BAE Systems is to create 1,000 new jobs by 2007 after landing a £6bn deal.
The aerospace company said that up to 1,000 staff could be recruited after the firm won a contract to supply 72 Eurofighter Typhoon Jets to Saudi Arabia.
BAE has already taken on an additional 300 staff to deal with the increased workload.
The new posts will be created at the company’s Lancashire plants and will include structural engineers, software engineers and business managers.
The contract for the jets, brokered between the Saudi government and the Ministry of Defence, was agreed last month.