Saudi Arabia set to receive 72 Eurofighter jets, crown prince says

Just out of interest does anyone here have any idea of the relative strength of the Saudi airforce vs the RAF?

I suspect the Saudis know all too well that the real regional threat speaks Farsi, not Hebrew. The displacement of "Palestinian Arabs" following the establishment of Israel has just been a convenient excuse for preserving the monarchy and forming an oil cartel. I mean, if every last Jew was to absent himself from Israel and all 22 surrounding Arab/Muslim states, who would the various dictators have to use as a strawman to justify the absolute power they yield?

km/

Details about the RAF can be found at:

http://www.raf.mod.uk/equipment/strength.html

and details about the RSAF can be found at:

http://en.allexperts.com/e/r/ro/royal_saudi_air_force.htm

Comparisons between these two articles are relatively easy.

Please note that the RAF give their details on their own site whereas the RSAF don't give any details themselves and operate in the usual paranoid Saudi secrecy and we have to rely on western experts and encyclopaedias for information.

Dominic.

km/

Also, RSAF details can be found at:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/gulf/rsaf.htm

Hope all this helps.

Dominic.

Cheers Dominic :)

Hence the reason Blair carries a Koran in his brief case and talks about the RoP being hijacked by a group of extremists.

It's all about the money.

Hardware, both quantity and quality, is not the whole story. The quality of officers (by U.S. standards) range from excellent - a very few - to below average - most of the rest. For the enlisted, the Saudi military is mostly an employment program.

For a look at Arab militaries in general, the following link points to an article titled "Why Arabs loose wars": http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/AD_Issues/amdipl_17/articles/deatkine_arabs1.html

Are they getting ready for a future fight with Iran?

From the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6238633.stm

A war between Saudi Arabia and Iran may break out. It will substantially weaken the islamic camp for several years.

jay/

"Why Arabs loose wars" - see the koran.

"Why Arabs lose wars" - see your link.

:)

Dominic.

Perhaps they will all be lined up and turned over in the manner of the Shah of Iran.

Dominic- See this.

http://www.snappedshot.com/archives/555-End-of-an-Empire.html

You're famous.

It looks like the Eurofighter business proposition is in trouble. BAE’s advertised price is $45-50 million each. The business plan calls for 500 export aircraft by 2022. The orders aren’t coming in.

Apart from the Saudis, Austria is the only non-consortium buyer that I can find and is paying $73 million each.
Saudi Arabia’s price tag is $270 million per jet.

That’s a whole lot of ‘slush’.

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/issues/2002/Nov/Eurofighter.htm

The Saudi's can be assured of receiving the 72 Typhoons from BAe. - As for the 72 Virgins?, well I'd see Mr Branson for that.

All weapon sales should be banned from Islamic countries.

All weapon sales should be banned from Islamic countries.

Saudi funding for SA mosque investigated

Ummah News Links

After viewing this video clip of Saddam's Loyalist Mish'an Al-Jabouri and Shiite Iraqi Journalist Sadeq Al-Musawi fighting on Al-Jazeera TV over Saddam's Execution I have a better idea why Saudi Arabia is buying those Eurofighter jets.

Hilarious stuff and a perfect illustration of the Suuni-Shi'ite rivalry so often referred to on JW by Hugh.

http://memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1347#

Dominic: Oops. Typo. I learned the difference between "lose" and "loose" almost 50 years ago. Great comment though.

National Defense Magazine article:

"Eurofighter officials said they welcome the competition. The F-35 is only a prototype, whereas the Eurofighter already is in full-rate production, Erwin Obermeier, senior vice president for programs at EADS, told National Defense.
“It is hard for us, because there are not many data released with JSF,” he said. “I am not ready to blame somebody as a country or other company when I don’t know the details for it.”
Because the Typhoon is a mature aircraft, he noted, “we offer the spare parts, pilot and maintenance training, so there is a total system that we are going to offer.”"

If it is a mature aircraft, why are they still developing software for it?(see following quote)

"The Eurofighter is a single-seat, twin-engine, combat aircraft, which will be used in air-to-air, air-to-ground and tactical reconnaissance roles. Stealth technology was incorporated throughout the aircraft’s basic design.
“We have 11 weapons stations on the aircraft, and you can carry any mix, according to specified weapons,” said Obermeier. “Right now, we have focused first to develop the software for air-to-air missiles, and the second step is to develop the software for air-to-ground missions.” "

A historical note on aircraft pricing:

A Viet Nam era F-4 Phantom cost $2 million, or $4.2 million, or $8 million depending how cost was calculated.

$2 million: a bare flyable aircraft.
$4.2 million: plus avionics.
$8 million: plus spares, maintenance, training, publications, etc. - the real "fly-away to war" cost.

And if they sell fewer Eurofighters than they planned, each will cost more than forecast because the fixed costs will be spread over fewer aircraft. This is in addition to the usual cost overruns.

The UK has been bought out by the Saudis, witness the eternal investigation of Princess Di's death (high speeds and drunk driving having nothing to do with it of course!). But it would be good news if the Saudis and Iranians went at it, if they do I hope some brain-dead people in thw UN and Washington (Hollywood?) don't get us in the middle trying to stop it. I've never been too impressed with how the Saudis run around with their money based on claims of an oil reserve experts doubt exists, trying to take over the rest of the world with this leveraged equity, but have no tolerance for the rest of the world's culture or people invading their country. With bases in Iraq we don't need them----gee, maybe there is something to this?

What would they possibly want with all that western high-tech Jahiliyyah?

I know that BAe is also providing a lot of services to RSAF down the line. BAe will train pilots and local maintenance crews in KSA too. That might explain why the Saudis are paying more for the planes than the Austrians. Saudis can neither fix nor fly their aircraft. Austrians are pretty smart. I am closely connected to the Saudi military. Most of their soldiers are wildly incompetent. The pilots are lazy and decadent. Many junior officers (of whom I know many personally) entered the flight branch only because it is known to be a free ticket to the USA (and now with typhoon -- the UK) for several years of boozing and whoring on the king's riyal. After which, they may or may not know how to fly a modern fighter plane ... but who cares!?!? They will have had a great time with the loose American/British girls.

Why on Earth is Britain selling 72 of one of the world's best fighters to the Saudis?! Can you imagine the US exporting stealth bombers to the KSA (or to Iran)? Actually, don't answer that - knowing Bush, it's only a matter of time until he will attempt such things.

This so soon after the $83 million to the "Palestinian Authority"...bah!

Let the saudi's buy as much kit as they want.
When push comes to shove, as it will, the RAF and the USAF will win hands down.

A war with iran should be encouraged.
Coalition troops relocate to the kurdish areas, and guarantee to protect the future kurdish state, in return for miliary bases and a constitutional right to freedom of religion.

The arab sunnis enter whats left of iraq to kill shia and the iranians do the same.
moslem fighters from around the world will enter the fray.

We sell arms to all of them to further deplete their wealth.

We all pop along to our nearest kosher grocery store, buy a bottle of fine Israeli wine and watch the beasties kill each other.

Regards

AI

EuroFighter? Isn't that an oxymoron?

It doesn't matter what we sell the Saudis, they have no ability to use it or maintain it. The F-15s and Tornados sold to KSA in the 1980s are STILL maintained by ex-USAF and RAF NCOs!!!! The Saudis buys weapons for prestige rather than operational purposes. I would sell them EVERYTHING short of nuclear weapons because the Saudi military is a threat to nobody but itself.

And the choice of number of fighter jets, 72, is purely coincidental, of course.

These fighter jets will not be used against infidel forces, so long as a corrupt Western puppet is in power, but what if mullahs take over as we saw ayatollah in Iran? The Islamic dream of chasing out the hypocrites who befriend the unbelievers, and replacing them with true Muslims, i.e. jihadists, will exist so long as Islam exists, it is shared by hundreds of millions of that "tiny minority of extremists" we hear so frequently about, and its realization is only a matter of time, especially now that the Muslims see clearly the moral weakness of the West, the suicidal acceptance of the unacceptable idea of a nuclear Iran. THAT is why the Saudi royals are buying fighter jets---they can't rely on the West to protect them anymore.

Why on Earth is Britain selling 72 of one of the world's best fighters to the Saudis?!

If you've seen Tony skulking about London town clutching his Koran, there's your answer. This is one seriously delusional dumbass.

And the choice of number of fighter jets, 72, is purely coincidental, of course.

11 yr old virgin warriors? Not even Allah would pull such a stunt, at least I hope not.