Al Yamamah

Al Yamamah ("The Dove") is the name of a series of massive arms sales by the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia, which have been paid for by the delivery of up to 600,000 barrels of oil per day to the UK government. The first sales occurred in September 1985 and the most recent was announced in December 2005, which involved the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighters.

Summary

Although the full extent of the deal has never been fully clarified, it has been described as "the biggest ^* sale of anything to anyone". At a minimum, it is believed to involve the supply and support of 96 Panavia Tornado ground attack aircraft, 48 Air Defence Variants (ADVs), 50 BAE Hawk and 50 Pilatus PC-9 aircraft, specialised naval vessels, and various infrastructure works.

The UK government’s prime contractor for the project is BAE Systems. BAE has approximately 4000 employees working directly with the Royal Saudi Air Force (also see Military of Saudi Arabia).

The success of the initial contract has been attributed to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who lobbied hard on behalf of British industry. There have been numerous allegations that the Al Yamamah contracts were a result of bribes ("douceours") to members of the Saudi royal family and government officials. Some allegations suggested that the Prime Minister's son Mark Thatcher may have been involved, however he has strongly denied receiving payments or exploiting his mother's connections in his business dealings. The UK National Audit Office investigated the contracts and has so far never released its conclusions - the only NAO report ever to be withheld. The BBC's Newsnight observed that it is ironic that the once classified report analysing the construction of MI5's Thames House and MI6's Vauxhall Cross headquarters has been released, but the Al Yamamah report is still deemed too sensitive.

Al Yamamah stage I

Deliveries began in 1989, comprising

48 Panavia Tornado Interdictor Strike (IDS)s
- 28 GR1 Standard
- 6 GR1A Reconnaissance Standard
- 14 Dual Control Trainers
24 Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant, equivalent to RAF Tornado F3 standard
JP233 Runway Denial Munition
Sea Eagle Anti Ship Missile
ALARM Anti-Radar Missile

Al Yamamah stage II

Deliveries early 1990s - 1998

48 Panavia Tornado IDSs

Eurofighter Typhoon deal

In December 2005 it was announced that Saudi Arabia is to acquire up to 72 Eurofighter Typhoons (reportedly 48 aircraft and 24 options ^*). The fact that the deal mirrors the conditions of the previous Al Yamamah contracts suggests that it is in effect Al Yamamah III (i.e. BAE the contractor, secrecy over contract details and payment in oil via the UK government). The BBC estimates the value of the contract at £6bn ($10.6bn).

Air Forces Monthly suggests that the eventual order may reach 100 and the deal could include the upgrade of the RSAF's Tornado IDS aircraft, likely similar to the RAF's Tornado GR4 standard. In an editorial the magazine also raises the prospect of a requirement for a new lead-in fighter trainer to replace the earlier generation of Hawk 65/65As and to provide adequate training for transition of pilots to the advanced Typoon. BAE System's 2005 Interim Report notes that three RSAF Tornado IDSs arrived at their Warton facility for design evaluation tests with the ultimate aim being "to improve servicability, address obsolescence, and enhance and sustain the capability of the aircraft".

References

e.g. ^*
BBC News (2005) "Eurofighter sold to Saudi Arabia" Retrieved Jan. 13, 2006
"Saudi Arabia Signs Typhoon Deal" (Feb 2006) Air Forces Monthly pp. 4-5

External links

BAE Systems | Foreign relations of the United Kingdom | Military of Saudi Arabia | Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia