Cameron Inaugurates Farnborough Airshow And Announces £3 Billion Purchase Deal With Boeing

David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister has announced on July 11 signing a decade long deal worth £3 billion with the US aircraft manufacturing company, Boeing. Under the deal, UK will purchase nine P-8A Poseidon aircraft for maritime patrol and fifty Apache AH-64E attack helicopters for the British Army.

The deal has been signed between the UK Ministry of Defense and the aircraft manufacturer after last week’s NATO summit and covers training, maintenance and support. Mr. Cameron has announced the deal while inaugurating the Farnborough Airshow. 

     

To implement the deal, Boeing will develop a new facility at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray at a cost of £100 million. The aircraft manufacturer expects to add 2,000 new jobs during the coming years as part of its plan to expand maintenance and support operations for both military and commercial buyers in Europe, reports BBC.

While addressing in the inaugural ceremony, the Prime Minister has represented the deal as a sign of confidence over the British economy diminishing uncertainties posed due to Brexit. A spokesperson has described the purchase deal as part of government’s effort against pledge for spending at least 2% of GDP in maintaining defense, according to a report published in The Guardian.

The nine P-8A Poseidon aircraft will fulfill the gap originated from grounding an age old jet fleet in 2010. The purchase has also been delayed for an ad interim effort to fill the blank with British made aircraft. First phase delivery of the aircraft will take place between 2019 and 2020, predicts the Defense Ministry. The British government has been forced to seek help from its allies to patrol its coast and hunting submarines following suspicious navigation by the foreign vessels during recent months.

Due to decline in demand for Boeing’s combat jets, the US aircraft manufacturer has been depending immensely on modified jetliners for military use. After India and Australia, UK appears as the third overseas client for Boeing’s P-8A which is a modified version of its best selling 737 passenger jet, reports The Wall StreetJournal.

The Chicago based aircraft manufacturer has set a goal for selling 100 P-8A over the next decade. Inclusion of a host of sensors and ability to get equipped with torpedo like weapons has made the aircraft more lucrative to the consumers.

The deal has taken place under the US foreign military-sales program and has remained unconsidered for long due to not offering enough work to British industry. However, the new Apaches will be maintained in the UK by Leonardo-Finmeccanica SpA in the longer term, informs Michael Fallon, the UK Defense Secretary. Leonardo-Finmeccanica SpA is an Italian aerospace company with a larger helicopter operation in the UK.