Eurofighter Typhoon
| Eurofighter Typhoon | |
|---|---|
 Bundeswehr Eurofighter at the start |
|
| Type: | Multipurpose fighter |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 27, 1994 |
| Commissioning: |
July 25, 2006 |
| Production time: |
In series production since 2003 |
| Number of pieces: |
570 (as of January 2020) |
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, multi- role fighter aircraft in canard - delta configuration that is being built by Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH , a consortium of Airbus , BAE Systems and Leonardo . The procurement and management of the project is regulated by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency . In Germany and Austria , the aircraft is often just called the Eurofighter .
The joint development of the aircraft by the national arms industries of Germany , Italy , Spain and Great Britain began in 1983 as the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA). France was initially part of the program, later dropped out due to differences of opinion and developed the similar Dassault Rafale on its own . Changing requirements, the end of the Cold War and discussions about the work share of the participating nations delayed the development of the aircraft . The first copies were delivered to the Bundeswehr in 2003 . In addition to the air forces of the four European manufacturing nations, users of the machine are the air forces of Austria and the four Arab Gulf states Saudi Arabia , Qatar , Kuwait and Oman .
Originally developed as a highly agile air superiority fighter against the threat of the Warsaw Pact , the aircraft was adapted to its new role as a multi-purpose combat aircraft after its commissioning .
history
Starting position
In the case of machines of the type McDonnell F-4 Phantom, the on-board cannon was initially dispensed with, as it was assumed that in the future aerial battles would only be carried out at great distances with guided missiles. During the Vietnam War , the United States Air Force's (USAF) focus on these tactics became too optimistic. The Rules of Engagement applicable there , together with the low hit rate of the air-to-air missiles AIM-7D / E Sparrow (7%) and AIM-9 Sidewinder (15%), often led to precarious situations in aerial combat when North Vietnamese aircraft are in The F-4 pilots' sights were found, but no launch could be achieved because the distance was too short.
In order to be able to better estimate the ability of a fighter to take turns, Colonel John Boyd and mathematician Thomas Christie developed the energy maneuverability theory in early 1960. With their help, the maneuverability of a fighter aircraft is determined based on the specific excess power. Parameters such as short-term turning rate, permanent turning rate, climb performance, acceleration and deceleration are used to assess the aeronautical performance of a combat aircraft. This knowledge led to the Lightweight Fighter Program, from which the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F / A-18 Hornet emerged .
These developments did not go unnoticed in the Soviet Union, so that around 1970 the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (ZAGI) was commissioned to develop the aerodynamics of a new fighter aircraft. For cost reasons, the original Perspektiwni Frontowoi Istrebitel (PFI) draft was divided into a lighter LPFI for Mikoyan-Gurevich and a heavier TPFI for Sukhoi . The MiG-29 was first accepted into the Soviet Union Air Force in 1984. Although the aircraft can only carry a low weapon load, the wing loading and the thrust-to-weight ratio are unspectacular and, as a point defense fighter, can only carry relatively little fuel, the new MiG posed a serious threat to NATO machines. In addition to the higher specific power surplus The sophisticated aerodynamics make it possible to achieve high maneuverability even without fly-by-wire technology, without this being electronically limited. The USA increased the maximum load multiple of their combat aircraft in the Lightweight Fighter Program to 9 g , but the MiG-29 could be loaded up to a load limit of around 10 g . Series production of the larger Su-27 began a little later. Although both aircraft are based on the same ZAGI design, their roles are different: the heavy Su-27 was intended to penetrate deep into NATO territory and was equipped with large internal fuel tanks, twelve external load stations for weapons and a rear radar for this purpose. Full maneuverability was only achieved with 60% internal fuel capacity, then the Su-27 can reach the maximum angle of attack and the highest load multiple of 9 g in an aerial battle .
To compensate for the poor hit rate of air-to-air missiles, volley tactics were introduced: Two guided missiles are fired at each air target at a short distance. To increase the hit rate, a guided missile with semi-active radar steering and one with an infrared seeker are combined. Air-to-air missiles with passive radar search heads have been introduced to combat electronic warfare fighter jets and AWACS . Since the volley tactics in combat can not be applied, which developed the Soviet Union with the R-73 , an infrared-guided short-range air-to-air missile that was clearly superior to her then-western counterpart in all parameters. The Schlem helmet visor was also new , with which the guided weapon can be steered to targets up to 45 ° away from the flight axis without the pilot having to get the enemy machine into the head-up display .
European cooperation
In 1971, Great Britain was developing a successor to the F-4 Phantom to counter the Soviet threat. The AST 403 requirements published in 1972 resulted in a conventional P.96 design in the late 1970s. Due to the similarity with the F / A-18 Hornet, the design was dropped. Since the acquisition of the American F-4 Phantom led to the loss of thousands of jobs in the British aviation industry , the next fighter aircraft had to be an in-house development for political reasons. As a result, talks began with the Tornado partner countries Germany and Italy as well as France, with whom the SEPECAT Jaguar was already developed. The discussion was controversial. Although it was possible to quickly agree on a Delta Canard fighter aircraft, the priorities of this design, known as the European Combat Aircraft (ECA) , differed fundamentally: While Great Britain was looking for an air superiority fighter with robust air-to-ground capabilities, France placed more emphasis on ground attack capabilities , with air-to-air inserts as a second role. The most demanding requirements were made by Germany and could only be met by the TKF-90 draft (Tactical Combat Airplane 90) from MBB: high acceleration at all altitudes, good supersonic maneuverability in the initial phase of the aerial battle, effective fire-and-forget air -Air armament for medium distances, extreme maneuverability in dogfight and a good range for air surveillance missions and escorts . The ability to fight in corners should be achieved through high pitch rates and maintaining flight stability even after a stall. Thrust vector control should give the machine the ability to adjust the line of sight to the target. Ground attack skills were only intended as a secondary skill. After no agreement was reached on the ECA in 1981 and Germany lacked the money to develop the TKF-90 in-house, the Federal Ministry of Defense investigated the following options: On the one hand, an inexpensive solution, such as the development of a tornado variant or a small fighter aircraft only one engine. Alternatively, the procurement of F / A-18 Hornet was also under discussion, but this was viewed with skepticism by industry and politics. Participation in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was also discussed . The German aviation companies MBB and Dornier had already designed their own Eurojäger models, but also participated in other, including American, designs. At the time, the Federal Minister of Defense Manfred Wörner threatened a German-American solution if France could not be involved. While cooperation on an industrial and military basis seemed possible, and Germany and the United States' schedules correlated well, the cost of the ATF was expected to at least equal, if not exceed, that of the ECA, which buried this option as well.
To resolve the stalemate, British Aerospace instead joined the Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Tactical Fighter 90 (TKF-90) draft . Both published a proposal called the European Collaborative Fighter or European Combat Fighter , while France continued to rely on its own development. Ultimately, Aeritalia also joined in the design, and so Panavia's partner companies started the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) program in April 1982 , which later led to the Experimental Aircraft Program (EAP) . 1983 began the last attempt to bring the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy together in the future European Fighter Aircraft (FEFA) cooperation program. France insisted on an aircraft carrier version, 50 percent of the workload and system leadership from Dassault. The aircraft was supposed to be lighter and simpler, as Dassault believed it would offer better export opportunities. These demands were unacceptable to the other manufacturing countries and incompatible with their own requirements. Because of these completely different performance demands of the French, the other states withdrew from the program in 1984. On August 1, 1985, Great Britain, Germany and Italy agreed on the construction of the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) . Spain also joined in September as this was seen as a strategic decision and expected industrial advantages.
Start of development
To manage the project, the Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH was founded in Munich in 1986 . The development and cost shares were divided into 33% DASA (Germany) and BAE Systems (Great Britain) as well as 21% Alenia Aeronautica (Italy) and 13% CASA (Spain). At the time the development agreements were signed, the four partner countries intended to procure 765 aircraft - 250 each for Germany and Great Britain, 165 for Italy and 100 for Spain. In August 1986, Eurojet Turbo GmbH was founded under the umbrella of the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) for the development, production, maintenance, service and export of the EJ200 engines for the future Eurofighter in Hallbergmoos, northeast of Munich which the companies Rolls-Royce (Great Britain), MTU Aero Engines (Germany), ITP (Spain) and Fiat Avio [now: Avio Aero ] (Italy) are involved in.
As early as 1983, the German Martin Friemer was appointed Technical Director of the Eurofighter project by MBB; he was already working with the British on the Tornado project. Gerry Willox of British Aerospace became Managing Director. As early as May 26, 1983, BAe and Italian and German companies agreed to build a demonstrator. The first flight of the resulting British Aerospace EAP took place in 1986 and laid the technological foundation for the Eurofighter project. The EAP tried many new technologies that were later used in the Eurofighter. The wings were made entirely from carbon fiber reinforced plastic and glued together from individual parts. The EAP tested the suitability of lightweight construction materials such as CFRP and Al-Li alloys for permanent supersonic flight and new, cost-effective manufacturing processes for titanium and CFRP semi-finished products and individual parts. The aerodynamic instability and thus the maneuverability of the aircraft could be further increased and the control logic implemented as software in the flight control computer. Like the Eurofighter, the EAP had the option of override in order to exceed the standard G limit. Load measurements at the EAP made it possible to estimate the structural load for the EFA much better, which allowed a lighter construction. The aerodynamics as well as the air intake were tested. A modern cockpit and an avionics architecture based on the USAF's Pave Pillar concept were implemented. The cost of the EAP was partly borne by industry, with the UK contributing £ 80 million. Since the Federal Republic did not participate in the financing, only one aircraft could be built.
From 1981 to 1984, Rockwell and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm carried out studies on thrust vector technology, financed from their own resources. MBB presented the concept to the Air Force in 1983 . This decided not to allow the technology to flow into the EFA because of its technical immaturity. In return, the governments of Germany and the USA signed a contract in May 1986 for the construction of two experimental aircraft based on the TKF-90, the Rockwell-MBB X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM). The first flight took place on October 11, 1990. From August 1993, simulated aerial battles were flown against various combat aircraft. In the following series of tests, which was funded by the JAST program, the usefulness of the thrust vector control in air-to-ground operations was tested. It was also examined to what extent the thrust vector control could replace the vertical stabilizer. In the following VECTOR program, automatic landings with angles of attack of up to 24 ° were flown in order to reduce the required landing distance. In addition to the controlled steering after a stall, the EFM program also tested avionics such as the Helmet-Mounted Visual and Audio Display System (HMVAD) . This was able to show information not only graphically on the helmet display , but also through a 3D audio system. Furthermore, an augmented reality was tested by flying dogfights against a virtual combat aircraft . The aim was to work with Spain to install the Eurojet EJ200 engine with thrust vector control in the X-31 experimental aircraft in order to pave the way for the Eurofighter. However, for various reasons this did not materialize.
At the same time, the USAF's requirements for the Advanced Tactical Fighter changed fundamentally: a few months before the demonstration and validation phase in 1985, the USAF changed the original Request for Information (RFI) in favor of higher stealth requirements. Albert C. Piccirillo, head of the ATF program feared that the USAF would not be able to justify the procurement of the ATF if stealth technology was not used as in the F-117 and B-2 programs . Companies like Lockheed, which took off with a Delta Canard fighter with a wedge-shaped belly inlet and four semi-submerged air-to-air missiles, were therefore forced to completely revise their designs.
The Soviet Union also started the development of a new fighter aircraft with the eleventh five-year plan. In 1983 Mikoyan-Gurevich was commissioned with the MFI project , which was based on the EFA and ATF. In the meantime, France built an airworthy demonstrator that was named Rafale A and made its first flight on July 4, 1986 at the air force base in Istres . At the same time, the development of the MICA was started in order to take over the Soviet volley tactics with a searcher mix. At the end of the 1980s, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on future air-to-air guided missiles was signed in NATO . The USA and European countries agreed on the development of the infrared-guided ASRAAM, which is more extensive than the AIM-9, as a supplement to the actively radar-guided AMRAAM .
End of the Cold War
With the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact , the Eurofighter project came into crisis in 1992. In view of the expected high costs of German reunification , the federal government under Helmut Kohl promised to withdraw from the project. The then German Defense Minister Volker Rühe now advertised a cheaper aircraft that was to be built on the basis of Eurofighter technology and that was known as "EFA-light" or "Jäger 90". Different configurations were examined in seven studies. Five of them would have become more expensive due to the new development. The two single-jet configurations would have been cheaper, but had no better performance than the potentially opposing Su-27 Flanker and MiG-29 Fulcrum machines. None of the configurations examined could achieve the combat strength of the revised Eurofighter known as New EFA (NEFA). As an alternative, the German side considered procuring the French Dassault Rafale . The Luftwaffe did not share the political considerations . The then Inspector of the Air Force, Jörg Kuebart , said that the only alternative to the EFA was less EFA.
In Great Britain, too, thought was being given to the procurement of an alternative combat aircraft. However, a good price-performance ratio with high performance was required. A possible procurement of the YF-22 , which is currently under development, was also discussed. That is why British Aerospace and the Defense Research Agency (DRA) were commissioned to carry out a performance study to evaluate the combat effectiveness of various modern combat aircraft. Only the aerial combat outside the pilot's range of vision was examined, as this is where the advantages of the YF-22 through stealth technology and supercruise are greatest. The comparison was based on known data from these aircraft; A modified Su-27 Flanker (comparable to the Su-35 Super Flanker ) was assumed to be the opposing machine . The study concluded that the Eurofighter would win about 80% of all dogfights, while the odds of a YF-22 would be about 90%. Since the cost of the YF-22 was estimated to be 60–100% higher than that of the EFA, the state minister responsible for armaments procurement Jonathan Aitken - who previously rejected the EFA - concluded that the Eurofighter was the most cost-effective solution. The procurement of the Eurofighter was then followed up by the British.
In the meantime, Italy was facing financial collapse and, like the federal government, wanted to get out of the Eurofighter program. However, diplomatic intervention by the British government led to a change in sentiment, which left Germany politically isolated. Since Germany would have had to compensate the other countries financially in the event of an exit, the German Federal Minister of Defense Volker Rühe and his British counterpart Malcolm Rifkind agreed at the NATO meeting in Gleneagles in 1992 to continue the project. While the EFA was supposed to transport a weapon load of 6500 kg with an empty mass of 9750 kg, the requirements were adjusted in a revision of the treaties in 1992. For the new EFA, the service life of the airframe was doubled from 3000 hours to 6000 hours and the weapon load increased from 6500 kg to 7500 kg, whereby the empty weight of the aircraft rose from 9750 kg to 11,000 kg. Presumably, the throttling of the EJ200 engines to 60 kN dry and 90 kN wet was agreed in peace in order to also double their service life. The EFA / Jäger 90 project was then renamed “Eurofighter 2000”. For cost reasons, Germany wanted to integrate the AN / APG-65 and forego the self-protection system, while Great Britain did not want to install an on - board cannon. Ultimately, these special requests were also given up so that the new EFA corresponded to the old EFA except for the change in mass and service life. In retrospect, Martin Friemer (MBB, Technical Director of the Eurofighter project) described the behavior of the federal government as not helpful. The independent defense analyst Paul Beaver is of the opinion that all attempts by the German Federal Minister of Defense Volker Rühe to make the aircraft cheaper were never based on facts and estimates that the cost of the Eurofighter due to the delays and the redesign by 40-50 % have been increased.
After the continuation of the project seemed certain, Rühe wanted to reduce the number of German orders to 140 aircraft, but leave the German work share in the project unchanged at 33%. After another marathon of negotiations, after the final production contract was signed in 1997, an agreement was reached on 232 aircraft for Great Britain, 180 for Germany, 121 for Italy and 87 for Spain. The work share was reallocated between British Aerospace (37.42%), DASA (29.03%), Aeritalia (19.52%) and CASA (14.03%). Great Britain now took the lead in the project and the aircraft was renamed the Eurofighter Typhoon .
Delivery and further development
During the political negotiations, the development of the Eurofighter was pushed forward by industry and the military, and the year 2002 was targeted as the delivery date. The first DA1 prototype took off on its maiden flight in Germany on March 27, 1994. The flights of the prototypes DA1 and DA2 still took place with the RB199 engines of the Tornado fighter aircraft, as the Eurojet EJ200 engine was not yet operational. On June 4, 1995, the DA3 took off from Caselle near Turin with the new Eurojet EJ200 engine on a maiden flight, and in March 1997 the two-seater version flew in Great Britain for the first time. On November 21, 2002, the 323rd test flight with pre-production engines around 100 kilometers south of Madrid crashed the prototype DA6. At the time the afterburners were ignited, the thrusters of both engines were not yet fully open, and the resulting back pressure caused the flame to stall . Due to the resulting failure of the hydraulics, the aircraft was no longer controllable and crashed. It was completely destroyed in the process, the two-man crew was able to save themselves with the ejection seats. In 2002 it was foreseeable that the planned date for the delivery of the first series machines could not be met, and at the end of the year it was not foreseeable when this would be the case. In addition, a total of 1400 components were changed between 2000 and 2002. For example, the CRTs in the cockpit were replaced by liquid crystal screens, a g / AoA override switch was installed in order to be able to fly higher angles of attack, load multiples and speeds, and a panic button was integrated, which aligns the aircraft on the horizon if it loses orientation and sets it in a slight climb. The possibility of dropping active radar jammers - specifically the Texas Instruments GEN-X was evaluated - via the dispenser has been dropped.
In 1994 Great Britain began the Future Offensive Air System (FOAS) studies, which should produce a follow-up model for the Panavia Tornado . In the course of the investigations, it was found that a mix of forces consisting of manned combat aircraft, combat drones (UCAV) and cruise missiles was the best solution. A European cooperation was sought and realized with France. Germany showed interest in joining. France later withdrew from the project, which was then ended in 2005. A variant of the Eurofighter was seen by the British as the main platform for FOAS, so that in the future the findings of the FOAS studies such as a synthetic cockpit , more powerful engines for Mach 2 cruise , conformal fuel tanks, "signature control", weapons bay, voice control of drones , Energy weapons and powerful data links will flow into the Eurofighter project.
In 1999 the DA4 and DA5 flew with the production version of the CAPTOR radar for the first time, and the software development of the sensors began. For this purpose, the radar was built into a One-Eleven , which was used as a (O-Ton) " Hack " aircraft. Melee modes, in which the dynamics of the aircraft play a role, were tested with the DAs. The PIRATE hack flights with a Dassault Falcon were supposed to take place at the end of 1999, but were postponed to 2001. In that year, the DASS and Link 16 were also available, so that the sensor fusion could be programmed by 2004.
On June 13, 2003, the first series-produced Eurofighter was finally presented to the public. The Bundeswehr accepted the machine on August 4, 2003. The official introduction of troops to the German Air Force took place on April 30, 2004 with the commissioning of seven two-seater Eurofighters as a training squadron with Fighter Wing 73 "Steinhoff" in Laage. In February 2005 the first operational tests in cold weather zones took place in Sweden, the following summer heat tests in Morón de la Frontera, Spain. At the same time, the construction of the simulators at the German locations in Laage, Neuburg and Nörvenich as well as the other Eurofighter user countries began. These are used for the training and retraining of pilots on the Eurofighter as well as for the development and testing of operational tactics and scenarios. Since aerial battles with guided missiles cannot be trained, simulators are the only way to do this. The networking between cockpit and mission simulators also enables operations with several participants to be practiced in a group or against one another.
Since technologies or financial resources were sometimes not available, weapons systems were integrated in the following years, the flight envelope was expanded and the full avionics were equipped. The complete Praetorian self-protection system (DASS), for example, is only available from Tranche 1 Block 2B and the first PIRATE sensor was delivered to Aeronautica Militare on August 2, 2007 in a Tranche 1 Block 5 aircraft . The Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS) has only been available since January 2011. The first combat value enhancement phase 1 enhancement (P1E) was carried out for Tranche 2 machines at the end of 2013.
Calls
In addition to air surveillance missions, during which, for example, Russian bombers were escorted over the North Sea and the Atlantic, British Typhoons had their first combat mission on March 21, 2011 during the military missions in Libya 2011 . In "Operation Ellamy" 24 Typhoons of No. XI Squadron relocated to the Italian Air Force Base Gioia del Colle . Within the first 24 hours of arrival, the Eurofighters began enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya. From March 31 to April 6, the Eurofighters were flown in a configuration with four AIM-132 ASRAAM short-range air-to-air missiles and four longer-range air-to-air missiles AIM-120 AMRAAM , after which there were fewer air-to -air missiles - Weapons carried in favor of target light containers and two to six laser-guided GBU-16/48 (Guided Bomb Unit) bombs . On the first day, a swarm of four was used to hunt down opposing helicopters using the EuroRADAR CAPTOR , which moved "jumping", that is, landed every 15 to 20 minutes in order to avoid the radar detection. Kills could not be achieved. Enemy fighter planes were not captured during the entire operation.
Ground operations began on March 31, 2011. The Typhoons attacked targets both as pure Eurofighter squadrons and in mixed formations together with tornadoes . In the mixed units, either the target reconnaissance of the Eurofighters and the attack of the tornadoes were carried out using the hunter-killer tactics, or vice versa. Sometimes the pilots flew with a tablet computer on their thighs in order to be able to compare images of the target area. The generation of sonic booms by the Eurofighters - which happened quite often - was also seen as useful for showing presence. The cooperation with the tornadoes increased their combat value, as they do not have a multifunctional information distribution system ( MIDS ). This system shows all own units and their call signs . In the case of aircraft, the system also shows the type, altitude , heading and fuel quantity of the other aircraft involved in the operation in its own units. In the case of ships, the type and name are also displayed in addition to the position. If a JSTARS or ASTOR is within range, detected ground targets are also displayed in real time. Since the tornadoes did not have this system, the data were sent to the Eurofighters, which relayed the information to the tornadoes via radio and carried out the mission together as a squadron . Some of these were quite complex; During one mission, 14 bombs were in the air at the same time in order to hit the target area simultaneously. In total, over 400 bombs were dropped by the Eurofighters.
The main threat was the enemy air defense in the form of anti-aircraft guns ( flak ) and shoulder-supported one-man surface-to-air missiles ( MANPADS ), which could be flown over each time without being damaged. The flak fire had no consequences. The longest mission lasted 8 hours and 45 minutes and required five refuelings in the air . Originally three were planned to take care of the Typhoons on the north coast between the east and west borders. The average working time was six hours. The feared information overload did not materialize; Receiving mission orders and entering them into the computer only while in contact with a tanker proved to be challenging. 3000 hours of flight were flown in a total of 600 missions. The planes were relocated back within 24 hours of the end of the mission.
In February 2015 attacked Euro Fighter of the Saudi Air Force first goals of the IS with Paveway -4-bombs.
On December 3, 2015 British Typhoon aircraft were in the course of Inherent Resolve operation on the air base Akrotiri stationed in Cyprus. The following evening, the Eurofighters, accompanied by Panavia tornados , attacked ISIS targets in Syria.
technology
interpretation
The Eurofighter is an all-weather multi - purpose combat aircraft whose combat mission includes the following operational areas:
Air superiority and surveillance , interception, suppression and destruction of air defense systems, close air support , attack at sea, strategic attack and reconnaissance .
Because of the flexible design, future missions and roles can be implemented relatively easily. This flexibility is based on advanced technology in the areas of avionics , sensors and weapon integration. The combat aircraft is thus not only able to perform different roles, but also to change them during a single mission, with a change between air-to-air and air-to-ground operations being possible. A single aircraft for a wide range of mission profiles reduces costs, increases effectiveness and facilitates cooperation with allied forces.
In the role of the air superiority fighter , for which it was originally exclusively designed, the Eurofighter can fully exploit its extreme maneuverability and high thrust-to-weight ratio . He can fight several enemy warplanes at the same time inside and outside the visible area, but also attack various ground targets in different ways. In addition to a permanently installed 27 mm on-board cannon , a total of 13 external load stations for a wide variety of weapons and drop tanks are available for these diverse tasks .
construction
The Eurofighter is a twin- engine jet aircraft with delta wings and canards . The lightweight construction consists of 82% composite materials (70% carbon fiber, 12% glass fiber). The wings and outer skin of the fuselage are made of carbon fiber composite material. The duck wings, ailerons and parts of the engines as well as the wing connection fittings are made of a titanium alloy. The air inlets, slats , the internal structure of the fuselage and the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer are made of a high-strength aluminum alloy; the cockpit surround is made of a magnesium alloy . The radomes are mainly made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic . The airframe is surrounded by a conductive grille to protect against electromagnetic interference , interference emissions , EMP , high-power microwave attacks (HPM) and lightning . In 1992 the Wehrtechnischen Dienststelle 81 (WTD 81) examined the effects of HPM on a 1:20 model of the Eurofighter. In 2004 and 2005, this Wehrtechnische Dienststelle 81 carried out EMP verification tests with a Eurofighter series aircraft from Tranche 1 together with the company QinetiQ .
The aircraft is controlled via a digital, quadruple redundant fly-by-wire system that records the movements made by the pilot on the control stick via sensors. Thus, the pilot does not control the steering gear directly, but rather specifies the flight position for the flight control computers, for which the optimal rudder positions are calculated depending on the flight position, speed, air pressure and temperature and the rudders are controlled accordingly. The four existing computers process the input data and pass on the control signals to the actuators (surfaces, flaps, landing gear, etc.). The Eurofighter uses two redundant hydraulic systems that work with an operating pressure of 275 bar (4000 psi). The rolling movement is generated by the elevons on the rear of the wing, the pitching movement by canards and elevons. There is also a large air brake behind the cockpit hood . The flight control computers (FCC) are interconnected and linked to the individual sensors and displays. The Flight Control System (FCS) guarantees so-called carefree handling (CFH). The pilot cannot overload his aircraft with flight maneuvers and damage the structure, but the FCS will only allow and carry out those maneuvers that the Eurofighter can tolerate in the respective situation. Flight control also includes armament and fuel supply. The Eurofighter has two tanks per wing and three saddle tanks behind the cockpit. In order to balance the machine and avoid stability problems, the fuel is continuously pumped over during flight. The filling level of the tanks is monitored by pressure sensors.
The tender called for a maintenance-free airframe for 6000 flight hours and 8000 landings, which corresponds to a useful life of around 25 years of operation. Furthermore, with regard to the damage tolerance, it was stipulated that the airframe should withstand 100% of the maximum breaking load after the fatigue test of twice the required service life and 80% of the maximum breaking load after three times the service life. The fatigue strength of the prototype structure was provided in the whole-cell test "Development Major Airframe Fatigue Test (DMAFT)" from 1993 to 1998. 91 fatigue damage occurred within the simulated 18,000 test hours. The airframe was then revised as part of the preparation for series production and has been tested since 2005 in the “Production Major Aircraft Fatigue Test (PMAFT)”. The current PMAFT status (as of June 2017) is 16,000 test hours. The full 6,000 flight hours qualification with 18,000 simulated test hours is expected in mid-2018. In-service modifications have already been defined for all damage found so far. Every Eurofighter is equipped with a “Structure Health Monitoring System (SHMS)”. There are two versions to be distinguished. The so-called “Baseline System”, chosen by Germany and Italy, determines the used life expectancy at ten points in the fuselage in real time based on flight parameters and load matrices. The “National Fit System”, on the other hand, chosen by England and Spain, determines the service life used at 16 points on the fuselage and wings based on strain gauges. Additionally data of the EJ200 engine, the FCS, the be Armament Control System (ACS) ( dt. Weapons Control System ) and the Fuel Gauging System (FUG) ( dt. Level measurement of the tanks ) retrieved and stored in the MDP "Maintenance Data Panel". The data can then be read out after the flight via the PMDS Portable Maintenance Data Store for further processing.
The aircraft can also be refueled in the air ; there is a foldable refueling probe on the right in front of the cockpit. A braking parachute is provided at the base of the vertical stabilizer in order to shorten the landing distance required. The Typhoon can also land on advanced bases, short runways and probably also on makeshift motorway airports . A catch hook is attached between the engines , which is only used in an emergency.
aerodynamics
The aerodynamics was the greatest challenge in the development of the aircraft, as a fighter aircraft should be built with the maximum possible instability. To ensure the necessary controllability, a fly-by-wire system with a flight attitude computer is required. One problem with this is the need for linear aerodynamics. Classic flight controllers need them to control the aircraft. Non-linear aerodynamics exist, for example, when the lift coefficient no longer depends linearly on the angle of attack . Further possibilities are that actuators have to exert different forces depending on the maneuver load or that there is hysteresis . In unstable canard combat aircraft, effects of non-linear aerodynamics are inevitable. The trick is to linearize these effects or to immunize the Flight Control System (FCS) against them. Due to the high instability of the Eurofighter, the requirement for linear aerodynamics was much more binding. There was, however, the opinion that the FCS could also deal with extremely non-linear aerodynamics. The whole success of the concept depended on whether it would be possible to control the aircraft carefree handling in its flight envelope . The first steps in this direction were taken by MBB in 1974 when an F-104G was equipped with a fly-by-wire system on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Defense . The aim was to investigate the degree of instability that could still be controlled by a flight controller. Based on the findings of the F-104G CCV (Canard Control Vehicle), MBB was able to develop its delta canard draft TKF-90, which ultimately led to the Eurofighter via the EAP and the X-31 test aircraft.
While the horizontal stabilizers are mounted directly in front of and above the wing in less unstable Delta-Canard aircraft, in the Typhoon they are positioned far forward. The reason for this is the ability to bring the aircraft's nose back down from high angles of attack. If the angle of attack is increased, the pressure point of the wing moves forward and the aircraft becomes even more unstable. If the pilot now wants to push the nose of the Eurofighter downwards, the duck wings must have a large angle of attack, which was the design limit of instability. The flight envelope is approved in the subsonic range to + 9 / −3 g . In an emergency, however, it is possible to achieve higher G-loads. Load multiples of up to +12 g can be flown. Since anti-G suits need a certain amount of time to build up the counter pressure, the onset g-rate of the Eurofighter is limited to 15 g / s by the Flight Control System (FCS) . The aircraft is currently being delivered without thrust vector control , at the moment (2011) it cannot be foreseen when it will be scaffolded.
The pressure point, which is far forward, moves backwards in supersonic flight, making the aircraft stable. Compared to other combat aircraft, however, the stability is much lower. As a result, the Eurofighter is the only combat aircraft capable of performing 9 g maneuvers in supersonic mode. According to the magazine Truppendienst , this is possible up to Mach 1.2. The stability does not change with increasing speed, however, up to at least Mach 1.6. Furthermore, Mach 1.6 is the maximum maneuver speed according to which the aircraft was designed, which suggests a higher speed.
The Eurofighter is able to reach supersonic speed even without an afterburner ( super cruise ). With an engine power of 2 × 60 kN, Mach 1.5 can be achieved without external loads . Since the engines have a 15% higher dry thrust at 2 × 69 kN on the combat setting, significantly higher speeds can be achieved. The ability to supercruise was probably included in the tender, as speeds of this magnitude are not reached by chance. In its 31/1985 issue , Der Spiegel wrote: “The planes, including the Euro fighter armed with a cannon and six missiles, are expected to represent the greatest leap in aviation history since the introduction of jet planes. [...] Simplified, also lighter engines should enable the hunters to achieve an enormous range for the year 2000; They should fly at least as fast without an afterburner as their predecessors with an afterburner, the terrible fuel glutton that reduces range and combat effectiveness. " Since Great Britain and Italy would have used the same air bases as the US Air Force in the event of a conflict with the Warsaw Pact , the ATF requirement of Mach 1.5 was probably adopted with eight air-to-air missiles. The official maximum speed is usually given as Mach 2, although the EAP demonstrator with the larger vertical stabilizer of the Tornado and 2 × 75.5 kN thrust already reached this speed. The 2,495 km / h specified by the Austrian Armed Forces at an altitude of 10,975 m (Mach 2.35) are therefore much more realistic.
Stealth technology
The Eurofighter is not a stealth aircraft , but some design features have been optimized in this direction. The air inlets were pulled up to avoid right angles and the air-to-air missiles were sunk halfway into the central fuselage of the machine to minimize the radar cross-section (RCS). Measures that would have had a negative impact on flight performance and agility were not taken. One target was that the radar cross section (RCS) from the front should only be 1/4 that of a Panavia Tornado . For this purpose, all surfaces visible from the front were coated with radar-absorbing material (RAM). This affects the leading edges of the duck wings, the wings and the vertical stabilizer, the air inlets and the leading edge flaps. The air intakes have an S-shaped inlet that prevents a direct view of the front compressor blades of the engine.
The radome of the radar is manufactured in an automated process. Since the material has to be transparent to the electromagnetic waves of its own radar, this was a problem in reducing the radar cross-sectional area. To remedy this, BAE Systems developed so-called "Frequency Selective Surface (FSS)" materials. These consist of an arrangement of metals that are built into the radome. They ensure that the radome is transparent to the frequencies and polarization of its own radar, others are reflected away or absorbed.
The cockpit hood is covered with a thin layer that is impermeable to electromagnetic waves and contributes to the radar camouflage of the aircraft.
The actual frontal RCS value is confidential, but according to the Royal Air Force it should be better than the target. The Japanese aviation magazine J-WINGS, comparable to the German Flug Revue , put the frontal radar cross-section of the Eurofighter at 0.05-0.1 m² in the August 2010 issue. In 2005, the Journal of Electronic Defense (JED) named 0.13% of the radar cross-section of a Su-27/30/35 and about 0.2% of a MiG-29 as a comparison value. While the MIG MFI had a weapon shaft behind the air intake as standard , this can also be scaffolded on the Eurofighter. However, the middle external load station for drop tanks will then be omitted. As an alternative, an additional tank in the vertical stabilizer or fuel tanks conforming to the fuselage were proposed; the latter are available with tranche 3 .
cockpit
The pilots' workplace is dominated by the head-up display , the underlying data link control panel (DLCP) and three multifunction head-down displays (MHDD). On the left edge there is a console for data entry and modification, on the right edge a display for communication and link data. On the three AMLCD - multifunction screens with a size of 159 mm × 159 mm and a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels to the pilot flight and sensor data, tactical data and system information shown. The screens are automatically adapted to the respective lighting conditions in the cockpit via a photocell. The screens are controlled by 17 buttons each, by voice input (Direct Voice Input, DVI) or by a cursor that is operated with the index finger of the left hand using an XY controller on the thrust lever. The screen buttons are not permanently labeled, but can display any characters as required. Normally a standard setup is defined for each monitor before the start, the Typhoon then automatically selects the appropriate display depending on the situation and the status of the mission. Usually the Pilot Awareness Format (PA format) is displayed in the middle, which puts tactical data on a map. The attack format is displayed on the left, where only relevant tactical data is shown. The display of the right MHDD is selected depending on the situation, e.g. B. RHI scope , image of the target container or FLIRs, DASS format, armament, fuel, etc. Attack and PA format always show the merged picture of the situation. In the upper part of the cockpit is the artificial horizon to the right of the DLCP , to the left of it there are further buttons. Next to the right knee is the warning indicator. The (rotary) switches on the arm consoles on the left and right are required for raising and lowering the aircraft systems and for emergency situations, and are not needed in regular flight.
The operation of the aircraft is highly automated: in the event of a bomb attack, B. keep the fire button pressed permanently, the bombs are automatically released at the right moment. The automation is multi-layered: Inexperienced pilots can choose a high level in order to concentrate better on tactics and flight, while a lower level gives experienced pilots more opportunities to interact with the system in order to optimize the weapon system for the respective tactical scenario. As a rule, the machine is controlled according to the VTAS principle (Voice, Throttle & Stick), so the most common commands can be selected according to the HOTAS principle or by voice input. The user-dependent voice control currently comprises around 200 words and is limited to the control of 26 non-critical systems that do not affect flight control or the use of weapons. The system is pilot dependent and uses speech recognition algorithms that employ pattern-based search and neural network techniques for voice recognition and learning. The detection probability is over 95%. In aerial combat, the system enables targets to be activated in two words and target assignment to a wingman in five words. Ordinary tasks such as B. image enlargement or the display of the amount of fuel can be done by voice.
The machine is controlled by a joystick in the middle and a thrust lever on the left. There are twelve switches on each of them. The pilot sits on a Martin-Baker Mk16A-EF ejection seat with zero-zero capability and wears an anti-g suit to protect against high G-forces . The liquid-filled Libelle G-Multiplus suit is used in German and Austrian Eurofighters, while other user countries use the compressed air-controlled Aircrew Equipment Assembly (AEA). To ventilate the pilot, the bleed air from the engines is pressed through a molecular sieve made of zeolites to ensure NBC protection and to enrich the air to 95% oxygen. Combined with argon, the mixture is inhaled by the pilot, while the concentrated nitrogen and other substances from the filters are flushed overboard by a sidestream of the oxygen-rich mixture produced. An identically structured system is also used in the F-22, as well as in the F-35, as this is supplied by Honeywell. The teardrop-shaped cockpit canopy is built by the British GKN Aerospace, which also manufactures the canopies of the F-22 and F-35. It gives the pilot an almost 360 ° all-round view and is not made from one piece, the front strut is used to accommodate rear-view mirrors .
2. Required flight direction
3. Time until the next maneuver
The head-up display has a field of view of 35 × 25 ° and shows the pilot the most important information. This includes altitude, speed and direction, navigation data and weapon information. In the case of unguided free-fall ammunition, for example, the CCIP (Continuously Computed Impact Point) mark is displayed to enable the pilot to aim. Alternatively, the infrared image from PIRATE can also be projected onto the HUD in order to serve as Forward Looking Infrared in poor visibility conditions. A novelty of the Eurofighter is the automatic calculation of the optimal evasive course in case of rocket fire by the avionics, which is shown to the pilot on the HUD. Since the Praetorian self-protection system triggers countermeasures fully automatically when dangers are identified, the pilot only has to follow the calculated evasive course in order to maneuver out guided missiles. As in a computer game, a direction arrow is displayed, which shows the required flight direction and G-load. The pilot only needs to keep the nose of the machine within rectangular boundary boxes indicated on the HUD. The countdown to the next maneuver section is displayed in the lower area of the HUD. If it takes longer than 10 seconds, a "<" is displayed here. When the 10 seconds elapse, a "v" moves along the rectangle from right to left. At the outermost point on the left, the direction arrow changes and a new boundary box is displayed, as well as the new name for the flight maneuver. The individual maneuver sections are assigned consecutive names, which are displayed in the rectangle, along with the total time that the evasive maneuver lasts. For example “BOGEY-1 13” for the first maneuver, whereby maneuvering the missile of “BOGEY” takes a total of 13 seconds. The communications and audio management system (Communications and Audio Management Unit, CAMU) warns the pilot of threats both in spoken form and with simple beeps.
After a long history of development, the Striker data helmet has only been fully available since the beginning of 2011 and costs around $ 400,100 per copy. The microphone and the oxygen mask are attached to the 1.9 kg helmet. Two residual light-intensifying cameras with a field of view of 40 ° × 30 ° each can be installed on the left and right of the pilot's helmet, the images of which can be projected onto the helmet display to replace conventional night vision devices. This increases the helmet weight to 2.3 kg. The helmet visor is provided with a laser / UV / blue light / infrared protective coating. In ballistic tests, the visor had to withstand fire from three 0.22-inch fragments fired in a row without being penetrated. The double-shell helmet was also tested against explosions near the head. The helmet display consists of binocular cathode ray tube screens and is linked to the Head Tracking System (HTS). For this purpose, two cameras are installed in the cockpit, which recognize the head movements of the pilot in three dimensions with an accuracy of less than 1 °. The cameras triangulate the position of the light emitting diodes on the helmet, which are grouped into groups of three. For this purpose, one diode in each group emits a special frequency, which identifies the group that is currently lit and thus the position of the helmet in the room can be determined. The optimal group of three to light up is determined based on the current helmet position. The camera system practically covers the entire cockpit so that the pilot can turn his hips and head. The Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS) displays the position of aircraft and guided missiles and other special features of the environment using symbols on the helmet visor on the basis of the merged situation image. The pilot can thus see targets "through" his own aircraft, switch them on and Then prioritize by voice input and fire guided weapons at them, as well as assign sensors such as radar or target light containers with head movements. The manufacturer calls the operating principle point-and-click .
In the long term, the integration of a 3D audio system as in the X-31 is also planned. The Striker helmet has already been prepared for this. In the end, the HUD should also disappear. The HMSS already displays the same flight data as the HUD. From 2006, EADS began to investigate a touch-sensitive large screen as an operating concept , also in cooperation with German universities, Eurofighter test pilots and the WTD 61 , which could replace MHDDs and DLCP. The usability of the synthetic external view , dropout menus , PA full screen display with or without faded in side windows was examined, as well as whether the XY controller should be replaced by a trackball . The next step is to evaluate a prototype in the simulator.
Avionics
Computer network
In contrast to the F-22 and Rafale F2 / 3, Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) are not yet used in the Eurofighter . While both sensor data are fed into a central data processing system, the sensor data in the Typhoon is processed by several sub-systems in order to be combined into a tactical overall picture of the situation. The avionics consists of several computers that are linked via fiber optic cables according to STANAG 3910 and can transmit up to 1,000 Mbit / s. Individual systems also represent "islands" in avionics and are only connected to the fiber optic network via an additional computer. The subsystems of the Praetorian system, the systems for querying friends and foes, the aircraft basic systems, the weapon control system and the subsystems of the cockpit are linked via MIL-STD-1553 data buses, which ensure a lower data throughput of 100 Mbit / s are designed. In addition to the local air cooling of individual components, the waste heat from the avionics and the anti-G suit is given off via liquid cooling circuits to the fuel, which serves as a heat sink. The complete software of the Eurofighter is written in Ada . At the time of project development, the Eurofighter was the largest Ada software project in Europe.
In Tranche 1 machines, all microprocessors are of the Motorola 68020 type , known as General Purpose Processor (GPP) . With these LRU computers, the application software can only work with this particular piece of hardware of the respective mission computer , which makes changes difficult or impossible. To counteract obsolescence , the Praetorian self-protection system (DASS) was equipped with PowerPC4A processor cards from Radstone Technology shortly before delivery (from 2002). It is a custom-made product based on COTS products in order to cope with the boundary conditions of the DASS. The VxWorks operating system was also installed between the hardware and the DASS application software in order to make the application software more hardware-independent.
A complete revision of the avionics according to ASAAC was carried out for aircraft in Tranche 2 , i. H. a strict separation of a function in hardware and software. EADS began developing IMA based on COTS in accordance with the ASAAC standard for aircraft such as the Eurofighter before 2001. The core element for this Universal Aircraft Computer (UAC) was the separation between hardware, hardware abstraction layer (HAL), operating system and application software (apps). In contrast to the Rafale, which switched directly to IMA at F2, the original avionics architecture was retained in Tranche 2 of the Eurofighter to reduce risk, but the computation modules were standardized and with Integrity-178B a uniform real-time operating system (OS) was selected for all mission computers . Hardware, HAL and OS are the same for all LRIs, only the apps differ depending on the area of application of the mission computer. For the communication between the computers, each LRI has a Common EFEX Module (CEM) , which serves as an intermediary between the ASAAC standard and the real existing Eurofighter technology. ASAAC works with packet switching , while EFEX works with a predefined transmission table . The Eurofighter's apps / mission computers communicate with a type of mailbox system and store the mail in the target computer, while the information is sent via virtual channels according to ASAAC. Furthermore, each LRI has three Common Processing Modules (CPM) which execute the application software on the OS. All four modules of the LRI is a VMEbus - backplane connected. The LRIs are e.g. B. Supplied by Rockwell Collins, correspond to the 1/2 ATR standard, are air-cooled, have six slots and can provide up to 250 W. The three processor cards have dual / quad core processors and PCI mezzanine cards with mass storage . If the VMEBus or EFEX is not sufficient, 10-GEth lines can be connected. IPA6 and IPA7 were used for the flight tests of the new avionics, which were required for international approval.
The next step is to merge the more than 40 mission computers of the Eurofighter into a single General Purpose Mission Computer (GPMC) . Instead of maintaining over 40 identical computers with identical operating systems and different application software, only a single mission computer would have to be kept running with a single operating system that runs over 40 apps at the same time. All computing tasks, with the exception of the flight-critical computer and the signal processing in the sensors, would then fall to the GPMC with shared memory . The crux of the matter is that the number of program errors must be very low because redundancy is lost. A Freescale QorIQ T4240 multi-core processor is planned for the virtual thrust of the GPMC . The aircraft in Tranche 3 are already prepared for the General Purpose Mission Computer . Furthermore, the MIL-STD-1760 weapon bus has been replaced by the new MIL-STD-1760E with additional fiber optic cables.
Aircraft in tranches 2 and 3 are therefore identical in terms of software, as the application software and its updates run on the same operating system and are ASAAC-compliant (evolution packages). Tranche 1 aircraft can and will only be improved to a limited extent through software updates (drops). A solution to the Tranche 1 obsolescence problem is currently (5/2014) not in sight; An upgrade to the ASAAC standard is conceivable, as has already been done with most IPAs. A conversion to the GPMC for all Eurofighters of all tranches is also conceivable, if this is available. A solution should also largely depend on Austria as the only Tranche 1 export customer.
The LRI computers from Tranche 2 also have a USB 2.0 connection . The Typhoons can fly with it without an ACMI pod. Thanks to special software, the practice fight is then recorded on a USB stick without being shown to all practice partners in real time, as is usual with ACMI. The fight can be individually evaluated on the computer after landing, so that secret systems such as the DASS can also be tested.
Originally, the Eurofighters were to receive a new crypto module from Cassidian from 2009 , but the validation was postponed until 2012. With the older module, the codes for radio, IFF, GPS and data links have to be entered manually before each mission and deleted before shutdown . The new module has a password management system and only needs to be populated once with all the codes that are to be securely stored in it. Instead of entering the required keys an hour before each mission, with the risk of input errors, the procedure now takes less than a minute. This is to save a three-digit million amount in life cycle costs. The Eurofighter is the first combat aircraft with such a system.
Sensor fusion
The Typhoon's Attack and Identification System (AIS) is responsible for sensor fusion and consists of two identical computers, the Navigation Computer (NC) and the Attack Computer (AC). The sensor contacts of the radar, infrared target system (IRST), the electronic support measures (ESM), the multifunctional information distribution system (MIDS) and the missile warning system (MAW) are combined and analyzed here to form a tactical overall picture. Details about this have not been released directly. However, in 1999 at the NATO RTO conference, a DERA paper on sensor fusion for the self-protection of combat aircraft was published, the central statements of which coincide with the known facts of the Eurofighter. The work on this paper was carried out for the Operational Requirements (Air) Directorate of MOD as application research. Furthermore, according to the author, the information in the paper relates to a number of project support activities carried out for and financed by the Producement Executive. Since the Eurofighter was the RAF's only fighter aircraft procurement project before and around 1999 , the following sections refer to the paper with further supplementary sources.
The computer network should increase the pilot's awareness of the situation, warn of threats, identify, characterize and prioritize them. Furthermore, the self-defense system should determine the most effective counter-strategy and be able to react with threat avoidance, tactical maneuvers, emissions control, EloGM , electro-optical countermeasures and counterfire. The system should take all available means into account when making a decision. The electronic warfare should electronic support measures (ESM) and the geolocation of emitters include include radar and electro-optical sensors, threat warning and countermeasures, RF and EO-Stealth, and energy weapons and all kinds of EloGM.
Databases are fed before the flight: Certain threats are assigned certain countermeasures. Furthermore, a mission database with known threats and their positions is stored. A terrain database with probable civilian EM emissions that the ESM can locate is created in order to reduce the false alarm rate. The terrain database is also used to be able to calculate shading. In addition, friendly, neutral and hostile areas are entered. Similarly, air traffic roads registered to support the purpose of identification. The databases support the sensor fusion, especially with the prioritization. Since the phase of the mission, the type of conflict and the area overflown is known to the computer system, the best self-protection scenario is selected and this is taken into account in the amount of decoys emitted. The appropriate information is shown to the pilot on the displays. The operating mode and the tasks of the EloKa systems are based on the basic rules of the mission plan.
The system can access radar and IRST data, visual designation by the pilot, the mission database with the positions of the known threats, the terrain database to be able to calculate shadowing, and the link to feed data from external sensors. In the first stage, sensor fusion usually only works with ESM bearing data, as this can be received from a great distance in order to locate and identify targets. The bearing angles of each time step are associated with a set of targets that have already been pursued or assigned to a new target. The distance of the emitters is calculated by changing the bearing lines via Kalman filters and their position in space is estimated. If the distance to an emitter cannot yet be determined, the bearing angle is displayed as a spoke. If the bearing lines converge, the position of the emitter in space is determined and this is displayed as a track on the multifunctional screens . The same procedure is used with the bearing lines of thermal sensors. In order to simplify the task for the sensor fusion, the operating modes of the emitter are associated to a weapon system. If wingmen are available, the position of the targets is also determined by triangulation . Furthermore, known target positions from the mission database are used to determine the distance. In this phase, the identity fusion according to STANAG 4162 begins through evidence-based locking in Bayesian networks . It is not the position data of all sensors that are merged, but their identity data about the target.
In order to avoid (interview) "incestuous" data fusion, where data with low confidence support incorrect conclusions and false alarms lead to entities, sensor data and external data are strictly separated. The fusion of your own internal sensor data outputs the position, course, speed and identity of the targets. The information fusion can also refine the position determination, since the radar, for example, has a higher range resolution and the infrared sensor has a better angular resolution. The angular accuracy of the ESM is higher than that of radar. In the next step, the tracks from external sources are assigned to the targets and combined with threat positions known from mission databases to form a global picture of the situation. Fighter planes of their own squadron send track data and bearing angles via the data link so that an external person can be assigned to the self-created track. If super-units such as AWACS have received their track data from sub-units, which in turn receive this data from the super-unit, the combat aircraft are informed that they contributed to the data. All available sensor data are merged into a common aerial and ground image. The next stages of sensor fusion work with rule-based systems and knowledge databases to group and prioritize goals. The end product is a machine-generated situation awareness, on the basis of which a resource manager can perform the following actions:
- Selection and filtering of information for the multifunctional displays in order to generate cognitive situation awareness and to reveal decision-making options.
- Mission rescheduling and / or re-routing to dodge threats without compromising the mission.
- Maneuvering instructions to the pilot.
- Allocation, timing and control of DASS countermeasures.
- Target assignment and fire control for each weapon that is carried.
- Assignment of operating mode and task to the on-board sensors, including EMCON .
- Disseminate the situation to allies and higher levels.
The system acts according to a central database in which the appropriate countermeasures are stored depending on the threat. The best countermeasure is selected on the basis of this list, and the pilot can also receive maneuvering instructions. Several threats can be considered at the same time. The lethal zone of the threat and its detection range are shown on the display. The pilot can of course also give instructions to ignore the threat, initiate a certain countermeasure or silence emitters (EloGM, radar). Protection is guaranteed by three principles: low-level flight to minimize detection by the enemy, control of the platform signature, and long-range reconnaissance by ESM of pop-up threats in order to be able to reschedule the mission in flight. Electronic countermeasures to make locating and targeting the enemy more difficult can be selected, as can a higher flight altitude. If neither evasion nor suppression of the opponent is possible, the best attack geometry is chosen in order to reduce the opponent's own signature and the ability to shoot. If the platform is shot at, sensors provide a close-up warning and control countermeasures to reduce the threat. This requires cooperation between the navigation computer (NC), attack computer (AC) and defensive AIDS computer (DAC) , although it remains unclear which computer takes on which task.
The information also agrees well with a 1996 NATO paper by Alenia Aeronautica . A model for sensor fusion for an advanced combat aircraft was reported in this, whereby the principle of two-stage sensor fusion (first internal sensor data, then external tracks) is also mentioned. Although the model was not precise enough for this, it was requested that future improvements should implement passive ranging for ESM and IRST in order to be able to track targets without active radar. Various sources, u. a. Test pilots John Lawson and Craig Penrice confirm that targets in the Eurofighter can be fought with guided missiles even without active radar use. The CAPTOR creates a data link to the weapon in "stealth mode". In the Alenia model, the active radar was only aimed at targets that had already been discovered in order to occasionally determine their distance precisely using individual impulses. Also in the DERA paper cited above, the radar is only aimed at targets that have already been discovered by the ESM or IRST. This bridges the gap with Data Adaptive Scanning (DAS) , see below. The CAPTOR radar, the PIRATE infrared target system and the Praetorian self-protection system are explained in more detail below.
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CAPTOR
The CAPTOR is the Eurofighter's radar and a further development of the Blue Vixen radar by the EuroRADAR consortium under the leadership of BAE Systems . The radar consists of a mechanically controlled antenna made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic with a diameter of 0.7 meters, 61 plug-in cards (shop replaceable items) and six line replaceable units . The entire system weighs 193 kg. The CAPTOR works in a frequency band from 8 to 12 GHz and has about twice the transmission power of the AN / APG-65 . High -precision samarium - cobalt servomotors with high torque are used for antenna control in order to achieve high scanning speeds. The antenna can be swiveled by ± 60 ° in elevation and azimuth. In contrast to other NATO radars, the system uses three processing channels: the first is used for target search, the second for target tracking and identification, and the third for localizing and overcoming interference measures. It automatically switches between low, medium and high pulse repetition rates . These amount to 1000 to 200,000 pulses per second. Sending shorter impulses reduces the detectability. By Data Adaptive Scanning (DAS) , the movement of the antenna is minimized in pursuit of air targets.
The CAPTOR-C installed in Tranche 1 aircraft has various air-to-air and air-to-ground modes that can be selected by voice control or automatically. Up to 20 aerial targets can be tracked in “ track-while-scan ” mode; the detection range for a fighter is about 185 km. The "range-while-search" mode enables higher ranges, but at the expense of accuracy, which is then no longer "weapon-compatible". The non-cooperative target identification mode profiles unknown targets according to their length, the characteristic radar echo is assigned to a target type with the help of a database comparison. In order not to let the data volume get out of hand, only the radar images of the threats that can be expected in the target area are loaded. In “ Synthetic Aperture Radar ” mode, the radar maps the terrain with a resolution of one meter. Other air-to-ground modes such as GMTI or TERCOM are available.
In Tranche 2 aircraft, the Motorola GPP units were replaced by the newer PowerPC units. The terrain resolution could be increased to 0.3 m. The radar is called CAPTOR-D or CAPTOR-M. Nothing new is known about the number of TWS targets and fire control channels, but these are also likely to have been increased significantly as the hardware for the CAPTOR-E is retained. This active phased array radar should have an antenna that is inclined and rotatable by 40 ° in order to increase the search range to ± 100 °.
The development of the CAPTOR-E with AESA technology was started on July 1, 2010 by the EuroRADAR consortium, consisting of BAE Systems , Airbus Defense and Space and Selex ES , flight test models should be ready by 2013 and series models available from 2015. The CAPTOR-E is said to have advanced capabilities for electronic support measures , electronic countermeasures and cyber warfare . On November 19, 2014, the representatives of the operating states represented in NETMA and Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, representing the armaments consortium, placed a development order for the CAPTOR-E .
PIRATES
The PIRATE is an imaging infrared sensor with high resolution that has been available since 2007. For cost reasons, not every Eurofighter is equipped with this component. The sensor works in the wavelengths from 3 to 5 µm and from 8 to 14 µm and is located on the left in front of the cockpit. Behind the window made of zinc sulphide with a protective coating, the radiation from the sensor head, which is stabilized in two axes, is sent through more than 90 optical components before it hits the FPA detector . This is cooled down to 70 K by a Stirling engine. While older publications talk about a CMT (2003 and 2008), more recently they also talk about a QWIP (2008). Due to the purely passive way of working, the search volume can be scanned faster than with an active phased array antenna.
PIRATE works like a radar in track-while-scan mode with look-up or look-down capability, only without emitting emissions. The distance can be determined purely passively by means of sequential triangulation ( kinematic ranging ). The classification of targets takes place in two steps: First it is examined whether the object is an airplane. For this purpose, clutter and everything that falls under the signal-to-noise ratio is sorted out. In the next step, astronomical objects such as the sun, moon and planets are recognized as such by motion models and removed. Finally, the goal is upgraded to a track and pursued further. Based on the direction of movement and target distance, feature extraction can provide an indication of classification, which also helps to reduce the false alarm rate. The classification takes less than a second. Up to 200 targets can be tracked and prioritized at the same time, only some of which can be tracked and sent via the EFA bus. Angle data, distance, signature and characteristic data, dynamic data and measurement errors are sent via the bus.
Different operating modes are available. Most of the time, the area in front of the aircraft is searched for possible destinations, also known as Track While Scan - IRST mode . By default, PIRATE also serves as a passive missile warning in the front sector of the Eurofighter. It is also possible to track individual goals with high precision and to identify them visually. The infrared sensor can also be coupled with the pilot's head movement. The sensor then looks where the pilot is looking, and the FLIR image is projected onto the helmet display. The field of view is identical to that of the HUD, i.e. 35 × 25 °. This mode is used as night flight, attack and landing aid. Furthermore, an air-to-ground mode has been implemented in order to be able to track several ships, cars, trains etc. at the same time. For the pilot, the targets are marked with a "v" on the infrared image.
The range of the sensor is a well-kept secret of the manufacturer consortium. The RAND Corporation speaks of 50 nm (93 km) against a subsonic target from the front. Troop service magazine speaks of 50 to 80 kilometers, but also considers 150 kilometers to be possible. According to information from the manufacturer consortium in SPIE in 2008, it was possible to show during the test campaigns that PIRATE had capabilities comparable to those of the radar when tracking targets, as well as a similar range. The information fits well with the tender, where an observation area comparable to the radar was required. The USAF also requested an infrared target system for the ATF with a range of up to 160 nm (288 km), which later fell victim to the budget. Up until 2013, PIRATE's tracking range could be further increased through software updates . However, weather conditions have a significant impact on the performance of infrared-based target search and tracking.
Praetorian
The Praetorian , also known as the Defensive AIDS Sub-System (DASS) , is the Eurofighter's automatic self-protection system and is developed and built by BAE Systems and Elettronica in the EuroDASS consortium established for this purpose. While the first drafts still had an additional pod in the upper area of the vertical stabilizer, this could be dispensed with in the course of development. The complex consists of antennas for electronic countermeasures (ECM) and electronic support measures (ESM), as well as missile warning systems (MAW) and decoys. The individual components are controlled by the Defensive Aids Computer (DAC) via MIL-STD-1553 data buses, while the computer itself is connected to the avionics via fiber optic cables. The entire system is controlled by five processors. The Praetorian system has already been upgraded to new processors on Tranche 1 machines, which increased the computing power tenfold.
When the requirements for an ECM system for the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) were published, these could only be met by antennas with active electronic beam swiveling. Since the effective radiated power of the AESA antennas at that time was still low, the technical progress during development was relied on. Elettronica and GEC Marconi were finally awarded the contract for the first ECM system, which consists entirely of semiconductor components. The individual transmitter and receiver modules consist of Vivaldi antennas in the frequency range from 6 to 18 GHz, which can also passively localize emitters. The antennas are in the front of the wing tip canisters and another is in the back of the left pod. The containers can work independently of one another or together. For example, a front AESA antenna can occupy a target with noise jamming , while the other takes care of other targets. The spatial separation of the pods, the choice of actively phase-controlled antennas and multi-bit DRFM also made cross-eye jamming possible. In addition, there are small bumps on the front and rear of the pods, which represent ECM antennas under a radome. In principle, these will transmit in a lower frequency range, i.e. H. below 6 GHz. In the course of phase 1 enhancement (P1E), these will be replaced by new antennas with polarization diversity, the frequency range will be expanded and the effective radiated power increased.
In the rear right wing tip container there are two Ariel Mk II towing jammers from SELEX Galileo, one of which can be pulled on a 100 m long Kevlar and fiber optic cable behind the aircraft. The towing jammer works in the frequency range from 6 to 20 GHz. In the course of phase 1 enhancement (P1E), the disruptive frequency range is reduced to up to 4 GHz (G-band) and the effective radiated power is increased. It can either neutralize missiles with home-on-jam technology or work as a radar bait, providing active radar-guided weapons with a larger and more attractive target than the carrier aircraft. Together with the ECM antennas in the wing tip containers, the chaff clouds emitted by the decoy launcher are illuminated to make them appear even more worthwhile as a decoy .
As already described above, the Vivaldi antennas can also passively localize emitters. For electronic support measures (ESM), the front of each pod also contains two outward-facing spiral antennas . At the rear end of the left pod there are four antennas to ensure full coverage of the rear hemisphere, thus ensuring 360 ° coverage. From P1E onwards, antennas with polarization diversity are also used here to differentiate between horizontal, vertical, left and right-handed rotation. The superheterodyne receiver can track in addition to its function as a radar warning receiver, other electronic emissions such as radio and data transmission. The system covers a frequency range from 100 MHz to 18 GHz. The signals received are forwarded to the Defensive Aids Computer (DAC), where the transmitter is identified with the help of a programmable database containing several thousand signal examples. When flying with high g-loads , information is sent from the Flight Control System (FCS) to the ESM in order to take into account the deflection of the wings when determining the position of the targets. The ESM estimates the distance to the target based on the signal amplitude. The bearing accuracy is less than 1 ° higher than with the CAPTOR radar. Due to its high angular precision, the system can also be used for geolocation of emitters and fire control. Determining the position of air targets is challenging and requires a lot of computation.
Green arrow: Eurofighter disrupts target
Red arrow: Target disrupts Eurofighter
Little is known about the missile approach warner (MAW) of the Eurofighter Typhoon. According to various sources, the Advanced Missile Detection System (AMIDS) from SELEX Galileo is installed. Pulse Doppler radar with millimeter waves will be used to locate threats at close range. Objects within a sphere around the Typhoon, with the exception of directly above and below, can thus be located and tracked. Since combat aircraft have a much larger reflective surface than guided weapons, they can be located at a much greater distance, but this is not directly confirmed. BAE Systems only speaks generally of aircraft and guided missiles, which are displayed on the HMSS from the merged situation image of the sensors. However, Diehl BGT Defense mentions in the IRIS-T product flyer that the weapon can also be instructed on targets with the help of the missile warning system. The picture on the right is from the Eurofighter presentation for Norway. In the DASS format shown, an “ MSL ” contact can be seen in the immediate vicinity (green circle) as well as destinations labeled “FLN” and “FLANK” up to 50 nm (90 km) away. For practical reasons, the detection range against guided missiles will be around 20 km.
At the rear end of the launch rails of the short-range air-to-air missiles are the BOL 510 dispensers from Saab with 2 × 160 packages. The installation is intended to optimize the distribution of the chaffs and torches through the wake vortices. The decoy can be triggered by the AIS, the DAC or the pilot. In addition, there is a Cobham dispenser with 2 × 16 charges under each wing in the housing for the actuators of the inner elevons.
British, Spanish and Saudi Eurofighters will also be equipped with laser alarms. If the aircraft is targeted with a laser, they trigger an alarm. For political and financial reasons, Austria waived the complete automatic self-protection system.
Engines
The EJ200 is a twin-shaft engine with a bypass ratio of 0.4: 1. The low bypass ratio was chosen for high dry thrust and good propulsion efficiency in supersonic conditions. The engine enables the Typhoon to continuously fly supersonic without the use of the afterburner. Compared to the Turbo-Union RB199 , it requires 37% fewer parts (1800 instead of 2845) and develops 50% more thrust with the same dimensions. The air is compressed by a low pressure compressor in three stages to a pressure ratio of 4.2: 1. The high and low pressure compressors are manufactured using what is known as blisk technology, whereby the compressor disks and blades consist of one piece, which reduces weight. The titanium alloy blades are more than twice the size of the Turbo-Union RB199 and are hollow. The following high-pressure compressor with 3D blading generates a pressure ratio of 6.2: 1 with just five stages and is therefore at the forefront of this sophisticated technology worldwide. The two compressors rotate in opposite directions to each other and thus generate a total pressure ratio of up to 26: 1. Air and fuel are burned together in the annular combustion chamber . The turbine inlet temperature is around 1800 Kelvin . The high and low pressure turbines each consist of one stage and use air-cooled single crystal blades made of a nickel alloy with a ceramic coating of nickel, chromium and yttrium. This coating must be checked regularly for any damage. The afterburner is followed by an adjustable convergent-divergent nozzle without thrust vector control. The thrust-to-weight ratio of the EJ200 is 9.5: 1 with an engine weight of 1035 kg. It takes four people less than 45 minutes to replace an engine. In the future, a 3D thrust vector control with a deflection angle of around 23 ° is to be installed in order to incorporate the findings from the X-31 project. It should also be possible to control the convergent and divergent sections of the nozzle independently of one another in order to increase the net thrust in the super cruise by 7% through optimized flow conditions.
The engine is normally optimized by its Digital Engine Control Unit (DECU) for minimum maintenance and maximum service life. In this setting, it provides a dry thrust of 60 kN and 90 kN with post-combustion . However, if required, the performance can be increased in the event of war, which reduces the service life and increases maintenance costs. In a combat setting , called war setting , it develops a dry thrust of 69 kN and 95 kN with afterburning. The EJ200 can also provide an emergency output of 102 kN for a few seconds.
Armament
The Eurofighter is equipped with the single- barrel, gas-powered five-chamber revolver cannon Mauser BK-27 with a caliber of 27 × 145 mm. The weapon weighs 100 kg without ammunition and is installed in the right wing attachment. The rate of fire is 1700 rounds per minute, the muzzle velocity is 1025 m / s. Almost 4 kg of projectile mass are fired in just 0.5 seconds. The ammunition is supplied in a closed system, with the empty cartridge cases being collected in a container. The cartridges do not have to be connected beforehand, only placed in a container, which reduces the time for ammunitioning the weapon. The effective range is around 1600 m. A total of 150 rounds of ammunition are carried, with various types of ammunition available. High-explosive projectiles (HE) are charged against air targets, optionally with self-destruction (HE-SD). Armor-piercing projectiles with or without explosive mass are used against ground targets. A projectile weighs around 260 grams.
Furthermore, there are 13 lower fuselage and wing stations to attach external loads up to a total mass of 7500 kg. There are four under each wing and five under the fuselage. A maximum of twelve air-to-air missiles can be carried. Drop tanks can also be mounted on the external load station highlighted in yellow in the picture . There are at least two models to choose from: the 1500-liter tank of the Panavia Tornado , which is designed for subsonic flight and low g-loads, or the new 1000-liter tank optimized for supersonic flight and high g-loads. In order to impair the aerodynamics of the aircraft less, BAE Systems is developing conformal fuel tanks . Two of them can be attached to the back of the aircraft starting with tranche 3 and each hold 1500 liters to increase the range of the Eurofighter by 25%. While the central lower hull station is only used to transport fuel, long-range air-to-air missiles can be carried at the four semi-submerged weapon stations without significantly increasing the reflective surface and air resistance. The two outer launch rails can only be equipped with short-range air-to-air missiles. If necessary, weapon pylons can be mounted on the remaining underwing stations, which maintain the data connection between the weapon and the aircraft via MIL-STD-1760.
In addition to the old Sidewinder, the new ASRAAM and IRIS-T are available as air-to-air armaments. When ASRAAM a significant increase in the firing distance was the main development goal. Opposing aircraft should be destroyed on the approach before there is a fight in a curve. The increase in maneuverability for close combat was, compared to the Sidewinder, a secondary development goal, although here too improvements were achieved thanks to the much more powerful rocket motor and the low-drag missile. The IRIS-T, on the other hand, was designed as a particularly manoeuvrable missile and can also hit targets near and behind its own aircraft, this ability is referred to as full sphere capability . By assigning targets via the missile warning system, the pilot can get a better overview and blind spots can be reduced. Due to the new type of seeker head, air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles can also be fought with the IRIS-T in order to defend the Typhoon as a hardkill system .
For long-range aerial combat, the AIM-120A / B / C AMRAAM is used as a temporary solution, which in the past showed rather unspectacular performance. In the future this is to be replaced by the much more powerful MBDA Meteor , which is equipped with a ramjet engine. After political differences, however, the seeker will only have an active K u band radar with LPI properties . Another innovation is the networking of the missile with other units. So it is possible that aircraft A fires the meteor at target B, but the weapon of aircraft C is reassigned target D during the flight. After firing, the take-off aircraft no longer has to have sensor contact with the target, the rocket can be continuously supplied with new target data by other units. Steering by AWACS is also possible. Since an E-3 Sentry can only provide a target update every ten seconds due to the slow rotation of the antenna, this option is only available against slow, cumbersome targets. If an AWACS is equipped with an AESA antenna, like the originally planned E-10 MC2A , guided missiles can also be used against agile targets. The Eurofighters in the radar range of this AWACS can then turn immediately after firing in order to avoid the enemy rocket salvo. If the radar of the AESA-AEW aircraft is strong enough, this method can also be used to combat targets with a reduced radar reflective surface at a great distance, as a supplement to the on-board sensors. For example, an E-3 Sentry with a RISP Ugprade can locate a target with a radar cross-section of 0.5 m² over at least 556 km.
To date, only free-fall ammunition has been scaffolded in the air-to-ground role; in the long term, the integration of guided missiles is also planned. The maximum load of the external load stations is subject to confidentiality. However, since the two inner underwing stations can carry Taurus and Storm Shadow cruise missiles, they must have a minimum load capacity of 1500 kg. The outer underwing stations are designed to carry long-range air-to-air missiles and bombs and are believed to be able to carry 250 to 500 kg. The British Typhoons can also carry the Litening III to light targets. In the Bundeswehr this should be integrated since 2013, in the Spanish Air Force from 2014. Saudi machines have integrated the Thales Damocles. In the loading scheme below, the numbers 1 and 12 are the outer start rails and stations 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 are the lower hull stations. The mean external load station is not taken into account, as it is normally only used to transport fuel or the LITENING III target lighting pod.
Further integrations (must be inserted in table):
- Air-sea targets guided missile: Marte ER
- Air-to-ground guided free-fall ammunition: GBU-54 Laser JDAM
- Luft-X Electronic-Warfare guided missile: SPEAR EW
- Reconnaissance & target containers: THALES DAMOCLES, LITENING III, LITENING-V, Lockheed Martin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pode, possibly AREOS Thales (Damocles successor) (Tranche 3B or later - in negotiation), possibly DB110
- Air-to-ground guided free-fall ammunition: PAVEWAY II
- Airborne Reconnaissance Pods: MS-110 & TacSAR (under negotiation)
- Combat training pods: DRS-Cubic ACMI P5
| Air-to-air guided missile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| weapon | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 & 6 | 7 & 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | User states |
| AIM-132 ASRAAM | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
| IRIS-T | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
    
|
| AIM-9 Sidewinder | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
| AIM-120 AMRAAM | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
|
| MBDA Meteor | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
|
| Air-to-surface guided missile | |||||||||||
| Taurus KEPD 350 (planned) | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
|
| Storm Shadow | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
|
| Brimstone II | - | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 3 | 3 | 3 | - |
|
| Air-to-ground guided free-fall ammunition | |||||||||||
| GBU-10 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
|
| GBU-16 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
|
| GBU-48 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
|
| Paveway IV | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
|
| Status: 04/2014 | |||||||||||
Versions
Development aircraft
A total of seven Development Aircraft (DA) were built to make the Eurofighter Typhoon ready for series production:
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DA1: Was built by DASA, the first flight took place on March 27, 1994 with phase 0 software, flown by test pilot Peter Weger. Nine test flights had been completed by June 1994, after which the flight control system was updated to phase 2. The resumption of test flights began on September 18, 1995. The first flight of a pilot in the German Air Force (Lieutenant Colonel Heinz Spolgen) followed in March 1996, and the military evaluation was completed by April 24, 1996. After that, the conversion to EJ200 series 03Z engines as well as avionics update to STANAG 3910 and equipping of a Martin Baker ejection seat Mk.16 began by November 1998. In the third quarter of 1999, the test flights were resumed until September 11th 2000 lasted. This was followed by an update of the flight control system (FCS) and a two-week series of tests on the North Sea ACMI range at Jagdbombergeschwader 38 on July 3, 2001, as well as buddy-buddy in- flight refueling with the Panavia Tornado in August 2001. From April 8, 2003, DA1 relocated to Spain to replace DA6. First flight with IRIS-T dummy on August 27, 2003. This was followed by tests of voice input (DVI). On August 27, 2003, DA1 was the first Eurofighter to fly with the IRIS-T. Finally, by October 2004, data was collected to improve flight control. The last flight took place on December 21, 2005. DA1 is exhibited in the Deutsches Museum in Oberschleißheim next to the Rockwell MBB X-31 .
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DA2: Was built by BAE in Warton, the first flight was on April 6, 1994 by Christopher J. Yeo. After that, nine test flights were completed by June 1994, followed by an update of the flight control system to phase 2. The resumption of test flights began on May 17, 1995. First flight with the pilot of the RAF (Squadron Leader Simon Dyde) on November 9, 1995. Demonstrated the ability for flights with angles of attack of up to 25 ° in May 1997. Tests were then carried out on the RAF base in Leeming, among other things to check shelter compatibility . Radar interference tests followed and flight tests for carefree handling began . DA2 was the first Eurofighter Typhoon to reach Mach 2 on December 23, 1997. The first in-flight refueling of a VC10 took place on January 14, 1998. The aircraft was then equipped with the EJ200 engines as well as new avionics and the Martin Baker Ejection Seat Mk.16. The resumption of test flights began at the end of August 1998 with flutter tests. Equipped for load tests from mid-1999. First flight with 2B2 software standard on July 7, 2000 with completely black paintwork and over 500 pressure sensors for air flow measurement. An update of the fuel system was installed at the end of the year. In 2001, tests with engine starts in flight followed, in January 2002 the first double refueling in flight of the DA2 and DA4. Then ASRAAM compatibility tests were carried out, and the carefree handling was developed in mid-2002. This was followed by DASS tests and the ALSR (Auto Low-Speed Recovery) tests were completed in July 2004. The first flight with new FCS software took place in February 2005 and lasted until November 13, 2006. DA2 was decommissioned on January 29, 2007 and is now in the RAF Museum in Hendon.
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DA3: was built by Alenia and equipped with EJ200 engines from the start. The first flight took place on June 4, 1995 with phase 1 software by Napoleone Bragagnolo. Upgrade with EJ200-01C engines in 1996, in December of that year the engine start was also tested in flight. First flight with two 1000 liter under wing tanks on December 5, 1997. Upgrade to EJ200-03A engines in spring 1998. Reached Mach 1.6 with two 1000 liter under wing tanks in March 1999. Weapon drop tests were also started in 1999. DA3 reached Mach 1.6 with three 1000 liter underwing tanks in December 1999. An upgrade of the on-board cannon and ejector seat began on March 31, 2000 and first shot of the on-board cannon on March 13, 2002. In flight, the on-board cannon was first fired in March 2004 . Air-to-air cannon tests begin in March 2005. Was used for flutter tests at the Decimomannu military airfield until August 2005 . From September test flights with GBU-10 took place. At the beginning of 2006, flight performance measurements (e.g. glide ratio ) and the dropping of air-to-ground ammunition were carried out. The last flight took place on February 7, 2006, the aircraft is stored in Caselle .
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DA4: Was built by BAE Systems and was the first two-seater. The first flight took place on March 14, 1997 by Derek Reeh, on February 20, 1998 the first supercruise flights were completed. This was followed by lightning strike attempts in Warton from May to June 1998. On April 28, 1999, the autopilot and autopilot were activated. The first flight with the helmet-visor system took place on June 17, 1999 and after 2000 the first flight with the missile warning system (MAW). First night flight of a two-seater. From 2001 soil tests of the DASS began. This was followed by an upgrade of on-board power generation and avionics and a resumption of flight tests in November 2001. First double refueling in flight of DA2 and DA4 in January 2002. This was followed by weapon integration tests with the use of the first AMRAAM against a drone on April 9, 2002. Further milestones became achieved when the first in-air refueling of a two-seater, the first in-air refueling with external tanks, and the first in-air refueling at night were demonstrated. Finally, the longest Eurofighter flight to date followed, lasting 4 hours 22 minutes. ESM tests began in 2002, and flights with Direct Voice Input (DVI) from March 2004. In September 2004 an improved flight control system was installed. This was followed by the downing of a drone with an AMRAAM in February 2005. The aircraft was brought to RAF Coningsby on December 13, 2006 , where the airframe was used for teaching and training purposes. Was then taken to the AirSpace hangar of the Imperial War Museum , where DA4 can be viewed today.
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DA5: Was built by EADS Germany in Manching, the first flight took place on February 24, 1997 with pilot Wolfgang Schirdewahn. DA5 was the first Eurofighter with ECR-90 radar and at the same time the first with complete avionics equipment. Radar software upgrade to DS-C1 and upgrade to EJ200-03A engines in June 1997. This was followed by testing of radar-absorbing material . First visit to a possible export customer in Rygge / Norway in June 1998 and the flight of a Norwegian test pilot on December 15, 1998. First flight with the new software standard Phase 2B1 with autopilot and autopilot on April 1, 1999. In mid-1999, four radar tests followed simulated targets. Icing flight tests took place in February 2000 and the integration of AMRAAM and AIM-9L was completed in May 2001. By mid-2000, 90% of the flight envelope was flown. It was flown regularly in the supercruise, air-to-air missiles were fired, and high deployment rates and agility were demonstrated. By March 29, 2001, the radar tests were completed with different tests with 20 targets each. Avionics conversion to series standard in spring 2003 and first flight with an active IRIS-T in May 2004. This was followed by the first flight with six fully integrated AMRAAMs including simulated missile deployment. Was later upgraded to Tranche 2 standard. Flew with the CAESAR radar from May 8, 2007. Was withdrawn from circulation on October 30, 2007 and used as an exhibit 31 + 30.
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DA6: Was built by EADS Spain in Seville as a second two-seater, intended to expand the flight performance range, the air conditioning and ventilation systems, the MIDS data link and the helmet-visor system. The first flight took place on August 31, 1996 with Alf de Miguel Gonzalez. After that, from July 20, 1998, high temperature tests were carried out in Moròn (Spain) and in June 1999 flight tests with a pilot's cooling vest were carried out. The icing tests in the air conditioning hangar at the Boscombe Down test site were completed in January 2000. This was followed by a test of the environmental systems together with DA1 in Boscombe Down. These were completed in May 2000. In 2001 the experiments with voice commands began. Crash after an engine failure on November 21, 2002 100 km south of Madrid with 326 flight hours during 362 missions.
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DA7: Was built by Alenia, the first flight took place on January 27, 1997 by Napoleone Bragagnolo. Second jet with EJ200 engines. First launch of an AIM-9L on December 15, 1997, and first launch of an AIM-120 on December 17, 1997. This was followed by the first launch of 1000-liter underwing tanks on June 17, 1998. From April 2001, Decimomannu was launched from the military airfield Start attempts with AMRAAM and AIM-9L carried out, followed by experiments with the PIRATE sensor. A second series of AMRAAM and AIM-9L launch attempts in Decimomannu followed in December 2001. First in-flight refueling of Italian Boeing 707T / T tankers in July 2002. Successful AMRAAM launch test from the outer wing station in November 2003. The first PIRATE- Tracking test took place in January 2004. IRIS-T launch tests from the outer wing station followed in March 2004. At the beginning of 2007, DA7 was used to develop the PIRATE (IRST / FLIR), to test the new Striker helmet and for other air-to-ground tests (e.g. Laser target container). On September 10, 2007, the plane was mothballed in Cameri .
Pre-production models
The Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA) are eight production standard aircraft that have been equipped with instruments for telemetry . All machines are built according to the Tranche 1 standard, with the avionics of all except IPA1 and IPA3 being upgraded to Tranche 2 standard. IPA7 is the only fully-fledged Tranche 2 machine, IPA8 the only one in Tranche 3. The IPAs are owned by NATO EF 2000 and Tornado Development, Production & Logistics Management Agency :
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IPA1: The two-seater was built by BAE Systems in Warton, the first flight was on April 15, 2002 with Keith Hartley at the wheel. IPA1 was the first Typhoon to be mass-produced. Air refueling nozzles, flight test instruments and paintwork were later added. Served to test the Defensive AIDS Sub System (DASS). The first drop of a "Paveway II" took place on June 29, 2006. In June 2009, drop tests were carried out with the "Paveway IV". From the beginning of 2011, drop tests with Meteor prototypes followed on the Aberporth Range, and at the end of 2012 the first test shots.
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IPA2: The two-seater was built by Alenia, the first flight took place on April 5, 2002 by Maurizio Cheli . Intended for testing air-to-ground armament and sensor fusion. Used in 2003 to test Tactical Air Navigation . First night in-flight refueling on November 19, 2004. In 2005, tests were carried out with the GBU-16. The first flight with the EJ200-Mk-101 engines from Tranche 2 took place on September 14, 2007. Supersonic flights and maneuvers were tested. At first only the right engine was replaced by the Mk 101, from December both of them. This was used to examine the compatibility of the engines. In November 2008, aerial refueling tests were carried out with a KC-130J Hercules. Night refueling was also tested. Has been used for Paveway IV testing since late 2008. The machine has been used for software testing since the end of 2012. Tests with Storm Shadow began in late 2013.
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IPA3: built by EADS Germany, also a two-seater. First flight on April 8, 2002 by Chris Worning. In 2005 load and load tests took place. “Paveway II” was worn for the first time on February 21, and the “Litening III” target light container for aerodynamic tests was worn in November. The wearing tests continued in 2013.
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IPA4: The single-seater was built by EADS Spain. Alfonso de Castro took the first flight on February 27, 2004. In December 2004, the flight to the Vidsel rocket test site for cold weather tests followed, which was completed on March 8, 2005. Since it was not always cold enough for the cold weather tests, the taxiing on the snowy and icy runway was also tested unplanned . This was followed by the transfer to Morón (Spain) for hot weather tests in summer 2005. For networked operations management , tests of the MIDS were also carried out in Morón together with Typhoon series machines. For this purpose, the machine was upgraded to block 2B and PIRATE and DASS were installed. In 2006, tests were conducted on the GBU-16 for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), flutter and vibration. In 2007 test flights for the Meteor program took place. On March 31, 2009, IPA4 fired an AMRAAM at a Mirach drone with the help of the MIDS, the target data were sent by IPA5. The aircraft was upgraded to Tranche 2 standard in mid-2009. Used for environmental and communication systems and MIDS tests and meteor tests. The machine has been used for software testing since the end of 2012.
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IPA5: The single-seater was built by BAE Systems in Warton. First flight on June 7, 2004 by Mark Bowman. Served to integrate air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, including AMRAAM, ASRAAM, 1000-pound bombs, BL755 cluster munitions and the anti-radar guided missile ALARM . On March 12, 2009, IPA5 flew to Moron in order to carry out the MIDS shot over southern Spain on March 31 with IPA4. Was then used for avionics testing. Then a prototype of the CAPTOR-E was installed, which flew for the first time in early March 2014, several months ahead of schedule. Since it is a Tranche 1 airframe, the installation of the CAPTOR-E in Tranche 1 aircraft should also be demonstrated.
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IPA6: First took off on November 1, 2007 with Mark Bowman at the wheel. Although it was a Tranche 1 aircraft, it was the first to have Tranche 2 hardware and software. Engine tests were carried out in October 2007. From 2008 DASS test flights were completed and the new Helmet Equipment Assembly (HEA) and the Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) were tested. The machine has been used for software testing since the end of 2012.
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IPA7: Flew on January 16, 2008 as the first and only aircraft with full Tranche 2 standard. The pilot was Chris Worning. Around June 2008, tests began on the 500 pound paveway. That year, missile warning (MAW) tests were also carried out over the North Sea, along with F-4 Phantoms and Panavia Tornados of the Air Force. The series of tests continued in 2009. The machine has been used for software testing since the end of 2012. Tests with Taurus cruise missiles will follow from the end of 2013. The first test flight with two KEPD 350 took place on January 15, 2014 . In mid-2014, tests with additional strakes over the canards and larger rudders will be carried out in order to better control the pitch-up moment when flying with conformal fuel tanks . Furthermore, it should also be possible to pull over a stall (aka cobra maneuver ) and the roll rates there should be improved.
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IPA8: The two-seater is currently (04/2014) in production and complies with the tranche 3 standard. Receives a prototype of the CAPTOR-E on- board radar .
Instrumented Series Production Aircraft (ISPA) also exist . Like the IPAs, these are branched off the production line and carry less telemetry than the IPA machines. In these models, which can also be upgraded back to series production, the space of the on-board cannon was used for avionics, which is connected to the fiber-optic bus. Legally, the ISPAs are owned by the user states and are only loaned by the industry:
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ISPA1: The Tranche 1 two-seater was built by BAE Systems in Warton, the first flight took place on May 11, 2004. On February 3, 2005 flew with a test pilot from BAE Systems and the RAF over the airbases of Lajes, Bangor, Little Rock and Cannon to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake . Harrier GR7 and Tornado GR4 from RAF Coningsby were also carried along. After completing the “High Rider 10” exercise, the relocation began. Since then it has served as a test machine for the DASS, Striker helmet and the integration of laser target containers. Was retrofitted in June 2009 and handed over to the RAF.
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ISPA2: Tranche 1 single seater from Alenia. First flight on July 9, 2004 by Maurizio Cheli . After tests it was handed over to the Italian Air Force in December 2004.
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ISPA3: Was delivered as a Tranche 2 machine in June 2011. After tests (including with Litening-LDP), handed over to the Spanish Air Force in February 2014.
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ISPA4: Was used as a T2 machine in May 2011 for testing PIRATE and the inertial navigation system. Was handed over to the Italian Air Force in January 2014.
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ISPA5: Manufactured as a Tranche 2 aircraft in March 2011 and handed over to the Royal Air Force in January 2014 after test flights.
Series models
Tranche 1
The Tranche 1 aircraft were delivered from 2003 and provide the basic capabilities. All Tranche 1 aircraft were upgraded to Block 5 as part of the R1 and R2 program by early 2012. Germany, Italy and Spain developed the "Drop 1", a software update for avionics to improve the exchange of LRUs (from 2011). Germany and Great Britain then developed the “Drop 2” update. It will be available from March 2013 for all machines in Tranche 1. The presentation of the goals is more intuitive; it is also shown which sensors contribute to the merged track. The operating options for the target light container via HOTAS have also been expanded and the DASS software has been improved. "Drop 3" is expected to be available by the end of 2014 and affect all core programs. "Drop 4" which follows will improve MIDS and AIS. The Tranche 1 machines are limited by the limited computing power on the software side: For example, during a bomb deployment it is possible to locate an air target using the ESM / ECM and to shoot it using AMRAAM ( details ), but can no longer be on air-to-ground Mode can be changed. Was only corrected in tranche 2 through higher computing power.
- Block 1: Hardware series standard and test flight instrumentation, basic skills
- Block 2: sensor fusion and limited DASS (chaff / flare), PIRATE only as FLIR, DVI voice control, basic autopilot. New weapons: AIM-9L, ASRAAM-digital, AIM-120B AMRAAM, cannon
- Block 2B: Software update flight control system (full air combat capability and basic multi-role capability), Striker data helmet, MIDS data link, more radar modes, full DASS, PIRATE, ground collision warning system. New weapons: IRIS-T analog
- Block 5: Night vision for Striker helmet, software update flight control system, full autopilot, full PIRATE, full ground collision warning system. New weapons: Paveway II (GBU-16, GBU-48), Rafael Litening III, ground mode cannon
Tranche 2
The Tranche 2 aircraft were delivered from October 2008 and eliminated obsolescence and expanded the basic capabilities of air-to-air and ground combat. The phase 1 enhancement (P1E) was contractually fixed in 2007. Was later split into Phase A (P1EA) and Phase B (P1EB). IPA4 and IPA7 completed the test flights on October 28, 2013, and the software update was available at the end of 2013. As part of the Tranche 3 contract, the Common Obsolescence Removal Program (CORP) was co-financed, which is intended to eliminate obsolescence in some avionic boxes from Tranche 2 and 3.
- Block 8: New hardware standard according to STANAG 4626 for all computers.
- Block 10: Corresponds to phase A. Software update for IFF Mode 5 Level 2, MIDS Data Link 16. DGPS with forecasting capability, warns the pilot if the connection could break in the event of an attack with GPS weapons. New weapons: IRIS-T digital, Paveway IV with supersonic release option, more functions for laser target containers. The Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS) also represents ground targets and the laser target container can be pointed to targets through the helmet visor. Ability to hit two different targets with laser guided bombs at the same time. New low-band antennas for ESM and ECM with polarization diversity, ECM with an extended frequency range and more radiation power, improved DRFM and EloGM technologies are possible. Lower frequency limit of the Ariel towing jammer now 4 GHz and more effective radiated power.
- Block 15: Corresponds to phase B, but the division between A and B is unclear. The DASS missile warning system can identify threats through a database comparison and, if necessary, trigger flares and chaffs. The signatures of the targets must be uploaded before the start. Auto-Combat Air Patrol and Auto-Attack modes for the autopilot; enables the Eurofighter to fly autonomously on the CAP route, or to make the target approach to a ground target. Improved voice control with now 90 commands, among other things, information about any target or waypoint can be requested, the laser target lighting container can be controlled by voice and waypoints can be created. The pilot can program the steering angle and ignition mode of the Paveway IV. Ability to hit up to six targets with laser-guided bombs, with the laser automatically switching to the next target after the splash .
Tranche 3
The first single-seater in tranche 3 should be delivered in mid-2014. These machines have reinforced backs with adapters for conformal fuel tanks (CFT). The adapters are clearly visible as small bumps. In addition, the nose has been reinforced to be able to carry the heavier CAPTOR-E. The fuel dumping system is now installed under the wings. A total of 350 parts were revised in order to have more computing, cooling and data transmission capacity and electrical energy. As part of the tranche 3 contract, the Common Obsolescence Removal Program (CORP) was also co-financed, which is intended to eliminate obsolescence in some avionic boxes from tranches 2 and 3. On the software side, Tranche 2 and 3 are identical, so Tranche 3 aircraft will fly with the P1EA or P1EB.
On October 30, 2013, the contract between NETMA and Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH was signed for the Evolution Package 2, which is the basis for P2E. P2E will be split into Phase A (P2EA) and Phase B (P2EB), which should be available in late 2015 and early 2017, respectively. On February 23, 2015, the four partner countries signed the contract for phase 3 enhancement (P3E). In addition to the introduction of the Brimstone 2, the integration of Storm Shadow, Meteor, Paveway IV and ASRAAM is to be improved.
The scaffolding should be completed in 2017.
- Block 20: Ability to carry two CFTs with supplemental fuel. In February 2013 there was talk of 4500 lbs (2041 kg) of additional kerosene, in new wind tunnel tests from April 2014 of 2 × 1500 liters (approx. 2400 kg).
- Block 25: Corresponds to phase A. Meteor missile, cruise missile Storm Shadow , option on Taurus . Probably CAPTOR-E, two-way data link for Meteor with the ability to reprogram the weapon in flight, high-speed communication from radar to radar, use of the E-Scan as a jammer.
- Block 30: Corresponds to phase B. Under negotiation, with a focus on suppression of enemy air defenses , anti-ship missiles , glide bombs and reconnaissance containers . The DB-110 from UTC Aerospace Systems and the AREOS from Thales are planned as containers. Brimstone II will also be scaffolded by P3E.
Users
The following table shows the development of the number of units of the Eurofighter; Starting with the signing of the development agreement in 1985 through the signing of the production agreement in 1997 to the order of Tranche 3A in 2009 and the acquisition of three export customers.
| Partner states | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | planned 1985 | planned 1997 | appoints tranche 1 | appoints tranche 2 | planned tranche 3 | orders tranche 3A | totally ordered | Remarks |
|
United Kingdom
|
250 | 232 | 53 | 67 (91) |
88 | 40 | 160 | 24 unused machines from tranche 2 were given to Saudi Arabia; the balancing of these machines by Eurofighters from tranche 3 while reducing these to 40 units leads to a total reduction of 72 machines. A further order is currently not planned. It is currently unclear whether the 72 machines ordered by Saudi Arabia will count towards the original British order. |
|
Germany
|
250 | 180 | 33 (44) |
79 (68) |
68 | 31 | 143 | Six Eurofighters from Tranche 1 used by the German Air Force and five intended for them were handed over to Austria. Replacement with the same number from tranche 2. In October 2011, the BMVg announced that the Bundeswehr only wanted to procure 140 Eurofighters. |
|
Italy
|
165 | 121 | 28 | 47 | 46 | 21st | 96 | Following a decision by the government cabinet on July 20, 2010, Italy waived the purchase of the remaining 25 Eurofighters from Tranche 3B. |
|
Spain
|
100 | 87 | 19 (20) |
34 (33) |
34 | 20th | 73 | A Eurofighter from Tranche 1 was handed over to Austria and a T2 model was accepted in return. In May 2013, Spain waived the procurement of the 14 Eurofighters originally ordered from Tranche 3B. |
| total | 765 | 620 | 133 | 227 | 236 | 112 | 472 | |
| Export customers | ||||||||
| Country | planned in 2002 | appointed in 2003 | appoints tranche 1 | appoints tranche 2 | planned tranche 3 | orders tranche 3A | totally ordered | Remarks |
|
Austria
|
24 | 18th | 15th | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15th | 2007 reduction from 18 to 15 machines; only Tranche 1 machines instead of Tranche 2. Six machines were taken over from Germany. |
|
Saudi Arabia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 48 (72) |
0 | 24 (0) |
72 | Announced in August 2006, order signed in September 2007. With the renegotiations, 24 machines of the first batch were rewritten to tranche 3. |
|
Oman
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 | Signed December 21, 2012. |
 Kuwait
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 28 | Press release by Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH on September 16, 2015 |
 Qatar
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 24 | Signed December 11, 2017. |
| Total across all customers | ||||||||
| planned 1985 | planned 1997 | planned for 2008 | appoints tranche 1 | appoints tranche 2 | planned tranche 3 | orders tranche 3A | totally ordered | Remarks |
| 765 | 620 | 707 | 148 | 275 | 236 | 200 | 623 | Official planning is still based on 707 machines. Orders beyond the 623 are uncertain, however. |
| As of December 11, 2017 | ||||||||
As with Airbus, the production of the Eurofighter Typhoon is distributed among the various partner countries, with the proportion of work corresponding exactly to the number of machines ordered. The number of aircraft in each tranche is allocated to the partner countries according to this key. It is therefore not possible for a country to increase or decrease its order alone without having to compensate the other partner countries. This also led to Germany remaining in the project, although the Kohl government at the time propagated the exit.
As with Airbus , the Typhoon is being built at a total of seven locations in four countries:
- The front parts of the fuselage are produced at BAE Systems in Samlesbury and Warton: the cockpit and the canards, the vertical stabilizer, the back of the fuselage with air brake as well as the inner flaperons and part of the fuselage stern.
- Germany is building the fuselage centerpiece at Airbus in Augsburg and Manching and equips the fuselage centerpieces into ready-to-install assemblies in Manching.
- Italy is building the left wings of all Eurofighters at Alenia in Foggia and Cassele near Turin, as well as the outer flaperons and completing the rear fuselage taken over from England.
- Spain is building the right wing and slat flaps of the Eurofighter in Getafe. The individual components are then transported to the final assembly lines in the respective countries. The British Eurofighters are assembled in Warton, the Spanish in Getafe, the Italian in Caselle near Turin and the German in Manching near Ingolstadt.
The final assembly for export customers is divided according to a principle that is unknown to outsiders: All Saudi Typhoons are assembled in Warton and all Austrian machines were assembled in Manching.
According to Dave McCrudden, Head of Typhoon Final Assembly, the crossed production line including the four final assembly lines is economically suboptimal, but politically challenged. In the past six years, a learning curve has emerged : Whereas at the beginning it took 46 weeks to build a Eurofighter, today (April 2014) it is only 26 weeks. The main reason was the switch to Tranche 2, where work processes were also optimized. It takes six weeks to assemble the components, eight weeks for all the components to “marry” on the final assembly line. Another four weeks are needed for the installation of the DASS and the on-board cannon. After all avionics systems have been tested, around three weeks of three flights with the factory pilots follow. Finally, the aircraft remains in the paint shop for two weeks before the acceptance test follows. A total of 9500 person- hours are required per aircraft.
Germany
procurement
The 180 machines planned for the German Air Force as a successor to the F-4F Phantom II and part of the Tornado jets were to be delivered in three lots in accordance with the cabinet resolution of October 8, 1997 . The planned delivery rate was 15 machines per year. On September 21, 1998 the contract for the delivery of 44 Eurofighters (28 single-seaters and 16 double-seaters / trainers) from the 1st production tranche was signed. The contract for the second batch of 68 Eurofighters (58 single-seaters and 10 double-seaters / trainers) from tranche 2 followed on December 14, 2004. The last delivery batch (61 single-seaters and 7 double-seaters / trainers) from the third tranche should be ordered at the end of 2008 become. On June 17, 2009, the budget committee of the Bundestag approved sub-tranche 3A, with which 31 machines were ordered.
In this context, the Defense Department announced that the previously approved funding of EUR 14.67 billion with Tranche 3A has almost been used up. The remaining 37 Eurofighters in Tranche 3B would require an additional 3 billion euros, which is why the Federal Minister of Defense announced in October 2011 that it would no longer order this tranche (Italy and the United Kingdom had previously announced their share in the tranche 3B also to be waived).
On July 28, 2011, an international agreement was reached to extend the previous delivery program for the outstanding aircraft in tranches 2 and 3a. This results in the following current inflow planning for the German Air Force:
- In 2011 14 machines were added
- In 2012 14 machines were added
- In 2013 14 machines were added
- 2014 inflow of 10 machines
- In 2015 9 machines were added
- In 2016, 9 machines were added
- In 2017 8 machines were added
- In 2018 1 machine was added
The last of the 143 Eurofighters ordered so far was handed over to the Bundeswehr on December 17, 2019. The Eurofighters, which have been delivered in three tranches since 2004, differ greatly from a technical point of view, which is why it is planned to replace the Tranche 1 Eurofighters (33 machines have been delivered after the contract change) with 38 new builds with the Phased Array Radar (AESA) E-Scan Mk 1 . In the “Quadriga” project, seven two-seaters and 26 single-seaters are to be procured, with an option for 5 more single-seaters. A decision with the provision of the funds is expected in the third quarter of 2020.
costs
The Air Force determined the total costs (operating costs and imputed costs ) per flight hour of the Eurofighter weapon system in 2009 at EUR 73,992. They were (naturally) well above the total costs per flight hour of the Tornado weapon system of 42,834 euros. The imputed costs include the development costs, the flyaway price, weapon integration costs, adjustments (e.g. air bases) and increases in combat value. One adjustment was, for example, that the ordered German Eurofighters should originally be delivered without a DASS, which is why an additional 188 million euros had to be spent. The development costs are shared between the partner countries according to their production share and allocated to all machines ordered. The costs for weapon integration also take into account the procurement costs of the weapon, e.g. B. the IRIS-T. The Eurofighter flyaway prices were:
- On September 18, 1998, the partner countries ordered 148 machines at a fixed price of 14 billion German marks (around 7 billion euros). For each Eurofighter in tranche 1, this means EUR 47.3 million. This includes 67 reserve engines, spare parts and the components with a long lead time for tranche 2.
- On December 14, 2004, the partner countries ordered 236 aircraft from Tranche 2 for EUR 13 billion. For each Eurofighter in Tranche 2, this means 55 million euros.
- On July 31, 2009, the partner countries ordered 112 machines from Tranche 3A for EUR 9 billion. The Common Obsolescence Removal Program (CORP) was also co-financed as part of the tranche 3 contract. 6.5 billion euros are earmarked for the planes in Tranche 3A and 17 reserve engines, and 2.5 billion euros for CORP. Eurofighter GmbH CEO Enzo Casolini confirmed at the press conference that the flyaway price of Tranche 3A Typhoons is EUR 58–59 million.
Added up (as of December 2002), the average system costs per German aircraft amounted to 122.22 million euros if 180 units were procured. With weapons integrations already estimated plus the procurement costs for the weapons, this resulted in around 138.88 million euros per aircraft in 2010. The Federal Audit Office already pointed out in 2003 that the procurement of 180 machines would cost 24 billion euros (133 million euros). Euros per aircraft). At the beginning of July 2013, the BMVg announced that by 2013 around 14.5 billion euros had been spent on the acquisition of 108 aircraft. However, the German Bundestag has only approved funding of 14.7 billion euros for the purchase of 180 Eurofighters. The 14.7 billion euros for 180 machines would correspond to an average system cost price of 81.7 million euros. The actual 14.5 billion euros for 108 Eurofighters, on the other hand, correspond to 134.2 million euros per aircraft, which roughly corresponds to the system price known since 2003.
business
According to the Spiegel , at the end of October 2013, only 73 of the 103 machines delivered were in the holdings of the Air Force. According to the Air Force inspector, only 50% of these 103 machines could be used. At the end of February 2017, 125 of the 143 aircraft ordered had been delivered, with various problems with the equipment affecting the fulfillment of German NATO obligations. In May 2018, it was also announced that, due to the sale of a supplier, there were temporary spare parts delivery problems with a sensor of the self-protection device. While the number of airworthy units was not reduced by this, according to the opinion of Der Spiegel , only four to ten units were adequately equipped for real combat missions due to the lack of guided weapons. The Air Force called the numbers "incomprehensible". The machines are stationed on the following bases:
- Laage Air Base , since April 2004 ( Tactical Air Force Wing 73 "Steinhoff" ), the 2nd squadron is used for retraining
- Neuburg Air Base , since July 2006 ( Tactical Air Force Squadron 74 ), QRA tasks for the south of the country since June 2008
- Nörvenich Air Base , since December 2009 ( Tactical Air Force Squadron 31 "Boelcke" )
- Wittmund Air Base , since April 2013 ( Tactical Air Force Wing 71 "Richthofen" , until June 2016 as Tactical Air Force Group "Richthofen" ), QRA tasks for the north of the country since July 2013
outlook
In the long term, the German Air Force plans to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon with the Future Combat Air System .
Italy
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In Italy , the F-2000A Typhoon (two-seater TF-2000A Typhoon), the national designation, has replaced the F-104ASA Starfighter and the Tornado ADV and F-16ADF from Aeronautica Militare , used as an interim solution . The Chamber of Deputies puts the system costs at 18.1 billion euros for 121 aircraft, i.e. 149.6 million euros per aircraft. All costs for IRIS-T and MBDA Meteor are included. Ultimately, only 96 of the 121 planned aircraft were procured.
The bases of the Eurofighter fleet are:
- Grosseto since March 2004 ( 20th and 9th Gruppo des 4º Stormo ), the former an operational conversion unit . QRA tasks for northern and central Italy as well as Slovenia since December 2005, since 2016 only central Italy.
- Gioia del Colle , since September 2007 ( 12th and 10th Gruppo des 36º Stormo ), QRA-Rotte for southern Italy and Albania since January 2009.
- Trapani , since October 2012 ( 18th Gruppo des 37º Stormo ), QRA tasks for Sardinia, Sicily and other parts of southern Italy.
- Istrana , since January 2017, QRA-Rotte for Northern Italy and Slovenia alternating from 4º and 36º Stormo ; since 2020 with own machines ( 132nd Gruppo des 51º Stormo ).
The main operating bases are Grosseto and Gioia del Colle, each with two squadrons. The smaller units in Trapani and Istrana were activated to better cover other parts of the country, surrounding sea areas and Slovenia. The establishment of a sixth fighter squadron based in Istrana became possible because the planned sale of aircraft from the first tranche could not be realized due to a lack of interested parties. The logistics and maintenance center of the Italian Typhoon fleet is located in Cameri in Piedmont. The Reparto Sperimentale di Volo (RSV) at the Pratica di Mare military airfield has had its own “Eurofighter” since 2012.
Qatar
The Qatari Air Force has been evaluating some fighter jets since early 2011 to replace the outdated Dassault Mirage 2000-5 . Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Boeing F / A-18E / F Super Hornet, Boeing F-15E and the Dassault Rafale were traded as possible candidates. The order volume initially amounted to 24–36 aircraft. After 24 Rafale had been ordered in May 2015 (increased to 36 at the end of 2017), it was announced on June 14, 2017 that Qatar had also concluded an agreement with the USA for the delivery of 36 F-15QAs. In addition, a letter of intent between Qatar and Great Britain followed on September 17, 2017 for the delivery of 24 Typhoons. The contract for the delivery of the machines, valued at around five billion pounds (€ 5.7 billion), was finally announced on December 11, 2017.
Kuwait
Kuwait initially planned to acquire up to 40 new combat aircraft. In this context, Alenia Aermacchi took over the management of the campaign for the Eurofighter Typhoon. Competitor Boeing with the F / A-18E / F Super Hornet was actually the favorite for the order, since Kuwait already has the KAF-18C / D Hornet. Nevertheless, at the beginning of September 2015 it became known that Kuwait had signed a letter of intent to purchase 28 Eurofighters from Tranche 3A. The order value is estimated at eight billion euros. On April 5, 2016, Kuwait actually ordered 28 Eurofighters (22 single and 6 double-seaters), and they are said to be the first machines to feature the CAPTOR-E radar as standard . The signed contract also obliges Italy to train pilots and ground personnel and to build several maintenance and repair buildings in Kuwait.
Austria
In Austria , the Typhoon is used as the successor to the Saab J35 Draken (model year: 1963).
The first machines were delivered to the air force in March 2007 , and all aircraft were stationed at the surveillance squadron in Zeltweg . After the change of government ( National Council election on October 1, 2006 ), a parliamentary committee of inquiry looked for a reason to withdraw from the contract, as bribery payments were suspected (see Eurofighter affair ). However, since a reason to withdraw could not be found, an agreement between the manufacturer EADS and the then Federal Minister for National Defense Norbert Darabos (as the responsible representative of the Republic of Austria) was concluded on June 26, 2007 , which provides for the number of originally 18 to 15 fighter aircraft to reduce (all tranche 1, nine new and six used machines). This reduced the acquisition costs from the original 1.959 billion euros to 1.589 billion euros, which corresponds to a cost saving of around 19%. Critics of the agreement, on the other hand, argue that the reduction in the size of the fleet and the use of used aircraft have also reduced the maximum total number of flight hours by 19%, meaning that there are no real savings. At the same time, the elimination of Tranche 2 machines leads to a loss of combat strength, which is also due to the fact that the "Praetorian" and "PIRATE" systems are not used .
On July 12, 2007, the first of the 15 Eurofighters (registration number: 7L-WA) landed at Zeltweg Air Base in Austria. The Eurofighters were already used for air surveillance during the European Football Championship in 2008 , before the last aircraft (registration number: 7L-WO) was delivered to Austria on September 24, 2009. All machines come from the German end line.
On February 16, 2017, the Ministry of Defense filed a criminal complaint against Airbus. The Republic of Austria joined the criminal proceedings as a private party and is demanding compensation in the millions. On March 27, 2017, at the request of the Greens and the FPÖ , the Austrian Parliament decided on a second Eurofighter Investigation Committee, which began its work at the end of May. Defense Minister Doskozil declared on July 7, 2017 that the continued operation of the Eurofighter is “no longer reasonable” for the taxpayer. He will therefore instruct the General Staff to start making preparations for the change immediately.
Oman
The Eurofighter Typhoon initially took part in a tender by the Royal Omani Air Force , but was initially defeated by Lockheed Martin's F-16 on December 14, 2011. Nevertheless, on January 23, 2012, Oman officially asked BAE Systems to buy twelve Typhoon. A £ 2.5 billion agreement was signed on December 21, 2012, which sealed the purchase of twelve Typhoons and eight BAE Hawks . Deliveries have been made since June 2017.
The base of operations is Adam Airfield.
Saudi Arabia
The purchase of 48 Eurofighters Typhoon initially planned by Saudi Arabia with the option of 24 more aircraft to replace the Tornado represented a special case. In order to meet the desired delivery dates, Great Britain initially sold 24 machines from its own production to Saudi Arabia but should get the same number back at a later date. Thus the total number of British aircraft would have remained unchanged.
In September 2007, Saudi Arabia finally signed a contract to purchase the 72 machines, the price is estimated at around 6.5 billion euros. Together with other equipment and maintenance contracts, however, this sum will be significantly higher. It was assumed that the first 24 machines in the UK would be assembled by BAE Systems , while the remaining 48 Typhoons in Saudi Arabia would be produced under the auspices of BAE Systems. However, in February 2011 BAE Systems announced plans to assemble all Typhoons for Saudi Arabia in Warton. In return, a maintenance and modernization center is planned in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the last 24 units are to be equipped in such a way that they can later be upgraded to the status of tranche 3. The negotiations continued in 2012, when it became clear that the machines would be rewritten to tranche 3. In 2013 it became known that the renegotiations also included the additional order for up to 72 more machines. The contract should be signed before 2014. On February 19, 2014 an agreement was reached on the price of the 72 machines, but details were not disclosed. A further, up to 72 aircraft are to be negotiated separately. The last 24 machines of the first lot will be transferred to tranche 3.
In the early summer of 2009 the first Typhoons were transferred from Great Britain to Saudi Arabia. The first unit is the 3rd Squadron of the Royal Saudi Air Force for retraining at the Ta'if base near the Red Sea, which has also performed QRA tasks since 2011. The second unit, the 10th Squadron, was set up in Ta'if in 2011 and will later be relocated to another base. There should be a total of three seasons. The last of the 24 machines in the first batch arrived in Saudi Arabia in September of the same year. The delivery of the second lot started in June 2013.
In March 2018, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a letter of intent to procure 48 more aircraft.
Spain
In Spain, the C.16 Typhoon (two-seater CE.16 Typhoon), so the national designation, replaces the C.14 Mirage F1 and some C.15 Hornets , the relay strength is nominally 18 machines. According to the Spanish Ministry of Defense, the Eurofighter, with 9 hours of maintenance per flight hour, is considerably more frugal than an F / A-18A, which takes 27.5 hours. The system costs were estimated at 12 billion euros for 87 aircraft in 2011, i.e. 138 million euros per machine.
The stationing locations are:
- Base Aérea de Morón (de la Frontera) , since May 2004 ( Escuadrón 113 and 111 des Ala 11 ), the former is the training relay
- Base Aérea de Los Llanos , since July 2012 ( Escuadrón 141 and 142 des Ala 14 )
- Base Aérea de Torrejón de Ardoz , since 2003 ( Centro Logístico de Armamento y Experimentación )
By January 2014, 41 Eurofighters had been delivered. Of these, 18 Tranche 1 planes are part of the series (ten single-seaters, eight two-seaters), one IPA (IPA4) and one machine that was swapped for Austria with Eurofighter GmbH. Another 23 additional Eurofighters are Tranche 2 standard. The remaining ten Tranche 2 Typhoons had already been produced in April 2014, but not yet delivered. Due to financial bottlenecks, the aircraft, which should be delivered between 2012 and 2014, will be stored at Albacete Airport and will not go into operation until 2015. This was agreed in a contract with Eurofighter GmbH in June 2012. The last copy was delivered at the beginning of 2020.
United Kingdom
In the British Royal Air Force , the Typhoon replaced the Jaguar GR.3 and Tornado F.MK 3 . The national series designations are T.1 and F.2 (block 1 and 2) as well as T.3 and FGR.4 (from block 5), with the two T versions denoting the two-seater. The hundredth machine was received on January 28, 2013.
While the flyaway price per machine and tranche is the same for all four partner countries, the system costs differ due to different upgrades and retrofits, as well as armaments. In 2011 it was determined that the UK is expected to pay £ 20.2bn for 160 aircraft, or £ 126m per Eurofighter. One of the reasons for the high system price was the procurement of 16 additional Eurofighters outside of the four-partner contract for £ 2.7 billion (£ 169 million per aircraft) in order to be able to handle the exchange with Saudi Arabia. The operating costs per flight hour of the (British) Typhoons were determined in a comparative study by IHS Jane's Aerospace and Defense Consulting at 8,200 to 18,000 US dollars. By comparison, the Saab 39 reached $ 4,700, the F-16 $ 7,000, the Rafale $ 16,500, the F-35 A $ 21,000, and the F-35B / C $ 31,000. The total cost per hour of flight in 2011 was £ 70,000-90,000, compared to £ 35,000 in the tornado.
In mid-2012 it was planned to decide between 2015 and 2020 about the purchase of additional F-35A in order to replace the Typhoons with a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft. In June 2013 the RAF decided to increase the time between two maintenance intervals from 400 hours to 500 hours in order to save over £ 100m in fleet costs. One study found that this can be done without compromising safety.
All RAF stations held or are each holding an alarm riot.
| unit | Stationing locations | comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Fighter) Squadron |
RAF Leuchars September 2012 to September 2014 RAF Lossiemouth since September 2014 |
|
| 2 (AC) Squadron | RAF Lossiemouth since January 2015 | |
| 3 (Fighter) Squadron | RAF Coningsby since April 2006 | |
| 6 Squadron | RAF Leuchars September 2010 to June 2014 RAF Lossiemouth since June 2014 |
|
| 9 (bomber) Squadron | RAF Lossiemouth planned from the end of 2018 | |
| 11 (Fighter) Squadron | RAF Coningsby since October 2006 | |
| 12 Squadron | RAF Coningsby since July 2018 | Training relay for Qatar |
| 17 (Reserve) Squadron |
BAE Warton September 2002 to March 2005 RAF Coningsby April 2005 to April 2013 |
was the flight test relay |
| 29 (Reserve) Squadron | BAE Warton December 2003 to March 2005 RAF Coningsby since April 2005 |
is the retraining relay |
| 41 Squadron | RAF Coningsby since April 2013 | is the field test relay |
| 1435 Flight | RAF Mount Pleasant since September 2009 |
Further export options
Decision pending
-
Chile
- At the end of 2010, the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial reported that Chile was negotiating the purchase of twelve Eurofighters. The final assembly would take place in Getafe , Spain . The Chilean Commander in Chief Ortega visited the Eurofighter plant and the Morón de la Frontera base in July 2010 . At the end of February 2014, the new Commander in Chief Jorge Rojas Ávila visited the production line of the Airbus A400M and a Eurofighter simulator.
-
- In February 2020, Airbus Colombia offered 15 Eurofighters in tranche 3 (12 single-seat and three two-seat combat aircraft). In addition to the Eurofighter, the F-16V Block 70/72 from the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin and the JAS 39 Gripen E / F from the Swedish Gripen International (cooperation between Saab Technologies and BAE Systems ) take part in the Colombian Air Force's selection process . The new combat aircraft are to replace the Israeli IAI Kfir , which is now over 30 years old .
Negotiations failed
-
Bahrain
- In August 2013 it was announced that Bahrain was interested in purchasing an unspecified number of aircraft. In early 2014, it was announced that a possible joint order with the second tranche for Saudi Arabia, with Bahrain receiving 12-14 Typhoons to replace the F-5E Tiger II , was announced. However, Bahrain opted for the latest F-16 version, the F-16V Viper Block 70, and in 2018 ordered 16 combat aircraft of this type with the APG-83 radar for $ 1.12 billion.
-
Belgium
- In 1986 Belgium showed an interest in joining the Eurofighter consortium. To this end, talks were held with Belgian industry from 1987 onwards. In 1988 Belgium was offered a 5% share of the work, if in return 5% of the development costs were financed. In 1989, the offered work share was increased to 6%, with the Eurojet it should even be 8-10%. Belgium should buy 50 machines. At the same time, other manufacturers such as General Dynamics (F-16) and Dassault (Rafale) began to put out their feelers. However, interest petered out. Only in June 2014 was a tender issued for 40 aircraft of the type F-35 Lightning II, Boeing F / A-18F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Saab JAS-39 Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon. The selection should fall in 2015/16. On October 25, 2018, Belgium announced that it would purchase 34 F-35s to replace the F-16s.
-
Brazil
- The Eurofighter Typhoon was offered for sale as part of the Brazilian Air Force's FX-2 program , which aimed to purchase 36 machines and a full technology transfer . However, the Typhoon did not make it into the final selection process and was eliminated early in October 2008, together with the Russian Sukhoi Su-35 S and the American F-16BR from Lockheed Martin , although no precise reasons were given.
-
Bulgaria
- The Bulgarian Air Force wants to replace its obsolete planes to meet NATO standards. In January 2012 Bulgaria received an offer from the German government to purchase older Eurofighters from Tranche 1. Competitors were JAS 39 Gripen , F / A-18 Super Hornet and various versions of the F-16 (Block 25 and possibly Block 50/52). In July 2019, the Bulgarian parliament ratified a purchase agreement for eight brand-new US F-16 fighter jets for the equivalent of a good 1.1 billion euros. The poorest, once communist EU country wants to replace its outdated Soviet-style MiG-29 fighter jets . The four contracts include the purchase of the eight fighter jets, their equipment and the training of pilots. The fighter planes are to be delivered to the south-eastern European country in stages by 2023.
-
Denmark
- Eurofighter GmbH withdrew from an older tender for new combat aircraft because it was of the opinion that it was too tailored to the JSF . Although Denmark is involved as a Level 3 partner in the Joint Strike Fighter Program, the Danish Air Force decided on April 10, 2014 to launch a new tender for the purchase of 30 fighter aircraft to replace the existing F-16s . In addition to the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Gripen E , the F / A-18E / F Super Hornet and the F-35A Lightning II were considered as participants. In order to ensure an “independent” evaluation, the tendering process should be accompanied by Deloitte and RAND Europe , both US companies. On July 24, 2014 only Airbus Defense and Space (Eurofighter), Boeing (F / A-18E) and Lockheed Martin (F-35) submitted an offer of DKK 30 billion . Saab waived, because the tender is considered to have been agreed, in favor of the F-35. Unsurprisingly, the latter emerged as the winner of the tender in May 2016, and the air force is to receive 27 F-35A.
-
Greece
- In Greece, the Eurofighter prevailed against the Rafale. The country thus became the Typhoon's first export customer. The purchase contract for 60 machines with an option for 30 more provided for final assembly at Hellenic Aerospace Industry . The contract was initialed in 2001 when procurement was postponed that same year due to the 2004 Summer Olympics . Because of the Greek sovereign debt crisis , the signature was still pending. The Euro Fighter fighter GmbH entered therefore on 1 January 2012, the liaison office in Athens.
-
India
- The Eurofighter Typhoon competed in India under the leadership of EADS as part of the “Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft” tender (MMRCA). The search was on for 126 new multi- role combat aircraft (plus an option for 66 more) for the Indian Air Force . The only competitor was the French Dassault Rafale , after the other competitors (the Boeing F / A-18IN, JAS 39 GripenNG / IN, RSK MiG-35 and F-16IN Fighting Falcon) had retired early in April 2011. The Typhoon was offered with thrust vector control, the implementation of which was still in its infancy. On January 31, 2012, India's decision for the Rafale was announced. The reason for the decision was the cheaper offer from Dassault. While 126 Rafales are being offered for 20 billion euros, the previous Eurofighter bid was over 21 billion euros. After the change of government in India in June 2014, Michael Steiner , the German ambassador on site, sounded out the readiness of the new government to re-evaluate the MMRCA tender. After a positive decision, Berlin gathered the partner countries Italy, Great Britain and Spain to submit a new counter offer. In the first week of July, four days after the visit by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius , the offer was submitted via Airbus Defense and Space . The new offer states just over 10.5 billion euros as an immediate payment (83.3 million euros per aircraft), or 17.5 billion euros as a fixed price staggered over ten years (138.8 million euros per aircraft). For (external) political reasons, however, a rethinking is considered improbable; rather, the French offer should be better rated.
-
Japan
- In April 2011 the Japanese Air Force announced the FX competition for 40 to 50 machines in order to find a successor to their approximately 70 F-4 Phantom IIs . After the planned purchase of the F-22 Raptor was not possible due to the veto of the US Congress, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the F / A-18E / F Super Hornet and the F-35 Lightning II competed . The Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH worked here with the Sumitomo Group , possibly a license production from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was planned. However, in December 2011 the Japanese Ministry of Defense selected the F-35A Lightning II as the winner of the FX competition. According to the Japanese Defense Minister, Yasuo Ichikawa, the stealth properties of the F-35 were crucial.
-
Malaysia
- Malaysia plans to replace its original 18 MiG-29 interceptors by the mid-2010s. In addition to the F / A-18E / F Super Hornet (the TUDM (RMAF) already flies 1st generation Hornets), the JAS 39 Gripen and the Suchoi Su-35BM , the Typhoon is an applicant, the campaign is led by BAE Systems . At the end of 2013 it became known that the procurement project would be postponed due to financial bottlenecks. In mid-February 2014 it became clear that leasing offers were being obtained from various companies. BAe made the offer with an option to buy in March. At the end of March 2019, the then Malay Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced that Malaysia had no plans to buy new fighter jets. The background to this is the tense situation in the country's defense budget for years. Mahatir Mohamad also suggested buying the next fighter aircraft from China instead of Europe in retaliation against a European Union plan to reduce palm oil consumption in biofuels.
-
Netherlands
- In 2001 the Eurofighter lost the tender for the F-16 replacement to the F-35 . However, the Defense Minister of the Netherlands Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert announced on April 2, 2013 that the government in The Hague would also change due to cost increases and program delays for the F-35, in the development of which the Netherlands is involved as a Level 2 partner Aircraft types as F-16 replacements. This means that Eurofighter could also offer its Typhoon, but there is no formal tender.
-
Norway
- Norway expressed an interest in the EFA in 1989. In 1997 the whole thing became more concrete, in addition to the F-16 Block 50 and Typhoon, McDonnell Douglas offered his F-18, Dassault his Rafale and Saab the JAS39 Gripen. F-16 and Eurofighters were seen as favorites. In 2003 Norway joined the F-35 fighter-bomber program, but signed an agreement with Eurofighter that allowed Norwegian industry to participate in Eurofighter development. The Norwegian government financed the Eurofighter project with 10.3 million euros, and in 2005 a further 12.5 million euros were transferred. Since Norwegian industry was not getting any JSF contracts at the time and the government cut F-35 funding by 50%, it was speculated that the Typhoon had been chosen. In 2006 EADS presented a tailor-made package for Norway to divert the country from the JSF project. In 2008, however, EADS withdrew from the bidding competition because the tender was too much tailored to the F-35.
-
Peru
- In January 2013 the Spanish government offered Peru the sale of 18 Eurofighters Tranche 1 from the Spanish Air Force. The purchase price should be 45 million euros per machine. At the end of April 2014, it was announced that Spain might be buying its 3B tranche from Peru. However, Peru did not acquire any new combat aircraft until early 2020 and instead modernized part of its aging fleet of MiG-29 , Dassault Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi Su-25 .
-
Switzerland
- In Switzerland , the Eurofighter under the leadership of EADS was in the final selection for the successor to the outdated F-5 aircraft. Competitors were the JAS 39 Gripen and the Rafale . On September 28, 2011, the Federal Parliament decided to increase the army budget to finance the purchase of 22 machines. The type decision was made in favor of the Saab JAS 39 Gripen, but a referendum in May 2014 stopped the entire project.
-
Serbia
- Serbia plans to purchase around 20 machines to replace the MiG-21 and MiG-29. Eurofighter GmbH responded to a service request in April 2010. In October 2017, Russia gave Serbia six discarded MiG-29s as part of a weapons purchase . Their repair should cost around 185 million euros. In addition, Serbia acquired four MiG jets from Belarus in April 2018. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić expected eight or nine MiG-29s to be operational by early November of the same year.
-
Singapore
- In Singapore, the Eurofighter was defeated in April 2005 by the US Boeing F-15SG and the French Dassault Rafale in the final selection for the replacement of the Douglas A-4 . The reasons given by Singapore were that delivery would not have been possible from 2008 onwards and that delivery bottlenecks were to be feared due to Germany's unclear position. Furthermore, the Eurofighter Typhoon would only have met the requirements of Singapore from the 2nd tranche, whereas the F-15SG with the AN / APG-63 (V) 3 already had an AESA radar .
-
South Korea
- South Korea was also interested in the Eurofighter. The outdated F-4 and F-5 of the South Korean Air Force are to be replaced by 60 modern combat aircraft as part of FX Phase 3 . In the race were Boeing's F-15SE Silent Eagle , Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II and the Eurofighter Typhoon. In the first round of the tender, none of the applicants could promise to supply 60 machines at a price of 8.3 trillion won (5.6 billion euros). At the beginning of August, EADS and Boeing were able to meet the cost limit in the second round, but EADS only offered six of the more expensive two-seaters, although 15 were requested according to press reports. EADS cited the reason that the Eurofighter is designed as a single-seater and two-seater would not bring any additional operational benefit. According to EADS, it was already stated during the negotiations that 15 two-seaters were too many and that an offer for 15 two-seaters had never been submitted beforehand. The development costs for additional features have also been excluded because Eurofighter GmbH is not prepared to bear them. At the end of March 2014, South Korea decided to buy 40 F-35s for US $ 6.8 billion without any further tendering, which corresponds to a system price of US $ 170 million .
-
United Arab Emirates
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been negotiating the purchase of around 60 Rafale fighter planes since 2008 to replace the Mirage 2000-9 / 9D that were delivered around ten years ago . However, no agreement has yet been reached. The Boeing F-15 and F-18 and the Lockheed Martin F-16 have also been in the race since 2011. In November 2011, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH was asked to submit a detailed offer. This took place on September 25, 2013, with the 60 machines being offered at a price of around £ 6 billion . On December 19, 2013, BAE Systems announced the UAE's decision not to further consider the Eurofighter offer for economic reasons. On the same day, the EADS group decided to cut prices by around 20% in order to no longer be considered an expensive provider.
Technical specifications
.jpg)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Type | Multipurpose fighter |
| crew | 1 pilot or 1 pilot and 1 flight instructor |
| length | 15.96 m |
| Wingspan | 10.95 m |
| Wing area | 50.00 m² * 1 |
| Wing extension | 2.40 |
| Wing loading | minimum (empty weight): 220 kg / m² nominal (normal takeoff mass): 310 kg / m² maximum (max. takeoff mass): 470 kg / m² |
| height | 5.28 m |
| Empty mass | Single seater: 11,000 kg * 2 two-seater: 11,700 kg |
| normal takeoff mass | 15,500 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 23,500 kg, two-seater 24,098 kg |
| Fuel capacity | Single seater 4,996 kg / 6,215 liters (internal) Double seater 4,300 kg (internal) |
| Fuel mass fraction | 0.312 |
| g limits | −3 / + 9 |
| Top speed | at optimal height: Mach 2.35 near the ground: Mach 1.2 |
| Marching speed | without external loads: Mach 1.5 in the air-to-air role: Mach 1.2 * 3 |
| Minimum speed | 203 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 16,765 m * 4 |
| maximum altitude | 19,812 m |
| maximum climbing performance | 315 m / s |
| Use radius | 1,389 km (with external additional tanks) |
| Transfer range | 3,790 km |
| Gun load | Max. 7,500 kg |
| Engines | two Eurojet EJ200 - turbofans |
| Time to release the brake until take off |
<8 s |
| Take-off run | <700 m |
| Landing route | <600 m |
| Ejection seat | MK-16A Ejection Seat |
| thrust | with afterburner: 2 × 90 kN without afterburner: 2 × 60 kN |
| Thrust-to-weight ratio |
maximum (empty weight): 1.67 nominal (normal take-off weight): 1.18 minimum (maximum take-off weight): 0.78 |
“DERA” study
Between 1992 and 1994 a number of studies evaluating fighter aircraft were carried out in Europe. The popularly cited “DERA” study in the true sense does not exist. British Aerospace carried out combat simulations between combat aircraft and a modified Su-27 Flanker (comparable to the Su-35 Super Flanker, first draft), which was armed with AMRAAM-like missiles. One-on-one and two-on-two battles were simulated. Since BAe could not guarantee an independent evaluation, the relevant mass battles from three-on-three to eight-on-eight were examined by the Defense Research Agency (DRA). Except for the Rafale (MBDA MICA), all participating aircraft fired AMRAAM. The simulation at the DRA was carried out with the JOUST computer model, which enabled a pilot-in-the-loop, so that up to eight pilots could fly against up to eight other human opponents. The average battle success was shown as 0 (always loses) to 1 (always wins).
The American RAND Corporation converted these results into launch ratios in their study The Gray Threat (1995), which makes the result of the YF-22 stand out. Furthermore, the interpretation of the simulation results was “ turned ” in favor of US technology . According to DRA, the simulations showed the importance of high speed maneuverability and the potential for a small radar signature in BVR combat. The infrared target system (IRST) and the DASS of the EFA were certified as having great combat value. RAND cites the results of the European studies correctly, but draws attention to the importance of the radar signature. When the authors of the Gray Threat Study wrote a contribution to the study in AIR FORCE Magazine in February 1996 , it was apodictically announced that the F-22 would do best because of its stealth, supercruise and radar performance. This is RAND's interpretation, not BAe or DRA. If the fictitious F-15F was still correctly listed in the article, the F-15F later became the F-15E in the depths of the Internet. The following section deals with the results of the participating aircraft and their deviations from the series status.
- (Y) F-22: Achieved 91% or 10: 1 for BAe, 90% or 9: 1 for DRA. However, the curb weight of the machine was around 14 t before 1995, before it escalated by around 40% to almost 20 t. The reasons were u. a. Incorrect designs , cracks, etc., as can be seen in contemporary literature and GAO reports. Furthermore, before 1998, the powerful infrared aiming system was canceled for reasons of cost. The specialist literature from 2006 also lists twelve rigid LPDAs for EloGM fed by traveling wave tubes - but only because the Joint Industrial Avionics Working Group (JIAWG) listed them in August 1994. An EloGM capability is no longer mentioned in current avionics descriptions for aircraft. Possibly this also fell victim to budget, weight or obsolescence (the Raptor does not yet use shared apertures , so that each function has its own antenna group).
- EFA: Achieved 82% or 4.5: 1 for BAe, 75% or 3: 1 for the DRA. The empty weight of the EFA was assumed to be 9.75 t, which deviates from the real value of the Eurofighter by 13%. Otherwise the machine is practically identical to the series standard, apart from the DASS upgrade before delivery. The IRST was only delivered from 2007.
- F-15F: Fictional, improved version of the F-15C. Scored 60% or 1.5: 1 on BAe. The DRA did not run any simulations with the F-15F.
- F-15E: Real existing device. The DRA simulated 55% or 1.2: 1 in mass battles. BAe did not run simulations with the F-15E.
- Rafale: Scored 50% or 1: 1 in BAe, also 50% or 1: 1 against Su-35 in the DRA. Dassault, Matra and IABG also carried out a 4-on-4 + 8 battle with SILKA (Simulation of Air Combat). Four MiG-29 or Su-27 escorted eight bombers. The Rafale achieved eighty to one hundred percent success here, like the EFA. The empty weight of the Rafale was assumed to be 9059 kg, which deviates from the real value by about 10%. Otherwise the machine is identical to the series standard.
- F / A-18E / F: Real existing device. The DRA simulated 45% or 1: 1.2 in mass battles. BAe did not run any simulations, although RAND lists F / A-18C + and -18E / F together.
- F-15C: scored 43% or 1: 1.3 on BAe. The DRA did not run any simulations with the F-15C.
- F / A-18C +: Fictional, improved version of the F / A-18C. Scored 25% or 1: 3 on BAe. The DRA did not run any simulations here, although RAND lists F / A-18C + and -18E / F together.
- F / A-18C: Scored 21% or 1: 3.8 on BAe. The DRA did not run any simulations.
- F-16C: scored 21% or 1: 3.8 on BAe. The DRA did not run any simulations with the F-16C.
- Gripen: scored 40% or 1: 1.5 on the DRA. The curb weight was assumed to be 6622 kg, which does not deviate from the real value. The machine is identical to the series standard.
- Mirage 2000: The DRA simulation showed 35% or 1: 1.8 in mass battles. May also have missed MICA.
- Tornado F.3: The DRA simulation showed 30% or 1: 2.3 in mass battles. Also shot AMRAAM.
While the British and Swedes accepted the result, the French took a different view. Sweden announced a revised Gripen variant with a better engine (the EJ200 was being considered) and better avionics for 2001. This led to the Gripen NG. The Europeans agreed, however, that a new generation of BVR guided missiles would bring a decisive advantage. This led to the development of the MBDA Meteor , which was initiated by Great Britain.
Incidents
- On November 21, 2002, the prototype crashed on the 323rd test flight with pre-production engines around 100 kilometers south of Madrid. At a speed of Mach 0.77, the afterburners were ignited simultaneously in both engines at an altitude of 15 km and an angle of attack of 10 °. At the time the afterburners were ignited, the thrusters of both engines were not yet fully open, and the resulting back pressure caused the flame to stall . Due to the resulting failure of the hydraulics, the aircraft was no longer controllable and crashed. It was completely destroyed in the process, the two-man crew was able to save themselves with the ejection seats.
- On July 27, 2007, a Eurofighter started a go-around maneuver on the runway of the air base in Neuburg when the pilot saw a flock of birds in front of him. To avoid him, he pulled to the left. When the pilot wanted to steer the aircraft back to the right and into the horizontal position while flying low, the Eurofighter instead turned even more to the left, a total of more than 100 degrees. The machine flew towards the tower. Only at the last moment did the pilot manage to turn back to the right to fly between the tower and a construction crane. The behavior of the aircraft was described in the manual, but never appeared before, which is why the pilot was surprised. The industry then patched the flight control software, and the Bundeswehr is now taking this case into account in the training of pilots.
- On April 25, 2008, a British Eurofighter pilot from the 17 Sqn Operational Evaluation Unit touched down the aircraft at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake without first having extended the landing gear . The pilot remained seated in the aircraft during the belly landing and was not injured. The aircraft was then taken to the UK for repair.
- On August 24, 2010, a Spanish Air Force Eurofighter crashed shortly after take-off during a training flight by a Saudi pilot at Moron Air Base near Seville . The Spanish instructor was able to save himself, while the Saudi pilot died - presumably because of an ejection seat failure. In response to possible errors in the ejection seat, the German Air Force issued its 55 Eurofighters flight bans on September 15, 2010. Austria also stopped practice and training flights with the Eurofighter because of the same safety concerns. After the belt buckles on the ejector seats had been modified, flight operations were resumed on September 30, 2010.
- On June 9, 2014, a Eurofighter crashed in southern Spain while approaching the Morón de la Frontera air base . The Spanish Air Force pilot was killed.
- On June 23, 2014, a Eurofighter of the German Air Force collided with a Learjet of the Gesellschaft für Flugzieldabstellung during an interception exercise . Two Eurofighters and the Learjet trained in the Hochsauerland district to intercept a hijacked civilian aircraft that no longer responds to instructions from air surveillance. The Learjet crashed on the outskirts of Elpe , killing both crew members. The damaged Eurofighter landed on the Nörvenich air base.
- On September 13, 2017, a Saudi Eurofighter crashed on a combat mission in Yemen. The pilot was killed.
- On September 24, 2017, an Italian Eurofighter crashed into the sea during an air show off Terracina . The pilot was killed. He could no longer fly a loop above the surface of the sea and could not save himself with the ejector seat.
- On October 12, 2017, a Spanish Eurofighter crashed on the flight home from a parade in Madrid on the Spanish National Day near Albacete Airport . The pilot was killed.
- On August 8, 2018, a Spanish Eurofighter accidentally fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile on a training flight during Air Policing Baltic States near Otepää in Estonia . So far, there is no trace of the rocket, and nothing is known about the causes either.
- On June 24, 2019, two Eurofighters from the German air force "Steinhoff" collided during an aerial combat exercise north of the Fleesensee in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. One pilot was killed, the second was injured hanging on a parachute and recovered from a tree top. The planes belonged to Tranche 2 and were lost in the crash.
literature
- Detlef Buch : Why the Eurofighter? Potentials and perspectives of the largest German armaments project. Bautz, Nordhausen 2011, ISBN 978-3-88309-195-2 .
Web links
- Official website of Eurofighter GmbH (English)
- Unofficial information pages and forum about the Eurofighter Typhoon (English)
- Information pages of the magazine Airpower (German)
- Series of the troop service magazine :
- Gerald A. Simperl: From the drawing board study to the first flight , episode 299, issue 5/2007
- Gerald A. Simperl: Testing and start of series production , volume 300, issue 6/2007
- Gerald A. Simperl, Reinhard Zmug: Production, Export and Operations, Volume 302, Edition 2/2008
- Gerald A. Simperl, Reinhard Zmug: Materials, Aerodynamics, Flight Control, Volume 303, Issue 3/2008
- Reinhard Zmug: engine, cockpit, avionics , episode 304, issue 4/2008
- Reinhard Zmug: Mission roles and armament , volume 305, issue 5/2008
- Reinhard Zmug: Radar and self-protection , volume 306, issue 6/2008
- Günter Lackner: Training of military aviation personnel , volume 307, issue 1/2009
- Strobl, Erich: Jagdgeschwader 74: Alarm starts and night flights , episode 308, issue 2/2009
- Santer, Klaus: Conservation of materials , volume 309, issue 3/2009
- Interview with the program managers of the Eurofighter Campaign Switzerland
Individual evidence
- ^ Gerhard Lang: paperback military jets. History, types, technology. Eurofighter EF 2000 Typhoon. GeraMond Verlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-7654-7220-4 , pp. 116–119, here pp. 117, 119.
- ^ Orders, Deliveries, In Operation Military aircraft by Country - Worldwide. Airbus.com , January 31, 2020, accessed April 4, 2020 .
- ↑ Gehrmann: DEFENSE: Scharping air number . In: The time . December 22, 2013, ISSN 0044-2070 ( online [accessed February 15, 2019]).
- ↑ Mikoyan MIG-29 Fulcrum Pilot's Flight Operating Manual (in English) . In: North Atlan Treaty Organization (Ed.): Lulu Pr . 2007, ISBN 1-4303-1349-8 , pp. Change 41-67 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Eurofighter - Weapon of Mass Construction . In: BBC Four . 2003 ((first broadcast 2003)).
- ↑ a b c dead joints . In: Der Spiegel . No. 31 , 1985, pp. 48-52 ( online - 29 July 1985 ).
- ↑ Is there life after Eurofighter? In: Flight International. 1981, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ↑ Flug Revue: Eurojet Turbo GmbH , Motor Presse Stuttgart GmbH & Co. KG, September 12, 2013, accessed on March 9, 2019.
- ^ Eurojet Turbo GmbH: Company. Program Organization , accessed March 8, 2019.
- ^ Eurojet Turbo GmbH: Company. Timeline of Achievements , accessed March 8, 2019.
- ^ Eurojet Turbo GmbH: Company. Timeline of Achievements , accessed March 8, 2019.
- ^ Dennis R. Jenkins: Lockheed Secret Projects: Inside the Skunk Works . Motorbooks International, 2001, ISBN 0-7603-0914-0 .
- ^ ATF draft by Lockheed
- ^ Fighter modification may keep Germany in the fold. In: The Independent. October 23, 1992, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ↑ The good fighter guide… but do we really need one? In: The Independent. July 12, 1992, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ↑ Defense experts 'mystified' by attack on EFA: The European Fighter Aircraft is too sophisticated, Germany claims. But the Treasury is allegedly saying the opposite. In: The Independent. July 4, 1992, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c Structural Design. In: typhoon.starstreak.net. May 30, 2014, archived from the original on June 20, 2014 ; accessed on May 30, 2014 (English).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Eurofighter Typhoon. In: Airforces Monthly Special. April 23, 2014, accessed May 30, 2014 .
- ^ Raising the tempo. In: Flight International. April 16, 1997, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ^ Sense from confusion. In: Flight International. September 6, 1999, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ^ German Air Force take Delivery of First Series Production Eurofighter. Eurofighter GmbH, archived from the original on March 19, 2012 ; accessed on June 16, 2019 .
- ^ 1st Eurofighter with PIRATE IRST Radar Delivered to Italian Air Force. In: air-attack.com. August 2, 2007, archived from the original on October 22, 2014 ; accessed on June 16, 2019 .
- ↑ a b New helmet to give Typhoon pilots killer look. In: Reuters. June 24, 2011, accessed May 30, 2014 .
- ^ Typhoon launches operationally for the first time. UK Ministry of Defense, accessed March 24, 2011 .
- ^ RAF Typhoons patrol Libyan no-fly zone. UK Ministry of Defense, accessed March 24, 2011 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g ROYAL AIR FORCE TYPHOON: A YEAR ON THE ROAD . In: Air International . June 2012.
- ↑ defensenews.com
- ↑ gov.uk
- ↑ airpower.at: Eurofighter Typhoon - structure. Retrieved August 12, 2013
- ^ AGARD / Braun et al .: Coupling Measurements on Intelligent Missiles at Microwave Frequencies. Symposium on High Power Microwaves (HPM), Ottawa, 2. – 5. May 1994 ( Memento from June 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 14.7 MB)
- ↑ Defense Science Institute for Protective Technologies NBC protection: EMP verification test of the Eurofighter. Insights 2005, pp. 62–65.
- ↑ a b EADS Military Air Systems: More Electric Aircraft - basic electrical systems. Lecture EAA colloquium on November 13, 2008 ( Memento from May 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ airpower.at: The flight control of the Eurofighter Typhoon. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
- ^ The Engineer: Pressure flies high in the EuroFighter. February 28, 2000
- ↑ Dilger et al .: EUROFIGHTER A SAFE LIFE AIRCRAFT IN THE AGE OF DAMAGE TOLERANCE , First International Conference on Damage Tolerance on Aircraft Structures, 2007 (PDF; 440 kB)
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↑ a b
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- ↑ NZZ: Switzerland can procure new combat aircraft
- ↑ Federal Council decides to procure 22 Gripen (November 30, 2011)
- ↑ Voters say no to Gripen ( Memento from May 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (May 18, 2014)
- ↑ Flightglobal: ILA: Eurofighter submits Tranche 3B offer, as Serbia shows interest. June 10, 2010
- ↑ Serbia: Fighter jets from Russia. boerse-online.de, August 22, 2018, accessed on April 18, 2020 .
- ↑ South Korea has Eurofighter in its sights. In: WirtschaftsWoche. Retrieved July 19, 2011 .
- ^ Fighters Vie In Korean Competition. (No longer available online.) Aviationweek.com, formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 19, 2011 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ wiwo: EADS denies jet-off in South Korea. 19th of August 2013
- ^ Yonhap News: (Yonhap Interview) EADS denies procedural breach to Korean fighter jet project. 19th of August 2013
- ^ The Hankyoreh : Eurofighter trying to stay in consideration for jet fighter project. August 20, 2013
- ↑ Reuters: South Korea boosts air defenses with about $ 6.8 billion budget for F-35s. March 24, 2014
- ↑ DefenseNews - UAE Says France's Rafale Deal 'Unworkable'. November 16, 2011, archived from the original on January 21, 2013 ; accessed on June 16, 2019 .
- ^ Arabian Aerospace - Dubai 2011: UAE re-opens fighter contest
- ↑ The Telegraph: BAE submits UAE Typhoon bid. 25 Sep 2013 (English).
- ↑ UAE pulls out of Eurofighter deal , BBC News of December 19, 2013, accessed December 30, 2013.
- ^ Gerhard Hegmann, Gesche Wüpper: Eurofighter-Discount is supposed to outdo US corporations. In: The world . December 19, 2013, accessed December 30, 2013.
- ↑ a b Eurofighter, technical data in: Militar-Jets. History. Technology. Types. GeraMond, ISBN 3-7654-7035-X , p. 111.
- ↑ a b c d Bernd Vetter, Frank Vetter: The Eurofighter. 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, 2008.
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Typhoon for Japan - 機体 概要
- ↑ eurofighter.com - technical data
- ↑ F / A-18E Offers Enhanced Maneuverability for Fixed Mission Radius. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012 ; accessed on June 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Aeronautica Militare - Eurofighter 2000 Typhoon
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Mark Lorell et al .: The Gray Threat . RAND Corporation, 1995, ISBN 0-8330-2307-1 .
- ↑ a b c d e The Gray Threat. (PDF) In: AIR FORCE Magazine. February 1, 1996, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ↑ F-22 weight increase agreed. In: Flight International. March 5, 1995, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ^ Launching Forward. In: Flight International. January 28, 1998, accessed June 23, 2014 .
- ^ Ian Moir, Allan G. Seabridge: Military Avionics Systems . In: John Wiley & Sons Ltd . 2006.
- ↑ Technology. In: typhoon.starstreak.net. June 23, 2014, archived from the original on August 25, 2010 ; accessed on June 26, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Donaukurier: Eurofighter almost flies into the tower on July 11, 2013
- ^ Flightglobal: RAF Eurofighter damaged in US landing incident. 28 Apr 2008
- ↑ Saudi pilot dies in Spanish military crash. In: CNN. August 24, 2010, accessed August 24, 2010 .
- ↑ Air Force stops Eurofighter flights. In: Financial Times Germany. September 16, 2010, archived from the original on September 17, 2010 ; Retrieved September 16, 2010 .
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- ↑ Pilot dies in the crash of a "Eurofighter". Spiegel Online , June 9, 2014, accessed June 9, 2014 .
- ↑ Airplane crashed after collision with Eurofighter jet in Sauerland. Spiegel online, June 23, 2014, accessed June 24, 2014 .
- ↑ Saudi Eurofighter Typhoon Crashes During Combat Mission In Yemen, Killing The Pilot. In: theaviationist.com. September 14, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017 .
- ↑ Eurofighter crashed in Italy. In: austrianwings.info. September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Pilot dies in Eurofighter crash in Italy. In: orf.at. September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017 .
- ^ After a military parade in Spain: Pilot dies in Eurofighter crash . In: Spiegel Online . October 12, 2017 ( online [accessed October 12, 2017]).
- ↑ Tom Demerly: Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon Accidentally Fires Live Air-to-Air Missile Over Estonia, 25 miles west of the Russian border. In: The Aviationist. August 8, 2018, accessed August 9, 2018 .
- ↑ Michael Gubisch: Probe begins into fatal German Eurofighter crash. In: flightglobal.com. June 25, 2019, accessed June 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Mike Szymanski: Can the Air Force fly anywhere? In: Sueddeutsche.de. June 25, 2019, accessed June 25, 2019 .
