UK and Saudi Arabia discuss defence links as Tempest superjet project progresses

Sixth-generation plane due to be introduced by 2035

UK Defence Secretary John Healey welcomes Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in London. Photo: UK's Ministry of Defence

UK Defence Secretary John Healey met Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in London this week to discuss closer ties.

After the meeting, Mr Healey described Saudi Arabia as a “vital partner for the UK in ensuring security and stability in the Gulf”.

The two men discussed opportunities for closer defence co-operation, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence.

The two ministers held an expanded meeting during which they “reviewed the long-standing historic ties between the two friendly countries and discussed strategic co-operation in defence fields, as well as opportunities to enhance it in ways that serve mutual interests”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. They also addressed regional and international developments, along with issues of mutual concern.

Prince Khalid also met National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin during the two days of talks, which ended on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia is keen to become the fourth partner nation for the Global Combat Air Programme that will produce the Tempest superjet, the world’s most advanced aircraft, in 2035. The UK is understood to be open to involving another country. The programme was launched in 2022 when a joint company was established, equally owned by aerospace contractors from the three countries: BAE Systems, Leonardo and Aircraft Industrial Enhancement.

The jet is intended to be a multi-role aircraft to replace the RAF’s Typhoons as they leave service from the middle of the next decade.

UK and Saudi Arabian officials meet in London to discuss closer defence ties. UK Ministry of Defence

An official request was made by Riyadh to join the tri-nation project developed by Britain, Italy and Japan in 2023 and it was confirmed in January this year that talks were taking place.

Japan has been more cautious, and initially opposed Saudi Arabia’s inclusion, fearing it might delay the tight deadline to produce the aircraft. In December, the country's Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said “assumptions” should not be made about the participation of other countries.

Italy has lobbied for Saudi Arabia to be brought on board, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni publicly giving her backing to the proposal after meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Al Ula.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said last month that Saudi Arabia had more resources available than the other three countries as well as “the need for technical growth”.

The Tempest, as it is known in Britain, will have advanced stealth technology with the ability to fly without a pilot. It will also be able to direct swarms of drones, as well as incorporating artificial intelligence and carrying a large ordnance of missiles and directed-energy lasers.

Using digital tools and advanced manufacturing skills, the GCAP alliance plans to build the jet in about half the time it took to launch the Eurofighter Typhoon.

UK ministers have been warned to keep a tight grip on the programme's £12 billion ($16 billion) budget. MPs on the House of Commons defence committee acknowledged that progress so far had been positive but warned that previous projects with other countries had “seen costs spiral and delays pile up”.

Mr Healey announced on Thursday that the UK government would set up a cyber command to counter a “continual and intensifying” level of cyber warfare as part of a strategic defence review.

It will also invest more than £1 billion in a new “digital targeting web” to be set up by 2027 to better connect weapons systems and allow battlefield decisions to be made faster.

It could identify a threat using a sensor on a ship or in space and then disable it using an F-35 aircraft, drone or offensive cyber operation, the Ministry of Defence said.

Mr Healey said the government was responding after about 90,000 cyber attacks from state-linked sources were directed at the UK’s defence over the last two years.