BAE Systems dropped a £5.5 billion bombshell last night as it revealed that the United Arab Emirates had walked away from a deal to buy 60 Eurofighter Typhoons.
The collapse of the deal is a blow for thousands of workers in Lancashire working on the fighter jet programme, which has stumbled from setback to setback. It comes just weeks after BAE’s decision to cut 1,800 UK shipbuilding jobs and close its Portsmouth facility.
It will also mean red faces for the Prime Minister and his aides, who took an unscheduled flight to last month’s Dubai airshow to champion the deal with the UAE.
Shares in BAE are likely to come under pressure today. In addition to the failure of the UAE deal, the company admitted