HALLBERGMOOS, Germany, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- With the handover of GT015, a German Twin-Seater aircraft, the final aircraft out of Tranche 1 destined for the four partner Air Forces of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom in the core programme has been delivered on March 20, 2008.
Aloysius Rauen, Chief Executive Officer Eurofighter GmbH, comments: "This delivery represents a major milestone in the core programme. With 144 series production delivered (including five to Austria), the Air Forces are rapidly accumulating flying hours and gathering experience with the system. The nations already operate Eurofighter Typhoon in the air defence role. The Royal Air Force is preparing for the first multi-role task of Eurofighter Typhoon, deploying the system over long distances and training the air and ground crews for combat. And Austria, the first export customer, is planning to start operational air surveillance tasks with the upcoming European Soccer Championship. This is outstanding proof for the maturity of the system."
First deliveries to the four Air Forces had begun in Summer 2003. Eurofighter Typhoon officially entered into service with the Air Forces in Spring 2004. Italy was the first nation to operate Eurofighter Typhoon in the air defence role, beginning in 2005. Today, ten units at six air bases fly the aircraft, and the fleet has surpassed the 34,000 flying hour mark in March 2008.
Aloysius Rauen continues: "2008 is set to be a landmark year for the Eurofighter programme. 38 aircraft of Tranche 2 are in final assembly with deliveries to start early summer. Later this year, the work based on the Main Development Contract will be concluded, and the contract signature for Tranche 3 is envisaged between the nations and industry."
In the Test & Evaluation Programme, an AMRAAM firing from Instrumented Production Aircraft Two (IPA2) on 27 February represents the conclusion of weapon testing for the Main Development Contract. The successful test flight, conducted by Alenia Aeronautica at Decimomannu Air Base, Sardinia, means that all required weapons for operation with Tranche 1 are now cleared, including AIM-9L, ASRAAM, AMRAAM and Iris-T for air-to-air combat, and Paveway II, Enhanced Paveway II, GBU-10 and GBU-16 for air-to-ground tasks.
Meanwhile, the EADS Military Air Systems-operated IPA3 has, on 28 February in Manching, completed the flight testing of the Tranche 1 Flight Control System software. Furthermore, ISPA1 (BT005 of the Royal Air Force) has, on 03 March at BAE Systems' Warton site, concluded the integration work on the Laser Designator Pod for the so-called "Austere capability" for Royal Air Force Tranche 1 aircraft.
Eurofighter Typhoon is the world's most advanced new generation swing-role combat aircraft available on the market and has been ordered by six nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). With 707 aircraft under contract, it is Europe's largest military collaborative programme and delivers leading-edge technology, strengthening Europe's aerospace industry in the global competition. More than 100,000 jobs in 400 companies are secured by the programme. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH manages the programme on behalf of its shareholders Alenia Finmeccanica, BAE Systems, EADS CASA and EADS Deutschland, Europe's foremost aerospace companies with a total turnover of EUR60.7 billion (2006).
Contact:
Wolfdietrich Hoeveler
Vice President Communication
Eurofighter GmbH
+49-811-801-555(Office)
+49-172-832-9751(Mobile)
wolfdietrich.hoeveler@eurofighter.com
Phillip Lee
External Communications
Eurofighter GmbH
+49-811-801-587
phillip.lee@eurofighter.com
Contact: Wolfdietrich Hoeveler, Vice President Communication, Eurofighter GmbH, +49-811-801-555(Office), +49-172-832-9751(Mobile), wolfdietrich.hoeveler@eurofighter.com; Phillip Lee, External Communications, Eurofighter GmbH, +49-811-801-587, phillip.lee@eurofighter.com
