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→Radar signature reduction features: Tag added. Let's see some actual DATA on this "claim." I thought encyclopedic articles dealt in sourced FACTS.
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Although not designated a [[stealth aircraft|stealth fighter]], measures were taken to reduce the Typhoon's [[radar cross section]] (RCS), especially from the frontal aspect.<ref name="structure">[http://www.eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk/Eurofighter/structure.html Eurofighter Structural Design], eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk.</ref><ref>[http://www.eurofighter.com/news/article131.asp To survive in a present-day]</ref> An example of these measures is that the Typhoon has jet inlets that conceal the front of the jet engine (a strong radar target) from radar. Many important potential radar targets, such as the wing, canard and fin leading edges, are highly swept, so will reflect radar energy well away from the front sector.<ref name= "Richardson p113"> Richardson 2001, p. 113.</ref> Some external weapons are mounted semi-recessed into the aircraft, partially shielding these missiles from incoming radar waves.<ref name="structure"/> In addition [[radar absorbent material]]s (RAM) developed primarily by [[EADS]]/[[DASA]] coat many of the most significant reflectors, e.g. the wing leading edges, the intake edges and interior, the rudder surrounds, strakes, etc.<ref name="structure"/><ref>[http://eurofighter.airpower.at/faq.htm Airpower FAQ (German)], [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Feurofighter.airpower.at%2Ffaq.htm&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=de&ie=UTF-8 English translation]</ref> The Typhoon does not use internal storage of weapons. External mounting points are used instead, which increases its radar cross section but allows for more and larger stores.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-22-weapons.htm F-22 weapons]</ref> The Typhoon's current [[Euroradar CAPTOR]] radar is relatively easy to detect when operating, unlike a few more advanced radars. For that reason the Eurofighter operates automatic Emission Controls (EMCON) to reduce the Electro-Magnetic emissions of the Radar.<ref name="structure"/> The German BW-Plan 2009 indicates that Germany will equip/retrofit the Luftwaffe's Eurofighters with the AESA Captor-E from 2012.<ref>[http://www.geopowers.com/Machte/Deutschland/Rustung/Rustung_2008/Bundeswehrplan_2009.pdf Bundeswehr Plan 2009], Page 67; German</ref>
Although not designated a [[stealth aircraft|stealth fighter]], measures were taken to reduce the Typhoon's [[radar cross section]] (RCS), especially from the frontal aspect.<ref name="structure">[http://www.eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk/Eurofighter/structure.html Eurofighter Structural Design], eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk.</ref><ref>[http://www.eurofighter.com/news/article131.asp To survive in a present-day]</ref> An example of these measures is that the Typhoon has jet inlets that conceal the front of the jet engine (a strong radar target) from radar. Many important potential radar targets, such as the wing, canard and fin leading edges, are highly swept, so will reflect radar energy well away from the front sector.<ref name= "Richardson p113"> Richardson 2001, p. 113.</ref> Some external weapons are mounted semi-recessed into the aircraft, partially shielding these missiles from incoming radar waves.<ref name="structure"/> In addition [[radar absorbent material]]s (RAM) developed primarily by [[EADS]]/[[DASA]] coat many of the most significant reflectors, e.g. the wing leading edges, the intake edges and interior, the rudder surrounds, strakes, etc.<ref name="structure"/><ref>[http://eurofighter.airpower.at/faq.htm Airpower FAQ (German)], [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Feurofighter.airpower.at%2Ffaq.htm&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=de&ie=UTF-8 English translation]</ref> The Typhoon does not use internal storage of weapons. External mounting points are used instead, which increases its radar cross section but allows for more and larger stores.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-22-weapons.htm F-22 weapons]</ref> The Typhoon's current [[Euroradar CAPTOR]] radar is relatively easy to detect when operating, unlike a few more advanced radars. For that reason the Eurofighter operates automatic Emission Controls (EMCON) to reduce the Electro-Magnetic emissions of the Radar.<ref name="structure"/> The German BW-Plan 2009 indicates that Germany will equip/retrofit the Luftwaffe's Eurofighters with the AESA Captor-E from 2012.<ref>[http://www.geopowers.com/Machte/Deutschland/Rustung/Rustung_2008/Bundeswehrplan_2009.pdf Bundeswehr Plan 2009], Page 67; German</ref>


According to the RAF, the Eurofighter's RCS is better than RAF requirements. Comments from [[BAE Systems]] suggest the radar return is around one quarter of that of the Tornado it replaces.<ref>[http://www.eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk/Eurofighter/structure.html Structure]</ref> The Eurofighter is thought to have an RCS of less than one square metre in a clean configuration by author Doug Richardson, although no official value is available.<ref name= "Richardson p113"/> This compares with the estimated RCS of the [[Rafale]] of 2 square metres,<ref name="Richardson p57">Richardson 2001, p. 57.</ref> and the American [[F-117 Nighthawk|F-117]] of 0.025 square metres.<ref name="Richardson p57"/> The manufacturers claim the RCS of the Eurofighter to be the smallest of all fighter aircraft currently in production.<ref>[http://eurofighter.com/news/article131.asp The Stealthy Eurofighter Typhoon], Eurofighter GmbH </ref> The manufacturers have carried out tests on the early prototypes to optimize the low observability characteristics of the aircraft from the early 1990s. Testing at BAe's Warton facility on the DA4 prototype measured the RCS of the aircraft and investigated the effects of a variety of RAM coatings. Another measure to reduce the likelihood of discovery is the use of passive sensors, which minimises the radiation of treacherous electronic emissions. While canards generally have poor stealth characteristics,<ref>Neblett, Evan, Metheny, Mike and Leifsson, Leifur Thor. [http://www.aoe.vt.edu/~mason/Mason_f/canardsS03.pdf "Canards."] ''AOE 4124: Configuration Aerodynamics''. Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech., 17 March 2003.</ref> the flight control system is designed to minimise the RCS in flight, maintaining the elevon trim and canards at an angle to minimise RCS.<ref>[http://eurofighter.airpower.at/faq.htm Faq Eurofighter], [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Feurofighter.airpower.at%2Ffaq.htm&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=de&ie=UTF-8 translation]</ref><ref>[http://www.parlinkom.gv.at/pls/portal/docs/page/PG/DE/XXIII/KOMM/KOMM_00064/FNAME_080920.PDF#search=%22Eurofighter%20Andreas%20Knoll%22 Austrian Eurofighter committee of inquiry: [[Brigadier]] Dipl.Ing.Knoll about Eurofighter and Stealth p.76-77], [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.airpower.at%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ft%3D2629&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=de&ie=UTF-8Austrian translation]</ref>
According to the RAF, the Eurofighter's RCS is better than RAF requirements. Comments from [[BAE Systems]] suggest the radar return is around one quarter of that of the Tornado it replaces.<ref>[http://www.eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk/Eurofighter/structure.html Structure]</ref> The Eurofighter is thought to have an RCS of less than one square metre in a clean configuration by author Doug Richardson, although no official value is available.<ref name= "Richardson p113"/> This compares with the estimated RCS of the [[Rafale]] of 2 square metres,<ref name="Richardson p57">Richardson 2001, p. 57.</ref> and the American [[F-117 Nighthawk|F-117]] of 0.025 square metres.<ref name="Richardson p57"/> The manufacturers claim the RCS of the Eurofighter to be the smallest of all fighter aircraft currently in production.<ref>[http://eurofighter.com/news/article131.asp The Stealthy Eurofighter Typhoon], Eurofighter GmbH</ref>{{dubious|date=July 2009}} The manufacturers have carried out tests on the early prototypes to optimize the low observability characteristics of the aircraft from the early 1990s. Testing at BAe's Warton facility on the DA4 prototype measured the RCS of the aircraft and investigated the effects of a variety of RAM coatings. Another measure to reduce the likelihood of discovery is the use of passive sensors, which minimises the radiation of treacherous electronic emissions. While canards generally have poor stealth characteristics,<ref>Neblett, Evan, Metheny, Mike and Leifsson, Leifur Thor. [http://www.aoe.vt.edu/~mason/Mason_f/canardsS03.pdf "Canards."] ''AOE 4124: Configuration Aerodynamics''. Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech., 17 March 2003.</ref> the flight control system is designed to minimise the RCS in flight, maintaining the elevon trim and canards at an angle to minimise RCS.<ref>[http://eurofighter.airpower.at/faq.htm Faq Eurofighter], [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Feurofighter.airpower.at%2Ffaq.htm&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=de&ie=UTF-8 translation]</ref><ref>[http://www.parlinkom.gv.at/pls/portal/docs/page/PG/DE/XXIII/KOMM/KOMM_00064/FNAME_080920.PDF#search=%22Eurofighter%20Andreas%20Knoll%22 Austrian Eurofighter committee of inquiry: [[Brigadier]] Dipl.Ing.Knoll about Eurofighter and Stealth p.76-77], [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.airpower.at%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ft%3D2629&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=de&ie=UTF-8Austrian translation]</ref>


==Operational history==
==Operational history==

Revision as of 20:51, 11 July 2009

This article is about a fighter aircraft. For the computer game, see Eurofighter Typhoon (computer game).
"EF2000" redirects here. For the computer game, see EF2000 (computer game).
Typhoon
A Eurofighter Typhoon F2 of the RAF
Role Multirole fighter
Manufacturer Eurofighter GmbH
First flight 27 March 1994[1]
Introduction 2003
Status Operational
Primary users Royal Air Force
Luftwaffe
Italian Air Force
Spanish Air Force
Number built 146 (as of May 2008)[2]
471 ordered (as of January 2009)
Developed from British Aerospace EAP
Variants Eurofighter Typhoon variants

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft. It is being designed and built by a consortium of three separate partner companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and EADS working through a holding company Eurofighter GmbH which was formed in 1986. The project is managed by NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) which acts as the prime customer.[3]

The series production of the Eurofighter Typhoon is underway, and the aircraft is being procured under three separate contracts (referred to as "tranches"), each for aircraft with generally improved capabilities. The aircraft has entered service with the British Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe, the Italian Air Force, the Spanish Air Force and the Austrian Air Force. Saudi Arabia has signed a £4.43 billion (approx. €6.4  billion c. 2007) contract for 72 aircraft.[4]

Development

File:Eurofighter logo.svg
Official Eurofighter logo.

The UK had identified a requirement for a new fighter as early as 1971. A specification, AST 403, issued by the Air Staff in 1972, resulted in a conventional "tailed" design known as P.96, which was presented in the late 1970s. While the design would have met the Air Staff's requirements, the UK air industry had reservations as it appeared to be very similar to the F/A-18 Hornet, which was then well advanced in its development. The design had little potential for future growth, and when it entered production it would secure few exports in a market in which the Hornet would be well established.[5] Simultaneously, by 1979 the West German requirement for a new fighter had led to the development of the TKF-90 concept.[6][7] This was a cranked delta wing design with forward canard controls and artificial stability. Although the British Aerospace designers rejected some of its advanced features such as vectoring engine nozzles and vented trailing-edge controls, they agreed with the overall configuration.

In 1979 British Aerospace and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm presented a formal proposal to their respective governments for the ECF, the European Collaborative Fighter[8] or European Combat Fighter.[7] In October 1979 Dassault joined the ECF team for a tri-national study, which became known as the European Combat Aircraft.[8] It was at this stage of development that the Eurofighter name was first attached to the aircraft.[9] The development of different national prototypes continued. France produced the ACX. The UK produced two designs. The P.106 [10] was a single-engined "lightweight" fighter, superficially resembling the JAS 39 Gripen, the P.110 was a twin-engined fighter. The P.106 concept was rejected by the RAF, on the grounds that it had "half the effectiveness of the two-engined aircraft at two thirds of the cost".[5] West Germany continued to refine the TFK-90 concept.[7] The ECA project collapsed in 1981 for several reasons including differing requirements, Dassault's insistence on "design leadership" and the British preference for a new version of the RB199 to power the aircraft versus the French preference for the new SNECMA M88.[9]

As a result the Panavia partners (BAe, MBB and Aeritalia) launched the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) programme in April 1982.[11] The ACA was very similar to the BAe P.110, having a cranked delta wing, canards and a twin tail. One major external difference was the replacement of the side mounted engine intakes with a chin intake. The ACA was to be powered by a modified version of the RB199. The German and Italian governments withdrew funding, however the UK Ministry of Defence agreed to fund 50% of the cost with the remaining 50% to be provided by industry. MBB and Aeritalia signed up with the aim of producing two aircraft, one at Warton and one by MBB. In May 1983 BAe announced a contract with the MoD for the development and production of an ACA demonstrator, the Experimental Aircraft Programme.[11][12]

In 1983 the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain launched the Future European Fighter Aircraft (FEFA) programme. The aircraft was to have Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) capabilities. In 1984 France reiterated its requirement for a carrier-capable version and demanded a leading role. The UK, West Germany and Italy opted out and established a new EFA programme.[7]

In Turin on 2 August 1985 Italy, West Germany and the UK agreed to go ahead with the Eurofighter. The announcement of this agreement confirmed that France, along with Spain, had chosen not to proceed as a member of the project.[13] Despite pressure from France, Spain rejoined the Eurofighter project in early September 1985.[14] France officially withdrew from the project to pursue its own ACX project, which was to become the Dassault Rafale.

Eurofighter Typhoon T1 (twin-seat) of the Royal Air Force. The dark patch in the centre of the fuselage is the exhaust of the Auxiliary Power Unit.

Also in 1985 the BAe EAP was rolled out at BAe Warton, by this time also funded by MBB and BAe itself. The EAP first flew on 6 August 1986.[15] The Eurofighter bears a strong resemblance to the EAP. Design work continued over the next five years using data from the EAP. Initial requirements were: UK: 250 aircraft, Germany: 250, Italy: 165 and Spain: 100. The share of the production work was divided among the countries in proportion to their projected procurement - British Aerospace (33%), DASA (33%), Aeritalia (21%), and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) (13%).

1986 also saw the establishment of the Munich based Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH to manage development of the project[16] and EuroJet Turbo GmbH, the alliance of Rolls-Royce, MTU Aero Engines, FiatAvio (now Avio) and ITP for development of the EJ200. The aircraft was known as Eurofighter EFA from the late 1980s until it was renamed EF 2000 in 1992.[17]

By 1990 the selection of the aircraft's radar had become a major stumbling block. The UK, Italy and Spain supported the Ferranti Defence Systems-led ECR-90, while Germany preferred the APG-65 based MSD2000 (a collaboration between Hughes (of the USA), AEG and GEC-Marconi). An agreement was reached after UK Defence Secretary Tom King assured his West German counterpart Gerhard Stoltenberg that the British government would underwrite the project and allow GEC to acquire Ferranti Defence Systems from its troubled parent. GEC thus withdrew its support for the MSD2000.[18]

Testing

The maiden flight of the Eurofighter prototype took place on 27 March 1994.[1] Dasa chief test pilot Peter Weger took the prototype on a test flight around Bavaria. The 1990s saw significant arguments over work share, the specification of the aircraft and even participation in the project.

On 9 December 2004, Eurofighter Typhoon IPA4 began three months of Cold Environmental Trials (CET) at the Vidsel Air Base in Sweden, the purpose of which was to verify the operational behaviour of the aircraft and its systems in temperatures between -25 and -31°C. [19]

In May 2007, Eurofighter Development Aircraft 5 made the first flight with the CAESAR demonstrator system,[20] a development of the Euroradar CAPTOR incorporating Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology.

The maiden flight of Instrumented Production Aircraft 7 (IPA7), the first fully equipped Tranche 2 aircraft, took place from EADS' Manching airfield on 16 January 2008.[21]

When developed, the production version of the CAPTOR-E radar is being proposed as part of Tranche 3 of the Typhoon from 2012. Tranche 2 aircraft use the non AESA, mechanically scanned Captor-M which incorporates weight and space provisions for possible upgrade to CAESAR (AESA) standard in the future.[22]

A Eurofighter Instrumented Production Aircraft of the German Luftwaffe.

Orders

The first production contract was signed on 30 January 1998 between Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet and NETMA.[23] The procurement totals were as follows: UK 232, Germany 180, Italy 121, and Spain 87. Production was again allotted according to procurement: British Aerospace (37%), DASA (29%), Aeritalia (19.5%), and CASA (14%).

On 2 September 1998, a naming ceremony was held at Farnborough, England. This saw the Typhoon name formally adopted, however initially for export aircraft only. This was reportedly resisted by Germany; perhaps because the Hawker Typhoon was a fighter-bomber aircraft which served with the RAF during the Second World War against German targets.[24] In September 1998 contracts were signed for production of 148 Tranche 1 aircraft and procurement of long lead-time items for Tranche 2 aircraft.[25] In March 2008 the final aircraft out of Tranche 1 was delivered to the German Luftwaffe, with all successive deliveries being at the Tranche 2 standard.[26] On 21 October 2008, the first two of 91 Tranche 2 aircraft, ordered four years before, were delivered to RAF Coningsby.[27]

In October 2008, the Eurofighter nations were considering splitting the 236-fighter Tranche 3 into two parts.[28] A contract for the first part, Tranche 3A is expected to be signed by late June 2009.[29] In June 2009, RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy said that the RAF fleet would only be 123 jets, instead of the 232 previously planned.[30] In spite of this reduction in the number of required aircraft, on May 14, 2009, British Prime Minister Brown confirmed that the UK would move ahead with the third batch purchase.[31]

Costs

In 1988 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces told the UK House of Commons that the European Fighter Aircraft would "be a major project, costing the United Kingdom about £7 billion".[32] It was soon apparent that a more realistic estimate was £13 billion,[33][34] made up of £3.3 billion development costs[35] plus £30 million per aircraft.[36] By 1997 the estimated cost was £17 billion; by 2003, £20 billion, and the in-service date (2003; defined as the date of delivery of the first aircraft to the RAF) was 54 months late.[37][38] Since 2003 the Ministry of Defence have refused to release updated cost estimates on the grounds of 'commercial sensitivity'.[39]

The "system price" including 9 years finance, logistics, training and simulator for the eighteen aircraft originally ordered by the Austrian government is believed to be EUR 1.969 billion.[40][41]

Delays

Political

The financial burdens placed on Germany by reunification caused Helmut Kohl to make an election promise to cancel the Eurofighter. In early to mid-1991 German Defence Minister Volker Rühe sought to withdraw Germany from the project in favour of using Eurofighter technology in a cheaper, lighter plane. However due to the amount of money already spent on development, the number of jobs dependent on the project, and the binding commitments on each partner government, Germany was unable to withdraw; "Rühe's predecessors had locked themselves into the project by a punitive penalty system of their own devising."[42]

In 1995 concerns over workshare appeared. Since the formation of Eurofighter the workshare split had been agreed at the 33/33/21/13 (United Kingdom/Germany/Italy/Spain) based on the number of units being ordered by each contributing nation. However, all the nations then reduced their orders. The UK cut its orders from 250 to 232, Germany from 250 to 140, Italy from 165 to 121 and Spain from 100 to 87.[42] According to these order levels the workshare split should have been 39/24/22/15 UK/Germany/Italy/Spain, Germany was however unwilling to give up such a large amount of work.[42] In January 1996, after much negotiation between UK and German partners, a compromise was reached whereby Germany would purchase another 40 aircraft.[42] The workshare split is now 43% for EADS MAS in Germany and Spain; 37.5% BAE Systems in the UK; and 19.5% for Alenia in Italy.[43]

The next major milestone came at the Farnborough Airshow in September 1996.[citation needed] The UK announced the funding for the construction phase of the project. In November 1996 Spain confirmed its order but Germany again delayed its decision. After much diplomatic activity between the UK and Germany, an interim funding arrangement of DM 100 million (€ 51 million) was contributed by the German government in July 1997 to continue flight trials. Further negotiation finally resulted in German approval to purchase the Eurofighter in October 1997.[citation needed]

Technical

On 21 November 2002, DA-6, the Spanish twin-seat prototype crashed due to a "double engine flame-out",[44] said to be specifically related to the experimental trial standard of engine being used by that aircraft. The aircraft went down but the two crew members escaped unhurt.

Production

Eurofighter Typhoon F2, RAF single-seat fighter variant.
A Luftwaffe twin-seat trainer version of the Eurofighter.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is unique in modern combat aircraft in that there are four separate assembly lines. Each partner company assembles its own national aircraft, but builds the same parts for all 620 aircraft.

Production is divided into three 'tranches' (see table below) with an incremental increase in capability with each tranche. Tranches are further divided up into 'blocks' (also often referred to as 'batches'), e.g. the Eurofighter designated 'FGR4' by the RAF is a Tranche 1, Block 5.

Expected Production Summary
Country Tranche 1 Tranche 2 Tranche 3 Total
 Austria 15 0 0 15
 Germany 40 68 68 180
 Italy 29 46 46 121
 Saudi Arabia 1 48 24 72
 Spain 20 33 34 87
 United Kingdom 55 89 88 232
TOTAL 149 323 236 707
Note: In addition to 9 new Tranche 1 aircraft, Austria will receive 6 used German Tranche 1 aircraft for a total of 15 Typhoons. For the delivered 6 used Tranche 1 aircraft Germany receives 6 Tranche 2 aircraft more.[45]

Exports

Greece

Countries operating or ordering the Eurofighter Typhoon.

In 1999, the Greek government agreed to acquire 60 Typhoons in order to replace its existing second-generation combat aircraft.[46] However, the purchase was put on hold due to budget constraints, largely driven by other development programs and the need to cover the cost of the 2004 Summer Olympics. In June 2006 the government announced a 22 billion euro multi-year acquisition plan intended to provide the necessary budgetary framework to enable the purchase of a next-generation fighter over the next 10 years. The Typhoon is currently under consideration to fill this requirement.[47]

Austria

On 2 July 2002, the Austrian government announced the decision to buy the Typhoon as its new air defence aircraft. The purchase of 18 Typhoons was agreed on 1 July 2003, and included training, logistics, maintenance, and a simulator. On 26 June 2007, Austrian Minister for Defense Norbert Darabos announced a reduction to 15 aircraft.[48] The first aircraft was delivered on 12 July 2007 and formally entered service in the Austrian Air Force.[49]

Saudi Arabia

After unsuccessful campaigns in South Korea and Singapore,[50] on 18 August 2006 it was announced that Saudi Arabia had agreed to purchase 72 Typhoons.[51] In November and December it was reported that Saudi Arabia had threatened to buy French Rafales because of a UK Serious Fraud Office investigation into the Al Yamamah ("the dove") defence deals which commenced in the 1980s.[52] However on 14 December 2006 Britain's attorney general, Lord Peter Goldsmith, ordered that the Serious Fraud Office discontinue its investigation in the BAE Systems' alleged bribery to senior Saudi officials in the al-Yamamah contracts, citing "the need to safeguard national and international security".[53] The Times has raised the possibility that RAF production aircraft will be diverted as early Saudi Arabian aircraft, with the service forced to wait for its full complement of aircraft.[54] This arrangement would mirror the diversion of RAF Tornados to the RSAF. However, The Times has also reported that such an arrangement will make the UK purchase of its tranche 3 commitments more likely.[54] On 17 September 2007 Saudi Arabia confirmed it had signed a GB£4.43 billion contract for 72 aircraft.[4] 24 aircraft will be at the Tranche 2 build standard, previously destined for the UK RAF, the first being delivered in 2008. The remaining 48 aircraft will be assembled in Saudi Arabia and delivered from 2011.[55] Saudi Arabia is considering on order of 24 additional jets in the future,[56] more recent reports suggest that number may be as high as 60[57] or 72.[58]

On 22 October 2008 an aircraft in the full two-tone grey livery of the Royal Saudi Air Force flew for the first time at BAE Systems’ Warton Aerodrome, marking the start of an initial test flight programme for RSAF aircraft.[59]

Japan

In March 2007, Jane's Information Group reported that the Typhoon was the favourite to win the contest for Japan's next-generation fighter requirement.[60] The other competitors then were the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle.[60] On 17 October 2007, Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed that Japan may buy the Typhoon. Although the F-22 Raptor was in his words "exceptional", it was not "absolutely necessary for Japan", and the Typhoon was the best alternative.[61] The F-22 is currently unavailable for export per US law. During a visit to Japan in June 2009, Andy Latham of BAE pointed out that while F-22 exports were restricted to keep advanced military technology from falling into the wrong hands, selling the Typhoon would take a "no black box approach."[clarification needed] [62]

Other potential customers

During the 2008 Farnborough Airshow it was announced that Oman was in an "advanced stage" of discussions towards purchasing EF Typhoons as a replacement for its Jaguar aircraft.[63][64]

Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the bidders of the $10.5 billion worth Indian MRCA Competition to supply the Indian Air Force with 126 'Multi-Role Combat Aircraft', alongside Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, SAAB Gripen, Mikoyan MiG-35, and F-16 Fighting Falcon.[65]

On 1 October 2008, the government of Brazil announced that the Eurofighter was not selected to go through to the next round of competition for its multi-role fighter replacement programme.[66]

Other potential customers of the Typhoon are Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark,[67] Pakistan[68] and Romania.[69] BAE Systems itself reports that Typhoon is "actively being promoted in a number of other markets including Greece, Switzerland, Turkey and Japan".[70] EADS invited India to join the Eurofighter program in April 2008 but India has yet to take a decision in this regard.[71][72]

Design

Airframe and avionics

The Typhoon features foreplanes, and lightweight construction (82% composites = 70% carbon fibre composites + 12% glass reinforced composites).[73]

The fighter achieves high agility at both supersonic and low speeds by having a relaxed stability design. It has a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire control system providing artificial stability, as manual operation alone could not compensate for the inherent instability. The fly-by-wire system is described as "carefree" by preventing the pilot from exceeding the permitted manoeuvre envelope.

Spanish Typhoon takes off.

Roll control is primarily achieved by use of the wing flaperons. Pitch control is by operation of the foreplanes and flaperons, the yaw control is by rudder.[74] Control surfaces are moved through two independent hydraulic systems that are incorporated in the aircraft, which also supply various other items, such as the canopy, brakes and undercarriage. Each hydraulic system is powered by a 4000 psi engine-driven gearbox.[75]

Navigation is via both GPS and an inertial navigation system. The Typhoon can use Instrument Landing System (ILS) for landing in poor weather.

The aircraft employs a sophisticated and highly integrated Defensive Aids Sub-System named Praetorian.[76] Threat detection is provided by a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), a Missile Approach Warning (MAW) and a Laser Warning Receiver (LWR). Protection is provided by Chaff and Flares, Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) and a Towed Radar Decoy (TRD).

Praetorian monitors and responds automatically to the outside world. It provides the pilot with an all-round prioritised assessment of Air-to-Air and Air-to-Surface threats. It can respond to single or multiple threats.

The aircraft also features an advanced Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) based on the TERPROM Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN) system used by Tornado but further enhanced and fully integrated into the cockpit displays and controls.[77]

Cockpit

General features

MHDDs and Pedestal Panel with centre stick in the Typhoon cockpit.

The Eurofighter Typhoon features a "glass cockpit" without any conventional instruments. It includes: three full colour Multi-function Head Down Displays (MHDDs) (the formats on which are manipulated by means of softkeys, XY cursor and voice (DVI) command), a wide angle Heads Up Display (HUD) with Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR), Voice & Hands On Throttle And Stick (Voice+HOTAS), Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS), Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS), a Manual Data Entry Facility (MDEF) located on the left glareshield and a fully integrated aircraft warning system with a Dedicated Warnings Panel (DWP). Reversionary flying instruments, lit by LEDs, are located under a hinged right glareshield.[78]

The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a centre stick and left hand throttles. Emergency escape is provided by a Martin Baker Mk.16A ejection seat, with the canopy being jettisoned by two rocket motors.[79]

Voice control

The Typhoon DVI system utilises a Speech Recognition Module (SRM), developed by Smiths Aerospace (now GE Aviation Systems) and the then Computing Devices (now General Dynamics UK). It was the first production DVI system utilised in a military cockpit. DVI provides the pilot with an additional natural mode of command and control over approximately 26 non-critical cockpit functions, to reduce pilot workload, improve aircraft safety, and expand mission capabilities. An important technological breakthrough during the development of the DVI occurred in 1987 when Texas Instruments produced their TMS-320-C30 Digital Signal Processor (DSP). This greatly advanced the packaging of DVI from large complex systems to a single card module. This early advance allowed a viable high performance system. The project was given the go ahead in July 1997, with development and pilot assessment carried out on the Eurofighter Active Cockpit Simulator at BAE Systems Warton.[80]

The DVI system is speaker-dependent, i.e. requires each pilot to create a template. It is not used for any safety-critical or weapon-critical tasks, such as weapon release or lowering of the undercarriage, but is used for a wide range of other cockpit functions.[81][82] Voice commands are confirmed by visual or aural feedback. The system is seen as a major design feature in the reduction of pilot workload and even allows the pilot to assign targets to himself with two simple voice commands, or to any of his wingmen with only five commands.[83]

g protection

In the standard aircraft, g protection is provided by the "Full Cover Anti-g Trousers" (FCAGTs).[84] This specially developed g suit provides sustained protection up to 9 g. The Typhoon pilots of the German Air Force and Austrian Air Force, however, wear an improved hydrostatic g-suit called "Libelle" (Dragonfly) Multi G Plus,[85][86][87] which also provides protection to the arms, reducing arm-pain and theoretically allowing for more complete g tolerance.

Design process

The design of the cockpit had involved the inputs from both test and operational pilots from each of the four partner nations from the feasibility and concept stage and throughout the design process. This has necessitated the use of specially commissioned lighting and display modelling simulation facilities and the extensive employment of rapid prototyping techniques.

PIRATE Infrared Search and Track

Eurofighters starting with Tranche 1 Block 5 have the PIRATE (Passive Infra-Red Airborne Track Equipment) IRST (Infrared Search and Track System) mounted on the port side of the fuselage, forward of the windscreen. The PIRATE system was developed by the EUROFIRST consortium. Galileo Avionica (FIAR) of Italy is the lead contractor, Thales Optronics of the UK (system technical authority) and Tecnobit of Spain make up EUROFIRST.

PIRATE operates in two IR bands, 3-5 and 8-11 micrometres. When used with the radar in an air-to-air role, it functions as an Infrared Search and Track system (IRST), providing passive target detection and tracking.

In an air-to-surface role, it performs target identification and acquisition. It also provides a navigation and landing aid. PIRATE is linked to the pilot’s helmet mounted display.[88]

The first Eurofighter Typhoon with PIRATE-IRST was delivered to the Italian Aeronautica Militare in August 2007.[89]

Performance

Flight demonstration at WTD61 Manching/Germany.
A Eurofighter Typhoon T1 of the RAF.

The Typhoon's combat performance, compared to the new F-22 Raptor and the upcoming F-35 Lightning II[90] fighters being developed in the United States and the Dassault Rafale developed in France, has been the subject of much discussion.

In March 2005, United States Air Force Chief of Staff General John P. Jumper, then the only person to have flown both the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Raptor, talked to Air Force Print News about these two aircraft. He said,

The Eurofighter is both agile and sophisticated, but is still difficult to compare to the F/A-22 Raptor. They are different kinds of airplanes to start with; it's like asking us to compare a NASCAR car with a Formula One car. They are both exciting in different ways, but they are designed for different levels of performance.[91]

[92]

Further, "The Eurofighter is certainly, as far as smoothness of controls and the ability to pull (and sustain high g forces), very impressive," he said. "That is what it was designed to do, especially the version I flew, with the avionics, the color moving map displays, etc. — all absolutely top notch. The maneuverability of the airplane in close-in combat was also very impressive."[91]

The Typhoon is capable of supersonic cruise without using afterburners. This is referred to as "supercruise". According to the official German Luftwaffe and Austrian Eurofighter website, the maximum speed possible without reheat is between Mach 1.2 and Mach 1.5.[93][94][95] Air Forces Monthly gives a maximum supercruise speed of Mach 1.1 for the RAF FGR4 multirole version.[96]

In 2002, the MBDA Meteor was selected as the long range air-to-air missile armament of Eurofighter Typhoon.[97][98] Pending Meteor availability, Typhoon will be equipped with the Raytheon AMRAAM. The current in-service date for Meteor is predicted to be August 2012.[98]

The Eurofighter consortium claims their fighter has a larger sustained subsonic turn rate, sustained supersonic turn rate, and faster acceleration at Mach 0.9 at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) than the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, Mirage 2000, Rafale, the Su-27, and the MiG-29.[99][100][101]

In 2005, a trainer Eurofighter T1 was reported to have had a chance encounter the previous year with two U.S. Air Force F-15Es over the Lake District in the north of England. The encounter became a mock dogfight with the Eurofighter allegedly emerging victorious.[102][103][verification needed]

In the 2005 Singapore evaluation, the Typhoon won all three combat tests, including one in which a single Typhoon defeated three RSAF F-16s, and reliably completed all planned flight tests.[104][105][verification needed] Singapore still went on to buy the F-15 due to uncertainty over Typhoon tranche 2 delivery dates.

During the exercise "Typhoon Meet" held in 2008, Eurofighters flew against F/A-18 Hornets, Mirage F1s, Harriers and F-16s in a mock combat exercise. It is claimed that the Eurofighters won all engagements (even outnumbered 8 vs 27) without suffering losses.[106][107]

The aviation magazine "Flug Revue" reports that in 2008 German Typhoon were pitted against French Rafales. The results are said to be "extremely gratifying", the main difference being the "much greater thrust of the EJ200 engine". [108]

Air-to-ground capabilities

A Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 of the RAF at Nellis AFB in Nevada, USA

The Typhoon has been planned to be a multi-role fighter with air-to-ground capabilities.[citation needed] Earlier than scheduled, the RAF integrated the air to ground capability, based on the Rafael/Ultra Electronics Litening III laser designator and the Enhanced Paveway II/III laser guided bomb[109] under the "Austere" programme.[110] A more comprehensive air-to-ground attack capability including Paveway IV, EGBU-16 bombs and a higher degree of automation will be achieved for all partner nations with the Phase 1 Enhancements currently in development.[111]

The absence of such a capability is believed to have been a factor in the type's rejection from Singapore's fighter competition in 2005. At the time it was claimed that Singapore was concerned about the delivery timescale and the ability of the Eurofighter partner nations to fund the current capability packages.[112] With the planned Phase 2 Enhancements Eurofighter GmbH hopes to increase the appeal of Typhoon to possible export customers and to make the aircraft more useful to partner air forces.[111]

Radar signature reduction features

Although not designated a stealth fighter, measures were taken to reduce the Typhoon's radar cross section (RCS), especially from the frontal aspect.[113][114] An example of these measures is that the Typhoon has jet inlets that conceal the front of the jet engine (a strong radar target) from radar. Many important potential radar targets, such as the wing, canard and fin leading edges, are highly swept, so will reflect radar energy well away from the front sector.[115] Some external weapons are mounted semi-recessed into the aircraft, partially shielding these missiles from incoming radar waves.[113] In addition radar absorbent materials (RAM) developed primarily by EADS/DASA coat many of the most significant reflectors, e.g. the wing leading edges, the intake edges and interior, the rudder surrounds, strakes, etc.[113][116] The Typhoon does not use internal storage of weapons. External mounting points are used instead, which increases its radar cross section but allows for more and larger stores.[117] The Typhoon's current Euroradar CAPTOR radar is relatively easy to detect when operating, unlike a few more advanced radars. For that reason the Eurofighter operates automatic Emission Controls (EMCON) to reduce the Electro-Magnetic emissions of the Radar.[113] The German BW-Plan 2009 indicates that Germany will equip/retrofit the Luftwaffe's Eurofighters with the AESA Captor-E from 2012.[118]

According to the RAF, the Eurofighter's RCS is better than RAF requirements. Comments from BAE Systems suggest the radar return is around one quarter of that of the Tornado it replaces.[119] The Eurofighter is thought to have an RCS of less than one square metre in a clean configuration by author Doug Richardson, although no official value is available.[115] This compares with the estimated RCS of the Rafale of 2 square metres,[120] and the American F-117 of 0.025 square metres.[120] The manufacturers claim the RCS of the Eurofighter to be the smallest of all fighter aircraft currently in production.[121][dubious – discuss] The manufacturers have carried out tests on the early prototypes to optimize the low observability characteristics of the aircraft from the early 1990s. Testing at BAe's Warton facility on the DA4 prototype measured the RCS of the aircraft and investigated the effects of a variety of RAM coatings. Another measure to reduce the likelihood of discovery is the use of passive sensors, which minimises the radiation of treacherous electronic emissions. While canards generally have poor stealth characteristics,[122] the flight control system is designed to minimise the RCS in flight, maintaining the elevon trim and canards at an angle to minimise RCS.[123][124]

Operational history

A Eurofighter Typhoon of the RAF

On 4 August 2003, Germany accepted the first series production Eurofighter (GT003).[125] Also that year, Spain took delivery of its first series production aircraft.[126] And on 16 December 2005 the aircraft reached I.O.C. with Italian Air Force as air defence fighter from Grosseto air base.

On 9 August 2007, the UK's Ministry of Defence reported that No. XI Squadron of the RAF, which stood up as a Typhoon squadron on 29 March 2007, had taken delivery of its first two multi-role Typhoons.[127] Two of XI Squadron's Typhoons were sent to intercept a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 approaching British airspace on 17 August 2007.[128]

The RAF Typhoons were declared combat ready in the air-to-ground role by 1 July 2008.[129] The RAF Typhoons will be ready to deploy for operations by mid-2008.[127] On or around 25 April 2008 a Typhoon from 17 Squadron at RAF Coningsby, operating at the US Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake test centre in California, USA, suffered extensive damage during landing when its landing gear did not deploy, apparently due to pilot error.[130]

On 11 September 2008, the combined flying time of the five customer Air Forces and the industrial Flight Test programme saw aircraft surpass the 50,000 flight hours milestone.[131]

On 31 March 2009 a Eurofighter Typhoon was the first aircraft ever to fire an AMRAAM whilst having its radar in passive mode, the necessary target data for the missile was acquired by the radar of a second Eurofighter Typhoon and transmitted using the Multi Functional Information Distribution System (MIDS). [132]

Variants

Main article: Eurofighter Typhoon variants
Prototype on display at the 1998 Dubai Airshow. Note the multiple ensigns for the air forces: (left to right) Spanish Ejército del Aire, Italian Aeronautica Militare, British Royal Air Force, and German Luftwaffe.

The Eurofighter is produced in single-seat and twin-seat variants. The twin-seat variant is not used operationally, but only for training. The aircraft has been manufactured in three major standards; seven Development Aircraft (DA), seven production standard Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA) for further system development [133] and a continuing number of Series Production Aircraft. The production aircraft are now operational with the partner nation's air forces.

The Tranche 1 aircraft were produced from 2000 onwards. Aircraft capabilities are being increased incrementally, with each software upgrade resulting in a different standard, known as blocks.[134] With the introduction of the Block 5 standard, the R2 retrofit programme began to bring all aircraft to that standard.[134]

Tranche 1
  • Block 1 : Initial Operational Capability and basic Air Defence Capability.
  • Block 2 : Initial air-to-air capabilities.
  • Block 2B : Full air-to-air capabilities.
  • Block 5 : Full Operational Capability (FOC) by combining existing air-to-air role with air-to-ground capabilities.
Tranche 2
  • Block 8 : New mission computers required for the integration of future weapons such as Meteor, Storm Shadow and Taurus. (Differences in the build to Tranche 1 related to changes in production technology or obsolescence).

Operators

Italian Eurofighter Typhoon.
Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon.
 Austria
 Germany
 Italy
 Saudi Arabia
 Spain
 United Kingdom

Aircraft on display

  • Eurofighter DA-2 Typhoon (serial number ZH588) is on display at the Royal Air Force Museum. This aircraft is one of seven EF 2000 development aircraft built by the Eurofighter Partner Companies, and was used for flight testing. The aircraft was delivered by road on 22 January 2008. Engineers from RAF Coningsby and RAF St. Athan assembled the aircraft for display. It is hanging in the Museum's Milestones of Flight Exhibition Hall.[135]
  • The first development aircraft Eurofighter DA-1 can be seen at the German Museum subsidiary Flugwerft Schleißheim at Schleißheim Airport in the north of Munich. Its first flight took place in 1994 and it was handed over to the museum in 2008.[136]
  • In summer 2009 Eurofighter DA-4, serial number ZH590, will go on display at Imperial War Museum Duxford, having been gifted to the museum by the Ministry of Defence in 2008. It will be exhibited as part of the museum's 'AirSpace' gallery, as an example of the development of aircraft technology.[137]

Specifications (Typhoon)

EJ200 engine (foreground).
The aircraft's turbofan engine (front).

Data from Typhoon performance data,[138] RAF Typhoon,[139] BAE Systems page,[140] AFM[141]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1 (operational aircraft) or 2 (training aircraft)

Performance

Armament


See also

Related development

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "1994: Maiden flight for future fighter jet." BBC News, 27 February 1994. Retrieved: 19 March 2008.
  2. ^ Eurofighter Typhoon, eurofighter.com
  3. ^ Description of NETMA on the Eurofighter website
  4. ^ a b Saudis Pay 4.43 Billion Pounds for 72 Eurofighters (Update1)
  5. ^ a b Boot 1990, pp. 229-233.
  6. ^ Buttler 2000, p. 131-134.
  7. ^ a b c d Eurofighter History
  8. ^ a b Buttler 1990, p. 134.
  9. ^ a b Butler 2000, p. 135.
  10. ^ Strictly speaking, the P.106B. The P.106A was a single-engined version of the original P.96. Boot, 1990, pp.79–82.
  11. ^ a b Buttler 2000, p. 137.
  12. ^ Nicholls, Mark et al. Eurofighter. Key Publishing "on behalf of Eurofighter GmbH", 2003. Retrieved: 23 May 2008.
  13. ^ Lewis, Paul. "3 European Countries Plan Jet Fighter Project." New York Times, 3 August 1985, p. 31.
  14. ^ "Eurofighter: Spain joins the club." The Economist, 17 September 1985, p. 68.
  15. ^ Fairhill, David. "Euro-fighter goes supersonic on maiden flight: First test flight of EAP aircraft in Lancashire." The Guardian, 7 August 1986.
  16. ^ Cowton, Rodney. "Eurofighter partners: Britain, West Germany, Italy and Spain." The Times, 7 June 1986.
  17. ^ Spick, Mike ed. 2000, p. 438.
  18. ^ Miller, Charles. "Radar Deal Keeps Britain in Forefront of Airborne Technology." The Press Association Ltd., May 1990.
  19. ^ Target Lock: Eurofighter Typhoon
  20. ^ FR News
  21. ^ First Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon Has Flown
  22. ^ Hopes Raised for Captor tests
  23. ^ BBC, BBC News, 30 January 1998. Retrieved: 18 September 2007.
  24. ^ Storm over 'Typhoon' name for Eurofighter, BBC News, 2 September 1998. Retrieved: 18 September 2007.
  25. ^ Chuter, Andy. "EF2000 deal firms up first batch order." Flight International, 23 September 1998.
  26. ^ 20080325_lastTR1
  27. ^ New Typhoons fly into RAF Coningsby at Defence News
  28. ^ Hoyle, Craig. "Eurofighter nations offered split deal for Tranche 3 order". Flight International, 7 October 2008.
  29. ^ Hoyle, Craig. "Eurofighter boss: nations to sign Tranche 3A deal in June". Flight International, 29 May 2009.
  30. ^ "RAF chief predicts controversial takeover of Royal Naval air power". Telegraph, 7 June 2009.
  31. ^ Prime Ministers statement on Typhoon Tranche 3, 14 May 2009
  32. ^ "House of Commons Daily Debates, column 1055", Hansard.
  33. ^ Cost increase Eurofighter between 1983 and 2004
  34. ^ Air farce one
  35. ^ COMPANY NEWS; European Consortium Gets Fighter Contract - New York Times
  36. ^ European Fighter: Cost vs. Pride - New York Times
  37. ^ The impact of the large cost overruns and delays, House of Commons.
  38. ^ Select Committee on Defence Sixth Report: Progress on key projects, House of Commons, 24 June 2004. Retrieved: 19 December 2006.
  39. ^ NAO report (HC 98-i 2007-2008): Ministry of Defence: Major Projects Report 2007
  40. ^ Eurofighter Costs
  41. ^ Eurofighter Costs
  42. ^ a b c d Eurofighter: Weapon of Mass Construction (TV). London: BBC. {{cite AV media}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |date2= ignored (help)
  43. ^ European Cooperation: Workshares, 15 December 2006, EADS. Retrieved: 19 January 2007.
  44. ^ History in the Making
  45. ^ Der Darabos-Deal
  46. ^ "Eurofighter opens Office in Athens", Eurofighter GmbH, 16 July 1999.
  47. ^ "22 bln earmarked for next decade as battle looms over fighter", Kathimerini, 26 June 2006.
  48. ^ Heinrich, Mark. "Austria, Eurofighter agree cut in jet purchase." Reuters, 26 June 2007. Retrieved: 27 June 2007.
  49. ^ "Eurofighter Typhoon Delivered To Five Nations", eurofighter.com
  50. ^ Typhoon hit by Singapore
  51. ^ "Saudi Arabia buys 72 Eurofighters", BBC News, 18 August 2006. Retrieved: 26 October 2006.
  52. ^ Morgan, Oliver. "BAE in eye of the Typhoon." The Guardian, 3 December 2006. Retrieved: 20 December 2006.
  53. ^ Probe into BAE's Saudi defence deal dropped, Reuters, 14 December 2006. Retrieved: 14 December 2006.
  54. ^ a b Evans, Michael. "Saudis get Typhoons ahead of RAF." The Times, 9 January 2007. Saudi Typhoons2007-01-09 Retrieved: 11 January 2007.
  55. ^ Eurofighter Typhoon Multi-Role Combat Fighter, Europe
  56. ^ Saudi may order 24 Eurofighter jets, Reuters
  57. ^ U.K. Defense Ministry Forced To Revisit Procurement Premises, AVIATION WEEK
  58. ^ Saudis in talks for 72 Typhoons
  59. ^ First Flight of Typhoon in Royal Saudi Air Force Livery
  60. ^ a b Grevatt, Jon. "Japan narrows next-generation fighter requirement choice". Jane's Defence Industry, 21 March 2007. Retrieved: 27 June 2007.
  61. ^ Japan may buy Eurofighter, defence minister says, Reuters, 17 October 2007. Retrieved: 20 October 2007.
  62. ^ BAE pitching Typhoon as F-22 eludes
  63. ^ Oman Nears Eurofighter Typhoon Deal, AVIATION WEEK
  64. ^ Franborough Airshow
  65. ^ Webster, Philip (2008-04-25), Thomson Financial News, Forbes http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/04/25/afx4933322.html, retrieved 2008-11-07 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  66. ^ "Brazil selects Boeing, Dassault, Saab in jet bid", Reuters
  67. ^ "Terma klar til europæisk kampflysamarbejde" Jyllands Posten, 2006.EADS Retrieved: 11 July 2007.
  68. ^ "Austria prepares to dump Eurofighter order", Guardian Unlimited 6 October 2006.
  69. ^ Romania replaces the MiG-21 Template:Ro icon, Antena 3, 16 May 2007.
  70. ^ BAE SYSTEMS Typhoon website - export markets
  71. ^ EADS invites India to join Eurofighter programme as partner, The Financial Express
  72. ^ EADS Invites India to Join Eurofighter consortium
  73. ^ Carbon Fibre Composites, Eurofighter GmbH
  74. ^ Eurofighter Flight Control Systems
  75. ^ Eurofighter Hydraulics System, Eurofighter GmbH.
  76. ^ "16 July 2008 - Farnborough day III: Rauen speaks, media listen", Eurofighter GmbH
  77. ^ BAE SYSTEMS delivers first Eurofighter Typhoon Ground Proximity Warning, Eurofighter GmbH
  78. ^ Eurofighter cockpit
  79. ^ Eurofighter Cockpit Ingress & Egress
  80. ^ Janes: AIRCRAFT CONTROL AND MONITORING SYSTEMS
  81. ^ Defence Annual Report, p. 39.
  82. ^ Eurofighter capability, page DVI 36 - 38.
  83. ^ Eurofighter Direct Voice Input
  84. ^ Life Support System & Aircrew Equipment Assembly (AEA)
  85. ^ Libelle Multi G Plus
  86. ^ Libelle Multi G Plus German Translation
  87. ^ Multi G Plus officially for Eurofighter pilots introduced DLGR Info 2005-03 p.3
  88. ^ Eurofighter Typhoon, Air Force technology.
  89. ^ 1st Eurofighter with PIRATE-IRST Radar delivered to Italian Air Force
  90. ^ Bill Sweetman, JSF Delays Pile Up 11. Aug. 2008
  91. ^ a b "CSAF: Raptor, Eurofighter complementary", Air Force Print News, 22 March 2005.
  92. ^ Jumper about the Eurofighter
  93. ^ [1]
  94. ^ 2005 AFM 198 p.39-45 Mach 1.21 with center drop tank 2 AIM-9 and 4 AIM-120 AFM
  95. ^ Austrian Eurofighter Supercruise M 1.5Translation
  96. ^ Ayton, Mark (September 2008). "Kings of Swing" (PDF). Air Forces Monthly. Key Publishing. pp. 58–67. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  97. ^ BAE Systems Preliminary Results Announcement 2002, BAE Systems. Retrieved: 29 October 2006.
  98. ^ a b Projects Report 2004, Ministry of Defence. Retrieved: 29 October 2006.
  99. ^ Eurofighter Consortium
  100. ^ Eurofighter capabilities
  101. ^ Eurofighter Typhoon Operational Evaluation
  102. ^ Eurofighter a shooting star in clash with US Jets
  103. ^ MLt. Col. Gero Finke, service instructor pilot and captain of the 2nd squadron at 73 Fighter Wing "Steinhoff" based at Laage near Rostock, about mock aerial battles.
  104. ^ Defence Analysis August 2004
  105. ^ AFM
  106. ^ Eurofighter Typhoon
  107. ^ Luftwaffe Eurofighter exercises (German)Translation
  108. ^ http://www.flugrevue.de/index.php?id=4187
  109. ^ "Typhoon proves its air-surface capability", United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, 9 June 2008.
  110. ^ "Eurofighter Typhoon capability soars ahead with latest contract", Eurofighter GmbH, 20 July 2006.
  111. ^ a b Schwarz, Karl. "Eurofighter Typhoon: production of Tranche 2 is under way." Flug Revue, June 2008.
  112. ^ "Typhoon air-to-ground ability near fruition." Flight Daily News, 21 February 2006.
  113. ^ a b c d Eurofighter Structural Design, eurofighter-typhoon.co.uk.
  114. ^ To survive in a present-day
  115. ^ a b Richardson 2001, p. 113.
  116. ^ Airpower FAQ (German), English translation
  117. ^ F-22 weapons
  118. ^ Bundeswehr Plan 2009, Page 67; German
  119. ^ Structure
  120. ^ a b Richardson 2001, p. 57.
  121. ^ The Stealthy Eurofighter Typhoon, Eurofighter GmbH
  122. ^ Neblett, Evan, Metheny, Mike and Leifsson, Leifur Thor. "Canards." AOE 4124: Configuration Aerodynamics. Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech., 17 March 2003.
  123. ^ Faq Eurofighter, translation
  124. ^ Austrian Eurofighter committee of inquiry: Brigadier Dipl.Ing.Knoll about Eurofighter and Stealth p.76-77, translation
  125. ^ "German Air Force take Delivery of First Series Production Eurofighter", Eurofighter GmbH, 4 August 2003.
  126. ^ "Spanish Air Force take Delivery of First Series Production Eurofighter", Eurofighter GmbH, 5 September 2003.
  127. ^ a b 11 Squadron
  128. ^ Typhoon launches operationally for the first time
  129. ^ Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Equipment and Logistics | Typhoon proves its air-surface capability
  130. ^ Hoyle, Craig. "RAF Eurofighter damaged in US landing incident", Flightglobal.com, 28 April 2008.
  131. ^ Eurofighter Typhoon Flight Milestone: 50,000 Hours and Climbing at eurofighter.com
  132. ^ http://eurofighter.com/news/20090104_AMRAAMFiring.asp
  133. ^ "First Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon Has Flown", Eurofighter GmbH, 16 January 2008.
  134. ^ a b Major Retrofit For Early Eurofighter Typhoon Aircraft Begins
  135. ^ Srivastava, Ajay (2008). "New Display At Royal Air Force Muesum". Flight Journal. 13 (3): 16. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  136. ^ http://www.deutsches-museum.de/flugwerft/sammlungen/strahlflugzeuge/eurofighter/
  137. ^ 'Eurofighter Typhoon DA4 arrives at Duxford' Imperial War Museum Duxford: Latest News Accessed 14 May 2009.
  138. ^ Typhoon Performance Data, Eurofighter GmbH.
  139. ^ Typhoon
  140. ^ Typhoon page, BAE Systems.
  141. ^ a b "Kings of Swing." AirForces Monthly, August 2008.
  142. ^ Eurofighter Typhoon Multi-Role Combat Fighter - Air Force Technology
  143. ^ Austrian airforce 2,495 km/h in 10.975 m height this is Mach 2.35! translation NASA Mach and Speed of Sound
  144. ^ Airpower Austria (Mader - Janes correspondent : performance values with 2 BVR and 4 WVR rockets translation
  145. ^ Schwitzerland Eurofigther website: Averange Speed without afterburner Mach 1.5 (Supercruise)Translation
  146. ^ Eurofighter
  147. ^ Eurofighter Tech
  148. ^ Eurofighter climb rate 25% better as F-16 (254 m/s x 1.25 = 317.5 m/s)
  149. ^ News

Bibliography

  • Boot, Roy. From Spitfire to Eurofighter: 45 years of Combat Aircraft Design. Shrewsbury, UK: AirLife Publishing Ltd., 1990. ISBN 1-85310-093-5.
  • Buttler, Tony. British Secret Projects: Jet Fighters Since 1950. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-85780-098-8.
  • Harkins, Hugh. Eurofighter 2000, Europe`s Fighter for the New Millennium (Aerofax 6). Earl Shilton, UK: Midland Publishing, 2006 (previous edition 1997). ISBN 1-85780-068-0.
  • Matthews, Henry. Prelude to Eurofighter: EAP(Experimental Aircraft Programme) (X-Planes Profile-1 ). Beirut, Lebanon: HPM (Henry Paul Matthews) Publications, 2000.
  • Richardson, Doug. Stealth Warplanes: Deception, Evasion and Concealment in the Air. London: Salamander, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-1051-3.
  • Spick, Mike. "Eurofighter Typhoon." The Great Book of Modern Warplanes. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 2000. ISBN 0-7603-0893-4.
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