The federal government has changed its position regarding the export of Eurofighter fighter jets to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit confirmed on January 8th that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the entire federal government would stand behind the announcement made by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) the day before during a visit to Jerusalem. Baerbock said there that the German federal government would not oppose British considerations for further Eurofighter exports to Saudi Arabia.
Industry and Great Britain want exports
As recently as July 2023, the Chancellor said: “It is unlikely that any decision will be made on Eurofighter deliveries to Saudi Arabia.” This surprised many in the industry at the time who had hoped for an export.
In June, the CEO of Eurofighter Jagd Flugzeug GmbH, Giancarlo Mezzanatto, saw a sales potential of 150 to 200 Eurofighters in 2024 and 2025. The potential 48 aircraft for Saudi Arabia were also included in the price, as the war in Ukraine led to a tendency for many countries to change their attitude towards arms exports - including Germany.
Due to the fact that the Eurofighter is a joint armaments project that is being implemented by the companies Airbus (with locations in Germany and Spain), Leonardo and BAE Systems as main contractors, export is subject to the reservation of each country involved. Even if it is a deal between the UK and Saudi Arabia.
Die vorläufige Absage im Juli 2023 durch den Kanzler hatte dann umso höhere Wellen geschlagen. Auch in der britischen Regierung, die in Saudi-Arabien einen strategischen Partner sieht, dem sie gerne weitere Eurofighter-Kampflugzeuge verkaufen wollen würde.
Reassessment by the Federal Government
According to spokesman Hebestreit, the government's view has changed due to a reassessment of the situation and developments since the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7th. Saudi Arabia took a “constructive stance” towards Israel and, among other things, used Eurofighters from the Saudi Air Force to shoot down Houthi rockets that were on their way to Israel. “The federal government’s positioning with regard to the Eurofighter must be seen in the light of all these developments. “This is closely coordinated within the federal government,” said Hebestreit.
The government spokesman also emphasized that the change in the federal government's attitude would enable the British to apply for a tender from the Saudis. “In a second step, if Saudi Arabia were to award the contract to order the Eurofighter, the Federal Security Council in Germany would once again deal with the question of whether the specific conditions and the specific power-political constellation and the local situation would agree to such an export or not,” he continued.
Approval from the Union
Many Greens continue to speak out against exporting the Eurofighter to Saudi Arabia, especially given the human rights situation and the kingdom's government. In contrast, Florian Hahn (CSU), defense policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, says: “The federal government has hesitated for far too long to finally allow the export of Eurofighters by our NATO partner Great Britain to Saudi Arabia. Once again, the federal government has caused unnecessary damage to the trust of our partners and allies in Germany, only to finally switch to a course that was necessary in terms of real politics and to which Germany had long been legally committed and committed.”
Editorial / oh
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