Germany holds its nose, paving the way for future jet fighter sale to Saudi Arabia

BERLIN — The German government U-turned on its policy of blocking the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia over the Gulf kingdom’s human rights record — but it still has qualms about its shift.

A spokesperson for the German economy ministry said Monday that the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia “does not meet our standards” but acknowledged that the country had played a “stabilizing role” in the Middle East following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that ignited the current war over the Gaza Strip.

The change was signaled by Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a trip to Israel on Sunday.

“We do not see the German government opposing British considerations for more Eurofighters for Saudi Arabia,” Baerbock told reporters.

Berlin in 2018 blocked the sale of an additional 48 Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia — the country already bought 72 for around £4.4 billion — over Riyadh’s involvement in the war in Yemen as well as over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives.

But Germany came under intense pressure from Saudi Arabia, as well as defense companies — Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo — as well as the governments involved in the Eurofighter project, to lift its veto.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury complained at a POLITICO event about Germany’s refusal to sell the combat airplane to Riyadh. 

British ministers also lobbied Berlin to reverse course. Last summer, the Times reported that U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had personally urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to change his stance while also exploring legal options to circumvent Berlin’s opposition.

In parallel, Saudi Arabia engaged in talks with France’s Dassault Aviation, the maker of the Eurofighter’s main European rival Rafale, in what was perceived as a way to put pressure on Berlin. 

Both Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier and French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu had confirmed talks were ongoing.

When Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud visited France last month, he was invited to watch an air defense exercise featuring Rafale aircraft with Lecornu. It’s unclear what Germany’s approval means for any potential Rafale sale. 

That pressure was making the German government wobble.

In late November, the country’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany should be more flexible with its export policy.

But this week’s change is creating tensions in Germany’s three-party ruling coalition.

“The German government decided in the summer not to comply with any requests for Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia until the end of the legislative period,” said Sara Nanni, an MP and a defense spokesperson for Baerbock’s party, the Greens, adding: “It should stick to that decision. Nothing significant has changed in Saudi Arabia.”

British jobs

The policy change is also a significant win for the U.K.’s manufacturing sector. Britain’s BAE Systems has a long-term, multi-billion pound contract to assemble jet components at its site in Lancashire.

The company says the Typhoon program is worth billions of pounds and is responsible for thousands of jobs.

A Eurofighter sale to Saudi Arabia would also include years’ worth of spare parts and lucrative maintenance work.

A spokesperson for No. 10 Downing Street declined to say whether the prime minister had personally urged his German counterpart to change his position but welcomed reports of the U-turn in Berlin, saying: “The Eurofighter Typhoon provides important security and, indeed, large numbers of jobs across the four nations.”

A BAE Systems spokesperson told POLITICO the company is “supporting the U.K. Government in discussions with Saudi Arabia” but said the issue of export licenses is “a matter for government.” 

Leonardo declined to comment. Airbus didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment — both companies, along with BAE Systems, are involved in building Eurofighters.

More warplanes

Saudi Arabia wants a next-generation stealth jet. It has tried and failed to buy Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter from the U.S. — although Israel has three dozen. It has also signaled interest in joining the Global Combat Air Programme, a trilateral venture among BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan to build a new fighter.

Berlin also credits the change in policy to Saudi behavior in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the German government cited Riyadh’s “very constructive attitude toward Israel” as well as the “good cooperation” between both governments.

The spokesperson also said the Saudi air force had used Eurofighters to shoot down missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels at Israel.

The change could anger Turkey, which expressed interest in purchasing 40 Eurofighters in November, but Germany blocked the deal.

Joseph Bambridge reported from London, Laura Kayali reported from Paris.