UK defence sales to Saudi Arabia: Westland Helicopters

This file concerns UK defence sales to Saudi Arabia by the Westland Helicopters Company. It contains correspondence on:

• The dispute over a contract, cancelled in 1979, for 250 Lynx helicopters, involving Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt and the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI)
• The replacement of Lord Aldington [Toby Low] as chairman of Westlands by Sir Basil Blackwell
• A feasibility study to construct a helicopter, the NH90, jointly with France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

The file also refers to:

• A helicopter produced for the Oil and Natural Gas Commission of India and prospects for selling thirty more
• The sales of the Westland 30 in the US and the UK
• Sales leads from Bangladesh and Zambia.