Eurofighter

[John]

What is happening with the Eurofighter? Will it be called the Typhoon? What will it be armed with and when will it come into service?

[Firefly]

I heard that a certain European partner in the project was none too pleased about it being called 'Typhoon' for certain *ahem* historical reasons?!

It's certainly cost enough so lets hope it was worth it. What i have seen and read leads me to believe that it is very good indeed.

[Christophe]

Here is a short update on the Eurofighter Typhoon programme.

On 2 September 1998, "Eurofighter 2000" has been re-named "Typhoon" for export markets.

A production contract for 620 Eurofighter 2000 aircraft was signed in January 1998.

Prime customer is the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA), representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The repartition between the 4 countries is : 232 for the UK, 180 for Germany, 121 for Italy and 87 for Spain.

Initial orders have been placed for 148 aircraft: Germany (44), Italy (29), Spain (20) and the UK (55).

The first four series production aircraft for the four participating nations took maiden flights in February 2003 and the Eurofighter received type acceptance, a prerequisite for entry into service, by the four services on 30 June 2003.

The first series production twin-seat aircraft were delivered to the German Air Force in August 2003, to the Spanish Air Force in September 2003, to the UK Royal Air Force in December 2003 and to the Italian Air Force in February 2004. The first single-seat Batch 2 aircraft were delivered to the four participating nations in early 2005.

The four participating nations signed the contract for Tranche 2 production in December 2004. Tranche 2 comprises 236 aircraft: Germany 68, Italy 46, Spain 33 and UK 89.

Tranche 2 deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2008 with final deliveries scheduled for 2015.

Greece also selected the Eurofighter (60 aircraft) but finally cancelled this, following a change of government.

Austria signed a contract for 18 Eurofighter aircraft in August 2003, to be delivered from 2007.

Hope this helps.

Ch.

[GraemeR]

I recently had the chance to speak to a pilot who has been flying the plane. He raves about it but says that there are still one or two little teething problems to iron out but he believes that once they have been then it will be the best plane of it's type in the world.

Graeme

[joe campbell]

what type of plane is it?

fighter? ground support? multi-purpose?

thanks for the update!

joe

[Christophe]

It is a multirole fighter.

Ch.

[Christophe]

(...) he believes that once they have been then it will be the best plane of it's type in the world.

Graeme

←

Did he fly the Rafale ?

Cheers.

Ch.

PS : I'm not here opening a debate... just a wink.

[GraemeR]

Yes, he said it was crap

Graeme

[Christophe]

Yes, he said it was crap      

Graeme

←

Sure, same as the Eurofighter will be... when it is fully "developed"... that is, in a few years time !!

Ch.

PS : When did he fly the Rafale ?

[GraemeR]

Christophe, sorry just my poor sense of humour. He has never flown it.

Cheers

Graeme

[Christophe]

Christophe, sorry just my poor sense of humour. He has never flown it.

Cheers

Graeme

←

Hi Graeme,

That's what I guessed...

Cheers.

Ch.