Four European countries signed a contract for the delivery of 112 Eurofighter aircraft worth about nine billion euros (13 dollars dollars), the German defence ministry said on Friday.

The consortium, involving Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, finally inked the deal in Munich, bringing to an end a long delay as countries hesitated to splash out on military hardware in the midst of a crippling recession.

"NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Development, Production and Logistics Agency (NETMA) today signed a contract for the delivery of 112 Eurofighter aircraft in the name of the partner countries Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain," the ministry said in a statement.

"The procurement volume amounts to approximately nine billion euros," the statement added.

The Eurofighter is a multi-purpose combat jet developed by a European consortium comprised of the aerospace group EADS, BAE Systems of Britain and the Italian group Alenia/Finmeccanica.

The four partner countries in the consortium divided up work on the plane in 1998 according to the number of aircraft each planned to buy, with a total of 620 orders booked in three stages through to 2017.

But the project has been dogged by concerns over production delays and budget overruns, with each plane reported to cost in the region of 100 million euros.

To ease budgetary worries, an agreement was struck to split the third "tranche" of 236 aircraft, resulting in this order for 112 planes, 31 of which will go to Germany.

Raising doubts about the future viability of the project, Britain also threatened to pull out over concerns over a four-year delay in production.

Nevertheless, with the deal inked, the German defence ministry said the programme would "not only secure thousands of highly qualified jobs in the European aviation industry but also improve the export chances of the eurofighter."

Exports of the highly advanced fighter have already begun, with Saudi Arabia taking delivery of two Eurofighter Typhoon jets in June, the first of an eventual 72-jet order valued at up to 20 billion pounds (33 billion dollars), including armaments and long-term servicing.

A statement from Finmeccanica said further exports could be possible to Switzerland, India, Japan, Romania, Greece and Turkey, and there were other opportunities in South Korea, Bulgaria, Croatia amongst others.

The Typhoon is what is known as a swing-role combat jet capable of combining different tasks in a single mission.

It is billed as one of the most advanced fighters currently available, and is able to ensure several roles, including air superiority, close air support and maritime attacks.

The plane's sophisticated weapons systems include air-air and air-ground missiles, laser-guided bombs and a 27 millimetre cannon.

However, critics say that the aircraft, conceived during the Cold War as a western European defence against a possible Soviet attack, is now obsolete militarily and an unnecessary splurge in today's economic climate.