Agence France-Presse, Italy will “probably” cut its order of 121 Eurofighter jets because the planes have become more expensive, the defence ministry said Aug. 13.
Rome has already bought 75 Eurofighters in two rounds of purchases. It was expected to take delivery of another 46 after 2012 in a third round of purchases, but that was now in doubt, a spokesman said.
The country has already taken more than a dozen of the multi-role combat jets, which are replacing its ageing fleet of U.S.-made F-16s.
The Eurofighter, which has a range of 1,560 miles and can be equipped with different combinations of missiles depending on its mission, is built by a European consortium made up of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain.
The defence ministry spokesman, who was responding to a report in Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper, said the higher price weighed on the decision. It costs nearly $137 million each for the current version.
“It’s a question of money,” a spokesman for the defence ministry’s national armaments directorate told AFP.
“Italy has put up funds for a certain number of Eurofighters. These funds are still the same, whereas the cost of the Eurofighters has risen,” he added.
“It’s probable therefore that the number of aircraft ordered will be reduced.”
The issue would be re-examined by the consortium, he added.
“I think the issue is the same for Britain. However, the positions of Germany and Spain are not the same because I think they have a different financing setup,” he said.
“It is not forecast as things stand that Italy will increase the funds earmarked for acquiring Eurofighters.”
Italian company Alenia Aerospaziale, which has a 20 percent stake in Eurofighter, said: “It is premature to talk about prices.” Negotiations on the third tranche have not yet begun, it pointed out.
In deciding the price, much would depend on what type of equipment would go into the jets, the company said.
In Munich, a spokesman for Eurofighter told AFP that talks on proposals for its European clients to buy another 236 aircraft in a third round of purchases were expected to take place next year.
Eurofighter was very confident that the orders would remain the same, he added.
Germany, Spain, Italy and Britain have ordered 620 Eurofighters between them.
The Handelsblatt report said Britain and Italy were under pressure to reduce their Eurofighter orders because they were also to take delivery of Joint Strike Fighters, a U.S.-made rival to the Eurofighter that costs roughly the same.
