The Aircraft Remains a Valuable and Potent Multirole Asset for Air Forces Well Beyond 2030
The summer has been good to the Eurofighter TYPHOON multi-/swing-role combat aircraft with a report boasting it can outclasses any currently operational fighter aircraft (with the exception of the F-22 RAPTOR), achieving 300,000 flying hours, and STORM SHADOW cruise missiles tests to take place in the UK later this year, as well as investments, including the CAPTOR-E AESA radar; BRIMSTONE, STORM SHADOW, and METEOR missiles; and new launcher systems. |
| Whilst the EUROFIGHTER has had a troubled development history, this should not obscure the fact that its operators now possess one of the world’s finest air-superiority aircraft with growing and potentially superb multirole strike and reconnaissance capabilities. (Photo: Eurofighter) |
A new Whitehall Report by the UK’s Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), entitled “Maximising European Combat Air Power: Unlocking the EUROFIGHTER’s Full Potential” was welcomed by Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug’s CEO, Alberto Gutierrez, as, “positive and encouraging,” proving, “beyond doubt the case for further investment in the aircraft programme to bring out the full potential of the Eurofighter TYPHOON.”
The Report states that the EUROFIGHTER’s combination of high thrust-to-weight ratio, manoeuvrability at all speeds, 65,000ft service ceiling, supercruise capability, powerful radar, and large missile load, "ensures that it outclasses any currently operational fighter aircraft in the world with the exception of the F-22 RAPTOR.”
The report goes on to state: “In terms of air-to-ground capability, the EUROFIGHTER is relatively immature compared to many legacy aircraft and even to the Dassault RAFALE and Saab GRIPEN. In RAF service, PAVEWAY II and enhanced PAVEWAY II bombs are available for Tranche 1 aircraft, whilst the P1Eb software upgrade for Tranche 2 and 3 aircraft has enabled PAVEWAY IV delivery. At present, only the RAF and Royal Saudi Air Force operate their TYPHOONs as multirole aircraft. In Spain, Germany and Italy, the EUROFIGHTER is purely an air-to-air fighter at present. However, strike and interdiction capabilities are planned for introduction in Italian and German service over the next decade.”
Given the current fragile geo-political situation, Gutierrez noted that, at the heart of the report, is a call for a continued, “relatively modest level of sustained funding,” in the programme to, “fully optimise the aircraft’s multirole capabilities,” to which he said: “We believe this report is positive and encouraging because it makes such a strong case for the aircraft. It also demonstrates the value of investing in Eurofighter which is a long-term investment in the defence and security of those nations who operate our combat aircraft.”
Recent investments in the Eurofighter programme that included, E-Scan radar; BRIMSTONE, STORM SHADOW, and METEOR missiles; and new launcher systems, have all been well-received.
Continued investment in the platform is needed to unlock the full potential of the jet, and the report states that given the number of capability enhancements, “which are on the cusp of being delivered, any new operators would benefit greatly from the investment in the EUROFIGHTER’s journey to maturity made by existing partner states as they would be buying a ‘finished product’ – and one with the potential for significant future enhancements.”
Airbus Defence & Space (DS) has recently successfully completed flight-testing of a package of aerodynamic upgrades to the TYPHOON that promises to enhance further the aircraft’s agility and weapons-carrying ability. The Aerodynamic Modification Kit (AMK) is part of a wider Eurofighter Enhanced Manoeuvrability (EFEM) programme, entailing primarily the addition of fuselage strakes and leading-edge root extensions, which increase the maximum lift created by the wing by 25% - resulting in an increased turn rate, tighter turning radius, and improved nose-pointing ability at low speed – all critical fighter capabilities in air-to-air combat.
The introduction of the AMK will not only enhance the Eurofighter’s current capability as a swing-role fighter-bomber, but will provide additional growth potential, enabling easier integration of future air–to-surface configurations and much more flexible applications, vastly enhancing the aircraft’s mission effectiveness in the air-to-surface role.
The summer also saw the Eurofighter TYPHOON achieving more than 300,000 flying hours since the entry-into-service of its worldwide fleet. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug confirmed the milestone adding that the programme has, “delivered unprecedented levels of reliability.”
Gutierrez boasted: “No other military fast jet in the world can match the reliability of this aircraft. We are extremely proud that, on deployment, on Quick Reaction Alert, and day in, day out, the EUROFIGHTER can be counted on to do what is needed. Right now in the Baltics States, the Eurofighter TYPHOON is delivering protection to Europe with the UK, Spain, Germany, and Italy all having done tours of duty there, and we will continue to ensure the TYPHOON is ready and available for any mission. Our capability enhancement programme will continue to deliver when others have peaked. What is really exciting for us, is it is now being recognised that the Eurofighter TYPHOON offers a genuine ‘force multiplier’ effect when operated alongside other aircraft. We have the kinetic effect and flexibility to put both pace and muscle into the mix. Add in our reliability record over 300,000 hours of flying and you can see that we are confident about the future.”
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| (Photo: Eurofighter) |
By July 2014, 250,000 flying hours had been reached while, at the same time, Eurojet, the makers of the TYPHOON’s EJ200 engines, celebrated half a million flying hours on the aircraft.
Furthermore, a series of ground based tests have been completed at Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi in Turin-Caselle, Italy, and at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, UK, in readiness for the Eurofighter TYPHOON’s flight trials with MBDA’s STORM SHADOW cruise missiles, which are due to take place in the UK later this year.
MBDA’s STORM SHADOW is a combat proven cruise missile, already in service with the Italian Air Force and RAF TORNADOs, a conventionally armed, stealthy, long-range stand-off precision weapon.
The flight trials will build upon previous trials in Italy last year, which saw the first successful release of a STORM SHADOW from a TYPHOON. The UK based trials will see the missile being released from Italian IPA2 aircraft in order to collect safe weapons separation trajectory data and to verify the correct release sequence of the missile.
Eurofighter TYPHOON is one of the most advanced new generation swing-role combat aircraft currently available on the world market. Seven nations (Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia, and Oman) have already ordered the fighter. Eurofighter TYPHOON is currently one of the largest military procurement programmes in Europe. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug manages the programme on behalf of the Eurofighter partner companies, Finmeccanica - Alenia Aermacchi, BAE Systems, and Airbus DS. Since delivery of the first Eurofighter TYPHOON to the RAF at the end of 2003, a total of 571 aircraft have been ordered and 438 delivered to six nations, with 300,000 flying hours achieved.