UK denies Saudi Arabian announcement on joining Future Combat Air System

Saudi Arabia and the UK are to further the defence aviation co-operation that has seen the former operate a number of the latter’s combat aircraft types, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon. However, while the Saudi defence minister said that this would see his country join the UK in its FCAS effort, the UK MoD has said this is not the case, and that the two are instead pursuing “a partnering feasibility study” to look at future co-operation. (BAE Systems)

The United Kingdom has said that Saudi Arabia is not joining its Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, but is instead pursuing “a partnering feasibility study” to look at future co-operation.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued its statement following an announcement made by Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, in which he said a declaration of intent (DOI) had been signed with his UK counterpart, Ben Wallace, to join FCAS.