"Foreign firms that are direct beneficiaries of lucrative Saudi government contracts will most likely be the first to relocate. [...] Firms who are invested in the Saudi market but do not have direct government dealings will likely try to bide themselves more time," one expert said.
Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero told Breaking Defense the modularity approach shortens production time against a general frigate market trend of 40 months, and he “strongly believes” Saudi Arabia stands as a key “addressable market” to secure a future FCx30 sale.
Walid Abukhaled, CEO of Saudi Arabia Military Industries, told Breaking Defense the conglomerate is "investing in developing our own products across all domains, but the key ones now are really AI and command and control systems."
A decision has not been made so far on an Initial Operating Capability (IOC) date for a future fighter, but a wide range of planning activities will inform the 2031 procurement decision, an official said.
“Germany is sticking to the joint [FCAS] project with France and Spain,” said a German MoD spokesperson. “Media reports that Germany is pulling out are false."
"If the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia concluded that a purchase of additional Typhoon aircraft, or an upgrade to their current fleet, matched their capability needs, then we would fully support that and work closely with our Eurofighter Partner Nations," said a UK MoD spokesperson.