Al Yamamah
Al Yamamah ("The Dove") was a series of massive UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia, paid for over many years by up to 600,000 barrels of oil per day to the United Kingdom government. The Al Yamamah Project was initiated in September 1985. The deal has never been fully clarified but it involves the supply and support of Panavia Tornado, BAE Hawk and Pilatus PC-9 aircraft, specialised naval vessels to Saudi Arabia and various infrastructure works.
The UK Government?s prime contractor for the project was BAE Systems plc. BAE has approximately 4000 employees working directly with the Royal Saudi Air Force. see Military of Saudi Arabia
The success of the initial contract has been attributed to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who lobbied hard on behalf of British industry. There have been numerous allegations† that the Al Yamamah contracts were a result of bribery of members of the Saudi royal family and government officials. Some allegations suggested that the Prime Minister's son Mark Thatcher may have been involved, however he has strongly denied receiving payments or exploiting his mother's connections in his business dealings. The UK National Audit Office investigated the contracts and has so far not published its conclusions - the only NAO report ever to be withheld.
It has been described as "the biggest [UK] sale of anything to anyone".
Al Yamamah I
Deliveries began in 1989, comprising
Al Yamamah II
Deliveries early 1990s - 1998
