Some good news at Christmas – The Sultanate of Oman announced the purchase of 12 Typhoon and 8 Hawk aircraft in a deal said to be worth £2.5bn. The announcement was made as David Cameron visited Oman and brings more continuity to the local aircraft factories and a significant export boost.
The UK has long associations with Oman going back some 200 years and 7,000 UK citizens work there. The Royal Air Force of Oman operated Hunter and Jaguar aircraft and then planned to buy Tornado but it was not finalised. They purchased Hawk aircraft in the 1990’s and the American F16. This further purchase of the latest type of Hawk and the Typhoon extends and strengthens the UK link to the country and is great news.