"The negotiations are finished and the contracts have been returned to the national partners for approval," the spokesman said.

"It is another step in the process."

The spokesman said Eurofighter was "pretty confident with the contract and we certainly think it will be signed by the end of the year".

The second phase of the agreement involves the construction of 236 Eurofighter aircraft, worth around 14 billion euros (18.5 billion dollars).

The agreement for the second phase of construction was due to be signed earlier this year, but Britain delayed the process by demanding that a plan to equip the jets with precision weapons be brought forward, according to recent reports.

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