MoD tries to offload fleet of 'too costly' Eurofighter jets

The Government is committed to buying 232 planes for the RAF but is now trying to persuade foreign states to take them instead.

The project  -  the costs of which have spiralled from £7billion to more than £20billion  -  has repeatedly come in for criticism at a time when efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been hampered by budgetry constraints.

The RAF's critics claim its insistence on such a huge number of advanced combat jets is a relic of Cold War thinking.

Off-loading: The Ministry of Defence can no longer afford cripplingly expensive new Eurofighter jets like this one

They say that Britain's military operations in reality need larger numbers of flexible battlefield helicopters and transport aircraft, of which the RAF suffers serious shortages.

To make matters worse, the jets will not be able to fly from the Navy's two new aircraft carriers.

The MoD will instead have to buy a separate fleet of 150 strike planes to serve at sea.

Any sale of the aircraft, however, will require the approval of the other Eurofighter partners. The original contract  -  signed with Spain, Italy and Germany ten years ago  -  was designed to stop any country from backing out.

Under the contract  -  which saw Germany pledge to buy 180 jets, with Italy taking 121 and Spain 87  -  the penalties for reducing orders mean it would cost almost as much to cancel as to buy the jets.

Now the countries are negotiating as to whether those numbers can be changed, with Britain and Italy seeking ways to reduce their commitments

Analysts fear the partner countries may block Britain's plans to sell the aircraft.

MoD officials confirmed that talks are under way with the Eurofighter partner nations, but refused to comment on any discussions with other states.

Japan, Saudi Arabia and India are among countries interested in buying the planes, say insiders.