RIYADH, 22 December 2005 — Saudi Arabia and Britain yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding for Saudi Tornado and other combat aircraft to be replaced by Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, the British Embassy here said.

It gave no details on the size of the deal and set no timeframe for the delivery of the new aircraft. “Under the terms of the signed document Typhoon aircraft will replace Tornado Air Defense Variant aircraft and others currently in service...,” it said.

The memorandum was signed after visiting UK Defense Secretary John Reid met Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday. Earlier, he had held talks late on Tuesday with Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.

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