BAE Systems bowed to the inevitable in November and accepted that the order for 48 more Eurofighter Typhoons from Saudi Arabia would not materialise that year. This was a follow-on from the 72 ordered in 2007, and the desert kingdom accounts for about a fifth of all BAE sales.
Typhoon production was slowed down, and BAE said that revenue from the programme would fall from about £1.3 billion last year to £1.1 billion this year. There was not a lot more being said about the order yesterday, as BAE announced figures for 2015. The deal should go ahead eventually, the geopolitical situation being what it is, but the low oil price is understandably delaying decisions.
The consortium, including BAE, that makes the Typhoon is also