Saudi Air Force Typhoon fighter programme worth up to £1 billion for Eurojet consortium

Rolls Royce has announced that the engine element of the Salam Project, covering the purchase and support of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will be worth up to £1 billion for the EJ200 engines and support.

The Salam Project, a government-to-government contract, covers the sale and support of a fleet of 72 Typhoon aircraft to be operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Martin Fausset, managing director, defence aerospace, Rolls Royce, said: "As the prime contractor for the EJ200 engine on Salam for the Eurojet consortium, this contract will be of significant benefit for Rolls-Royce and our partners - MTU Aero Engines, ITP and Avio. It continues our long-standing relationship with the Royal Saudi Air Force and will contribute to the growth of our defence business."

Rolls Royce has a 36 per cent share of the production work for the EJ200 engine that powers the Eurofighter Typhoon twin-engine combat aircraft.

The European consortium Eurojet has overall responsibility for the EJ200.

The EJ200 programme sustains approximately 4,000 high-value jobs throughout Rolls Royce and its supply chain, with activity centred at the Rolls Royce facility in Bristol, from where the programme is managed and engines for the RAF''s Eurofighters are assembled and tested.

Major components for the engine are also produced at Rolls Royce sites at Ansty, Derby, Hucknall and Sunderland.

Rolls-Royce, a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, operates in four global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.

The Group has a broad customer base comprising 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers and energy customers in 120 countries.

Rolls-Royce is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and in-service support work for the EJ200, together with MTU Aero Engines of Germany, Italy''s Avio and ITP of Spain. Rolls-Royce is responsible for the combustion system, high-pressure (HP) turbine and intermediate casing and also contributes to the low-pressure (LP) and HP compressors, LP turbine, interstage support, and the reheat system.

The EJ200-powered Eurofighter Typhoon began operation with the air forces of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom in 2003. Export orders have been secured with Austria. The total EJ200 fleet has accumulated more than 50,000 engine-flying hours and to date, approximately 125 EJ200 engines have been delivered for the UK RAF.