BAE Offers Typhoon To UAE, Says Could Still Win Indian MMRCA Deal

The United Arab Emirates has received a formal bid from BAE Systems to build 60 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for the country.

The Typhoon is the front-runner followed closely by Dassault with its Rafale jets for the deal which could be valued up to $6 billion. The potential deal is also likely to include a technology-sharing agreement on unmanned aircraft, according to the Telegraph.

A winner is expected to be selected in the coming months.

Charles Armitage at UBS (BAE's House Broker) was quoted as saying by the newspaper that if a deal is agreed between BAE and the UAE, it could open the door for talks with India to be restarted. He said: “If UAE is signed, this could put pressure on India, which would be the only export customer for Rafale - nobody likes being the only export customer for a programme as it tends to reduce flexibility and increase the upgrade/maintenance costs – and could bring Typhoon back into the picture.”

The group’s chances of securing the order were bolstered by an alliance that was agreed last November, when David Cameron travelled to the Gulf to unveil a formal defence and industrial partnership between Britain and the UAE, the report added.