Halt enquiry or we cancel Eurofighters

[cal04]

Saudi Arabia has given Britain 10 days to halt a fraud investigation into the country's arms trade - or lose a £10 billion Eurofighter contract.

The contract supports up to 50,000 British jobs and there are now fears that the deal may go to France.

The Saudi government is on the verge of cancelling the contract - an extension of one brokered by Margaret Thatcher 20 year ago - because of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into allegations of a slush fund for members of the Saudi royal family, according to authoritative sources.

Tony Blair has been told that the deal faces the axe in 10 days unless he intervenes to bring the two-year investigation to a close.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/01/nsaudi01.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_01122006

[MADem]

1. Uh-oh....graft and corruption on the left, fifty thousand jobs on the right

And the French jus' waitin' ta pounce!

Anyone takin' bets?

[Greeby]

2. Don't worry King Abdullah, President Tony will sort that for you

Can't have investigations when there is arms to be sold and money to be made :eyes:

[don954]

3. resorting to flat out blackmail now

Correct me if im wrong, but most brits ive met don't seem to respond well to that type of thing...

[133724]

4. B.S.

After 20+ years in finance managing dod contrcts up to $20B.

1) $20B in aircraft contracts is spead over 10 to 20 years.
2) Average price per employee = $100K (includes fringe & taxes)
3) $20,000,000,000 / 100,000 = 200,000
4) 200,000 jobs over 10 years = 20,000
5) 200,000 jobs over 20 years = 10,000

This is a far cry from 50,000 jobs....

It doesn't pass the smell test.......

[grahamhgreen]

11. I doubt they are expecting delivery on 20B in Eurofighters

20 years from now!

[davepc]

5. The Eurofighter is a joint venture between the UK/Germany/Italy/ and Spain

Production is spread out among the various nations, though final assembly takes place on an assembly line in each country.

The Eurofighter was proposed in the late 1970s, first flew in 1994, and only has come on line this year.

This Saudi blackmail will have an impact throught the EU, not just the UK.


As an aside, anybody who complains about the inefficiency of the American military-industrial complex should read up on the boondoggle it was to get the Eurofighter off the ground.

The French were originally part of the Eurofighter project, but dropped out in the mid 1980's because they needed a plane that could operate off its nuclear powered aircraft carriers and no other country wanted to change the design specs to acomidate a capability only the French were demanding.

Therefore, the French decided to develop their own plane (the Dassault Rafale). They had a test plane in the air by 1986, and were ready to field the first generation Rafale (Rafale-A) by the time the Eurofighter took its maiden test flight in 1994.

The Rafale and Eurofighter were born out of the same design requirements, but the French by going it alone got a plane in the air and fielded to their Air Force and Navy by the mid 1990s, while the UK/Germany/Italy/Spain mish-mash has taken almost 20 years to field an operational aircraft. In addition the Rafale is the ONLY airframe operated by the French Navy, as it performs every task (air defence, ground/naval attack, and reconnaissance). This saves the French by simplifying their training for ground crews and pilots, and makes supply and maintenance that much cheaper. The genius is that the Rafale is a good enough all around aircraft to do each job well.

By comparison, the US Navy had to jurry rig F/A-18's to take over the roles of the F-14, A-6, and A-7 that ran out of operational life. The Super Hornet is a band aid which performs every Navy mission with stunning mediocrity. Meanwhile the US Navys next generation F-35 is still stuck in development and hasn't come close to being fielded yet.

Insult to injury, many people regard the Rafale as a better aircraft compared to the Eurofighter. The Singapore and South Korean governments tested both and preferred the Rafale over the Eurofighter, but wound up deciding on older F-15's from the United States.

[jannyk]

6. UKTelegraph - Halt inquiry or we cancel Jets (Saudi's)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=3RJCKIX4XTVC5QFIQMFSFGGAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2006/12/01/nsaudi01.xml

<< Saudi Arabia has given Britain 10 days to halt a fraud investigation into the country's arms trade - or lose a £10 billion Eurofighter contract. The contract supports up to 50,000 British jobs and there are now fears that the deal may go to France.

The Saudis are said to be "outraged" by the probe into the activities of companies linked to BAE Systems. The investigation concerns alleged illegal payments made to members of the Saudi royal family and their agents.

The Daily Telegraph has learned that President Jacques Chirac has been to Saudi Arabia twice in recent months to offer full French co-operation on such a deal.

There has since been a series of meetings in Paris. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi national security council secretary general, visited the French president on Wednesday of last week.

Lord Goldsmith is understood to have been warned that the flow of vital intelligence from the Saudi Government to the British secret services could be impaired following a break between the two governments over the contracts, thereby endangering national security, particularly during the war on terrorism. However, friends of Lord Goldsmith maintain that he still feels compromised by the way in which he was pressured in 2003 to change his advice to the Government about the legality of the Iraq war. >>

[mogster]

7. Interesting ...

It will be interesting to follow this as it develops.

[Gin]

8. HMMM....if they can openly blackmail England....wonder what

blackmail is being used against the US?

[davepc]

9. Looks like Chirac is trying to sell them French planes....

[yellowcanine]

10. They need to call that bluff. That is bullshit. Tony does that and he might as well resign now

before the no confidence vote.