BAE secures £100m maintenance contract extension with Typhoon
BAE SYSTEMS, Europe’s biggest defence company, has won a £100m contract extension to continue providing maintenance services for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet’s defensive radar.
The company announced the deal at the opening of a major defence conference in London, at a time when it is trying to sell more of the fighter jets.
BAE Systems wants to win orders with countries including Saudi Arabia.
It has previously said that it is depending on these anticipated new orders to meet its 2015 forecast for marginal growth in earnings per share.
The contract announced for Typhoon’s Radar and Defensive Aids Sub System would run until July 2016 and would support fleets of the jets in Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy, BAE said.
The Eurofighter jet is a joint project between BAE, Airbus and Finmeccanica. The partners have already won a deal to fit the Typhoon with a new, more advanced radar system which they believe will help the jet secure new orders.
Kuwait said it would buy 28 Eurofighters earlier in September, in a deal which an industry source said was led by Finmeccanica, but the jet has this year attracted fewer orders than a rival fighter jet, the Rafale, built by France’s Dassault Aviation.
Earlier this year, BAE revealed it had secured an £18.5m five-year contract in India. The deal involves BAE providing Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with a package including ground support equipment, spares, support and training for the Hawk Mk132 advanced jet trainer.
BAE employs around 900 people at its site in Brough, East Yorkshire, in roles including engineering and manufacturing.