The four member nations of the Eurofighter consortium are set to sign a contract for the first part of the third tranche of Typhoon combat jets.

The $11.2bn deal will cover 112 of the 236 jets in the third tranche to be purchased by Germany, Italy, France and Spain, the Associated Free Press reports.

The multirole combat jet is developed by a European consortium comprising BAE Systems from Britain, Italy’s Finmeccanica, and EADS representing Germany and Spain.

The four countries together have booked orders for 620 Typhoons in three stages through to 2017.