Oman intends to buy an unspecified number of Eurofighter warplanes, Reuters quoted Britain as saying today. A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the potential deal followed three years of talks between London and Oman. No details of the size, cost or timing of any sale were released. Media reports in late 2008 said Oman was in talks with BAE Systems to buy 24 Eurofighter Typhoons worth at least 1.4 billion pounds ($2.13 billion). Neither the government or BAE would say if the deal involves planes originally intended for Britain's Royal Air Force. A BAE Systems spokesman declined to comment on the announcement, but issued a short statement: "Oman is a country with which we have a long and valued relationship and stand ready and willing to support any requirement it has." If confirmed, the deal would give a boost to the Eurofighter project after years of uncertainty over whether EU countries would agree to buy the full number of jets they signed up for. Supporters say the Typhoon is a fast and agile plane suited to a range of roles, but critics dismiss it as an expensive relic of the Cold War era. BAE makes the Eurofighter with Italian group Finmeccanica and European aerospace group EADS. The engines are supplied by a group led by Rolls-Royce and Germany's MTU Aero Engines. It competes with Lockheed Martin's F-16, Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, France's Dassault Rafale, Russia's MiG-35 and Sweden's Saab JAS-39 Gripen.
