but a handful of nations I’d count on one hand I’d trust with F-22 technology; Britain, Israel, Japan, Australia and Canada. Of those I can only count Japan as having the immediate need and financial resources as a possibility.

The F-35 already has a ton of foreign orders and I doubt its technology is anywhere near as good as the Raptor. However any stealth capable plane I’m concerned about in the export market.

The Super Hornet is different enough from the original F-18 not to be seen as long in the tooth. The F-15, despite a flawless combat record, has to be looked at as suspect from an aging standpoint versus what else is out there on the market.

[sukhoi-30mki]

The F-15E is still a reliable bet particularly for follow-on orders from major customers. Nothing matches it’s range/payload capability.

[myknowledge]

Along with the F-15SE Silent Eagle, intended for the export market, most likely to existing non-U.S. operators.

[myknowledge]

As much as I’d like to see the F-22 or F-35 be offered up for export to keep the lines going I’m wary. Be careful who you sell the Raptor or Lightning II to, because the West does not want to prematurely negate its lead in aircraft stealth tehcnology. The F-35 already has a ton of foreign orders and I doubt its technology is anywhere near as good as the Raptor. Some technological aspects of the F-22 are incorporated in the F-35, but why is it nowhere as good as the Raptor? It's a primarily A2G fighter-bomber, a reincarnation of the F-105 Thud.