UK defence contractor BAE Systems says it expects the Omani government to begin contract negotiations over the planned order of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets shortly.

“We expect negotiations to begin in the near future with deliveries commencing around three years after contract signature,” says a source at BAE Systems.

The contract would involve BAE Systems supplying 12 Typhoon combat jets as well as providing training for the Omani air force.

The Eurofighter consortium is also still in talks with the UAE over the sale of its Typhoon jets.

“The UAE is still an opportunity for Eurofighter Typhoon and we are still in discussions,” the source says.

The Typhoon is jointly built by the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain.

In January, BAE announced that it had started discussions with Saudi Arabia over changes to its Salam programme, which involves the acquisition of 72 Typhoons in a programme aimed at modernising the Saudi Armed Forces. It covers the in-country assembly of the Typhoons.

The changes involve the final assembly of the last 48 of the 72-order and the creation of a maintenance and upgrade facility in Saudi Arabia. Another change is that Saudi Arabia wants to equip the last 24 jets of the 72 aircraft with Tranche 3 capabilities, which offers MBDA’s long-range air-to-air missile, Storm Shadow cruise missile and an active electronically scanned array radar.