The BAE job cuts are at two sites in Lancashire and one in East Yorkshire.

The competition became a two-horse race earlier this year after the Indian government rejected two hugely successful battle-proven combat jets, Boeing's F-18 and Lockheed Martin's F-16, much to the chagrin of the US Department of Defense.

Both the Typhoon, which is jointly built by Britain, Italy, Germany and Spain, and Rafale have performed admirably over the skies of Libya, enforcing the no-fly zone, launching air to ground strikes and conducting reconnaissance and overflight missions, and many observers believe there is little to separate the capabilities of the two jets.

But the Rafale has so far failed to sell overseas because of its high cost and technical complexity – a marked shift from France's last successful fighter jet, the Mirage.

Ironically, in 2007, Col Gaddafi began talks with the French government to buy 14 jets, a deal which collapsed following the rise of the Arab Spring and the enforcement of the Libyan arms embargo.

India is an attractive target for all international defence companies because it is currently the world's biggest arms importer and it is looking at replacing its obsolete Russian fleet with a world-class multi-role combat jet.

One senior defence source said: "The Libyan war has presented an unexpected shop window for potential buyers for countries, such as Brazil and India, looking at upgrading their air forces.

"Both the Rafale and Typhoon have performed well but Typhoon is the popular choice because it offers so much more. It might be more expensive but offers much more bang for your buck. It's performance in Libya has been flawless."

Wing Commander Jez Attridge, the officer commander F Squadron, during the first three months of the Libyan Campaign, said: "I was deployed for the first three months of Typhoon's involvement with Operation Ellamy (the Ministry of Defence's code name for the Libyan conflict) and flew 27 missions over Libya protecting the civilian population.

"The RAF Typhoons are already proven in the air-to-air role protecting UK airspace every day, but our deployment in the air-to-ground role over Libya demonstrated the flexibility of the aircraft and the people.

"It was decided at a very early stage to team Typhoon with Tornado, whose crews were battle-hardened from numerous similar missions over Afghanistan.

"It made sense because we could benefit from their combat experience whilst complementing each other with our mix of weapons. Similarly, our advanced array of sensors and defensive aids provided the Tornados with significantly enhanced self-protection and situational awareness.

"The resultant combination was powerful, effective and the primary choice of the Nato HQ for dynamic, challenging missions."

The multi-role Typhoon, which entered service with the RAF in 2003, many years late and billions of pound over budget, is in service with Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy, as well as the Austrian and Saudi Arabian air forces. BAE is also pursuing sales in Japan, Oman and Malaysia.

Both the French and the manufacturers of the Typhoon are aware that time is running out for the sales of their aircraft.

The full-scale production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is looming and its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, has already received huge orders from the US Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps who plan to buy nearly 2,500 F-35s over the next 40 years.

The jet has also proven to be the aircraft of choice for the Royal Navy and will fly from at least one of Britain's two new aircraft carriers when they eventually enter service.