Eurofighter's Turkey deal - why it matters to Lancashire

Sealing a multi-billion pound deal to supply Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey will deliver a sizeable boost to Lancashire’s vitally important defence industry on several fronts.

It will enable the final assembly line for the Typhoon at BAE Systems’ Warton plant to restart and will also be welcome news for the programme’s well established supply chain in the county.

The Unite union issued a statement in early July – before news of the Turkish deal emerged last week.

The union reported that hundreds of workers at Warton had been transferred to other BAE factories or to RAF bases as there were no further domestic or export orders for the Typhoon.

Its general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Workers at BAE and across the whole UK defence and manufacturing industry will be looking at the ending of the Typhoon final assembly production at Warton and asking how a government promising to turn defence spending into ‘British growth, British jobs, British skills, British innovation’ could let it happen.”

The contract currently being finalised with Turkey is reported to be for a maximum of 40 aircraft although it is understood the exact number is still being discussed.

A successful deal with Turkey could also help the Eurofighter consortium’s talks with other countries, such as Qatar and Austria, as it looks to win more orders for the programme in what is a highly competitive market.

Continuing Eurofighter assembly in Lancashire is seen as vital in bridging the gap until the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) fully ramps up and in securing the skills needed to deliver it.

The UK is a partner with Italy and Japan in GCAP, working to develop the sixth-generation fighter and accompanying systems, with much of the early work taking place at BAE Systems’ Lancashire facilities.

The Memorandum of Understanding announced by the UK and Turkey last week sets the stage for what would be the first Typhoon export order secured by the UK since 2017.

And it comes as the government’s defence secretary John Healey makes the drive for new defence export deals a high priority – which is more good news for Lancashire.

The Ministry of Defence is preparing to take on responsibility for defence exports from July 31 in a significant step of delivery for the Strategic Defence Review.

John Healey said. “It shows this government’s determination to secure new defence deals, building on our relationships abroad to deliver for British working people.”

Latest figures show UK defence exports were valued at £14.5bn in just a 12-month period.

The Typhoon workshare agreement would see more than a third of each aircraft destined for Turkey manufactured in the UK; the rest of each aircraft would be produced by the Eurofighter partner nations.

Final production at Warton site would include radars from Edinburgh and engines from Bristol, helping secure thousands of UK jobs – around 20,000 are supported by the Typhoon programme, primarily in Lancashire and the wider North West.

The RAF’s existing fleet of Typhoons are also being upgraded over the next 15 years, supporting skilled jobs across the UK.

The Prospect union’s general secretary Mike Clancy has welcomed the deal with Turkey. He said: “This agreement shows the importance of government leadership to delivering a coherent defence industrial strategy.

“For too long key capabilities and skilled workers have been lost by industry when programmes end, and there is lack of clarity about what work will follow. This potential deal would help bridge the gap for combat aviation until the Global Combat Air Programme fully ramps up.

“This clear, long-term pipeline of both UK and export orders is needed for every area of the defence industry, in particular naval shipbuilding.”

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a multi-role highly advanced fighter jet, in operation with nine air forces across the world, and has a reputation for its performance, reliability, availability and survivability.

It is made by a consortium of three of Europe’s largest defence groups: BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo.

Speaking to Lancashire Business View before the Turkish announcement, a BAE Systems spokesperson said: “We are experienced at responding to the changing demands of the Typhoon programme to ensure we retain our specialist skills.

“The strong level of interest, commitment and investment in the aircraft from current and potential customers gives us confidence that Typhoon production in the UK will take us into the next decade - we’re working hard to secure these orders which are critical to secure the UK’s long-term sovereign combat air capability.”