Defence Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Khalid bin Salman said on social media that he signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with his British counterpart regarding Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Future Air Capabilities Program (FCAS).
The move was not unexpected as the French daily La Tribune has published Saudi interest in the French FCAS programme along with Saudi Arabia’s “Saudi Vision 2030”. The paper has added that the attempt was improbable to materialise.
Hours after Salman’s publication, the United Kingdom put out a statement which disputed that the Saudis would have any role in FCAS.
On its official Twitter account, British Defence Ministry clarified the signature: "Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and his counterpart signed a Statement of Intent in Riyadh, which initiates a 12-month Partnering Feasibility Study to explore how we can best progress the future of our combat air partnership.”
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said, “the Statement of Intent signed today will strengthen our Saudi-UK combat air relationship and our ability to address shared security challenges for decades to come, supporting Saudi Vision 2030 aspirations.
FCAS, a joint effort by the UK, Italy and Sweden, was initially designed to explore future aviation technologies, including the Tempest next-generation fighter program.
