Eurofighter Partners Order Second Tranche

Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain have agreed to commit to the production of a second batch of Eurofighter aircraft, the Financial Times Deutschland reported on Friday. "The negotiations are finished," a spokesman for Eurofighter told the paper, which said the agreement to build 236 Eurofighter aircraft, worth around €14 billion ($18.5 billion), will be signed by the end of the year. The spokesman said the agreement now had to be rubber-stamped by each country. The accord for the second phase of construction was due to be signed earlier this year, but Britain delayed the process by demanding that a plan to equip the jets with precision weapons be brought forward, according to recent reports. (AFP)