The fortunes of Eurofighter, the much-criticised European combat aircraft, could improve sharply next month when it stakes a claim for a multi-billion-pound contract in India.

India wants to buy more than 130 modern fighters, making the contract one of the largest international arms deals in recent years. Analysts say that with ongoing support deals, it could be worth more than £10 billion.

If Eurofighter wins, it would be a boon for BAE Systems, Britain’s largest defence group, which is part of the four-nation consortium that makes the high-tech aircraft.

The competition for the contract starts next month, when the six planes selected by India begin a fly-off that will consist of a series of trials throughout the subcontinent. The six taking part are Eurofighter, Boeing’s F/A-18, Lockheed Martin’s F-16, France’s Rafale, Russia’s MiG-35 and Sweden’s Gripen.

Defence analysts said the contest would probably come down to a race between the Eurofighter and the F/A-18. “They look like the most likely contenders,” said one source at last week’s Paris air show. The Indian government is unlikely to make a speedy choice, with the trials expected to last for up to a year.

BAE has strong contacts in India, having struck a collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), one of the country’s biggest defence groups. HAL now makes BAE’s Hawk trainer jet, used by the Indian air force, in Bangalore.

The Eurofighter Typhoon has had a rough ride in Europe, with some defence analysts and politicians calling for the project to be curtailed.

Designed as an air-superiori-ty fighter to combat Soviet bombers, the aircraft has been modified to make it more versatile, but this has not stopped calls for its cancellation. Britain has agreed in principle to buy part of the project’s third and final batch of planes.

BAE recently completed the first Eurofighter destined for export to Saudi Arabia. The group will make 72 of the aircraft for the Arab kingdom under a government-to-govern-ment deal negotiated as a follow-on to the controversial Al-Yamamah arms deal struck by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

BAE believes it can sell another 72 Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia, but senior sources at the company say that a deal is not likely to be clinched until the aircraft is operational with the Royal Saudi air force.

Meanwhile, European defence ministers meet in Seville tomorrow to discuss the fate of the A400M military transport aircraft. The €20 billion (£17 billion) programme is running several years late and over budget. Britain has said it would decide by the end of this month whether to go ahead with its plan to buy 25 of the planes, but France and Germany want a six-month delay to take stock.

Supporters of the A400M, which would be a rival and potential replacement for the ubiquitous Hercules transport aircraft, say it will eventually provide much-needed capability to air forces in Europe. Defence ministries are unhappy with the delays, however, and the prospect of having to find other aircraft until the new plane is ready for service.

Lockheed Martin, the American group that makes the Hercules, is in talks with a number of European governments, including Britain’s, about possible stop-gap solutions. Lockheed is also understood to be preparing a new, larger and lighter version of the Hercules to tempt would-be buyers of the A400M.

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