BRITAIN faces a 6,000 defence job rout and no homebuilt fighter jets for a decade amid a massive row with the Germans, The Sun can reveal.
Berlin is blocking a multi-billion deal to sell 48 Typhoons to Saudi Arabia – with ministers warned that BAE production lines “will close” immediately if the order is blocked.
Germany – who has a large stake in the Eurofighter Typhoon programme – is sticking to its veto of selling to the desert Kingdom due to fears they will be used to bomb Yemen.
And France is now in line for the massive investment as the Saudis eyes buying their Rafale fighter instead.
Sources say a diplomatic battle to “unstick” the Germans led by National Security Adviser Sir Tim Barrow “is going nowhere” ahead of a deadline next month for the deal.
The UK will phase out more than 100 Typhoons from 2025, to be replaced by US-made 47 F-35B Lightnings.
Britain’s 6th generation GCAP fighter being built with Japan and Italy will not “theoretically” be ready until at least the middle of the 2030s, according to a warning circulated at the top of Whitehall.
It says there is a £15 billion risk to the UK’s “combat air industrial base”, with Typhoon production lines to close “without further orders” and “theoretical GCAP production not ramping up until the 2030s.”
More than 6,000 Brits are employed directly by the Typhoon programme, with a further 28,000 in the supply chain.
Last night a defence source added that other “potential export markets” for the Typhoon continue to be explored and “in the event of World War Three then clearly the UK would be able to restart or ramp up Typhoon production here in Britain.”
A Government spokesman said: “The UK remains steadfast in its commitment to our strategic defence relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
