issue 2 - 2007 eurofighter review

■ MakingInternationalProgrammes Work

■ Export Delivery

■ Powering an Industry

p r o g r a m m e n e w s a n d f e a t u r e s

RAF goes Multi-Role

Preparing for War

The two images demonstrate the growing presence of Eurofighter Typhoon in the Partner Nations’ Air Forces. The image above features anine-ship formation of Eurofighter Typhoons from the Royal Air Forceen route to Buckingham Palace for a fly-over to mark Queen Elizabeth

II’s official birthday. The image below was taken during operations atthe Italian Air Force’s Grosseto base, with six aircraft either preparedfor, or taxiing to, take-off.

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On Monday 01 October, thefirst four Eurofighter Typhoonaircraft assigned to 36º Stor-mo of the Italian Air Force’sXII Gruppo (Squadron)

touched down at their new operating base ofGioia del Colle, near Bari in Southern Italy.Accompanying them on their journey fromGrosseto were two Eurofighter Typhoonsfrom 4º Stormo while, as they approachedGioia del Colle airspace, a collection of theirnew stable mates, four Aermacchi MB339CDaircraft, provided the official welcome fromXII Gruppo.

To enable the unit to fully exploit the operational benefits of Eurofighter Typhoon,the Gioia del Colle Air Base infrastructurehas undergone a substantial investment andrebuilding programme, completed on timeand on budget. At the ceremony to mark thearrival of the new weapon system, the Com-manding Officer of 36º Stormo, Colonel Antonio Conserva, briefed an assembly ofhigh-ranking military and local authorityofficials, including General Daniele Tei,Commander of Air Force Command.

The ceremony was concluded with anaerobatic display of Eurofighter Typhoon,performed by the Pratica die Mare Experi-mental Flight Test team, demonstrating thecombination of power and agility that standsthe aircraft out against the internationalcompetition. The Italian Air Force is to receive 121 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.

36º Stormo History

The Gioia del Colle Air Base was built in1915 and its aeronautical traditions dateback to the First World War when, duringoperations, many combat aircraft were deployed there. 36º Stormo was founded onBorgo Panigale Airfield, near Bologna, on 01 February 1938 and, during the SecondWorld War, the Wing operated over Albania,Yugoslavia, Malta, Tunisia and the CentralMediterranean. For their heroic actions displayed throughout the Second World War,the Wing’s flag has been decorated withtwo silver medals, and are first in the Italian Air Force to be decorated with a Gold Medal.

After the war, 36º Stormo became an air-lift unit, followed by operations as a missileBrigade before finally, on 01 June 1966, becoming a Fighter Wing with two combat-ready squadrons, 12th Fighter InterceptorSquadron and 156th Fighter Bomber AttackSquadron. This is the only Italian Wing withboth air-to-air and air-to-ground capability.

01 March 1999 saw 21st Fighter Inter-ceptor Squadron assigned to Gioia del Collefrom Cameri Air base but, due to the pro-gramme of renewal of the Italian Air Forcestructure, 21st Fighter Interceptor Squadronwas closed. By 01 March 2001, all the per-sonnel of the 21st Squadron had been integrated into 12th Squadron (XII Gruppo)which is, at present, the biggest FighterSquadron of the Italian Air Force.

They can now boast the capabilities ofthe world’s most advanced swing-/multi-role combat aircraft, Eurofighter Typhoon.

Dear Friends of Eurofighter Typhoon,

The Eurofighter Typhoon programme is ina phase of major transition. No longer just anindustrial project, the progress of the weaponsystem is being driven now by both Industryand the Air Forces. On the consortium side,we are pushing ahead for the advanced capa-bilities that will allow our Partner Air Forcesto fulfil their operational obligations.

This notion is wholly reflected in the current programme status. 2007 has seen deliveries begin to all Nations of the Block 5multi-role capable Eurofighter Typhoon. This industrial confirmation of growth in theweapon system’s capabilities has led to boththe Italian Air Force and the Royal Air Forceassigning Eurofighter Typhoon to Quick Reac-tion Alert duties, with Germany and Spain tofollow in 2008.

In export, the Republic of Austria took delivery of their first two aircraft at Zeltweg,coming after a satisfactory conclusion of re-baselining the contract. The July handoverof AS001 to the Austrian Air Force was justone of a number of successes achieved overthe Summer months. The recent signature ofthe Governmental agreement for EurofighterTyphoon between the United Kingdom andthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represents another major milestone for us all.

In June, the programme shareholdersagreed the Eurofighter Typhoon Strategic Co-operative Arrangement with the primaryobjective of improvements in all aspects ofprogramme performance, now and in the future.

The programme future is a clear referenceto Tranche 3. After having been asked to deliver a comprehensive proposal for Tranche3 based on the facts of the umbrella contractby year end, this commitment to the programmethroughout the Eurofighter community comesas a valuable enabler.

This two-pronged drive within the Eurofight-er Typhoon programme will continue. Thefirst flight of IPA6, our first Instrumented Production Aircraft for the Tranche 2 weaponsystem testing, is imminent. While wethroughout industry look to develop new capabilities for our customer, they themselvesare preparing their aircraft and aircrews forworldwide deployment.

2007 is drawing to a close and the Eu-rofighter Typhoon team faces demandingchallenges that will keep us all busy for therest of the year and beyond.

Enjoy the issue!

Aloysius RauenCEO Eurofighter GmbH

Italy forms their second Eurofighter Typhoon unit

To the Power of Ten

03 EditorialWelcome note from Aloysius Rauen, Chief Executive Officer

04 NewsLatest Developments

06 Export DeliveryAustria Takes First Eurofighter Typhoon

07 News3-Tranche Planning +++ Joint Visionaries +++

08 Making International Programmes WorkMulti-National Co-operator, Erwin Obermeier

11 NewsEngineers of the Future +++ From Pole to Swing-Role +++

12 Preparing for WarRAF Gears Up for Deployed Operations

16 Multi-Role SupplierCOBHAM Air Refuelling & Auxiliary Mission Equipment

18 Powering an IndustryITP: A European Success Story

20 Exhibitions ReviewEurofighter Typhoon takes Paris by Storm

21 IDEF 2007 Ankara Eurofighter Typhoon on the Turkish Campaign Trail

22 Exporting EastCampaign Activities Heat Up in India and Japan

23 European Summer Tour 2007Eurofighter Typhoon Blazes the Campaign Trail

Eurofighter Review is published byEurofighter GmbH, PR & CommunicationsAm Söldnermoos 17, 85399 HallbergmoosTel: +49 (0) 811-80 1587

Editorial representativeWolfdietrich HoevelerVP PR & Communications

EditorPhillip Lee

PhotographyEurofighter GmbH, Eurofighter Partner Companies,Geoffrey Lee Planefocus, Jamie Hunter

Design & Productionimages.art.design.Andreas Westphalwww.iad-design.de

Printed byESTA Druck GmbHwww.esta-druck.de

Eurofighter Review on the Internetwww.eurofighter.com

If you would like to request additional copies ofEurofighter Review, please contact the PR &Communications Department at Eurofighter GmbH

12The Royal Air Force gets

ready for world-wide deployment

Contents

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Cover picture shows a Royal AirForce 17(R) Sqn EurofighterTyphoon loaded with six Paveway IIfour AMRAAMs and two ASRAAMs

Photography: Jamie Hunter

XII Gruppo welcomesthe aircraft to Gioia delColle

08Erwin Obermeiermakes internationalprogrammes work

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In an incident which made headlines aroundthe world, Friday 17 August witnessed theRoyal Air Force launch two Eurofighter Typhoon weapon systems from their MainOperating Base at RAF Coningsby to shadowa Russian Bear-H bomber aircraft that wasreportedly heading for the United Kingdom.

Armed with four AMRAAMs and fourASRAAMs, the newest weapon in the RoyalAir Force’s inventory escorted the approach-ing bomber for a short period until identifi-cation was established. The Russian aircraftturned back before reaching UK airspace.

Marking the milestone of the delivery of thefinal Tranche 1 Eurofighter Typhoon to theSpanish Air Force, the Spanish Minister ofDefence, José Antonio Alonso, made a high-profile visit to EADS Military Air Systems’Getafe site on 18 September.

The Eurofighter Typhoon programmeholds particular importance politically inSpain with around 22,000 jobs created domestically due to Europe’s largest defencecollaboration. Señor Alonso expressed his enthusiasm at having received the lastTranche 1 aircraft, a twin-seat variant des-ignated 11-77, and confirmed his overall satisfaction with the programme.

The key points of the Minister’s statementduring his visit include:

“A very prolific investment, that meetsthe Air Forces’ and national defence re-quirements, creates jobs and provides tech-nological transfer.”

“To respond to the national defence requirements represents a mayor constitu-tional responsibility and therefore Spain isobliged to maintain its forces on an up-to-date level.”

“The Eurofighter programme leads togrowth in terms of net profits and technologyfor the national aeronautic industry.”

“Spain has got a strong interest in thistruly European programme that contributesto building and consolidating – also from anindustrial point of view – common

the aircraft’s lay-up phase over the next fewweeks. This will also require full connectivityof the new Digital Engine Control MonitoringUnit (DECMU) to the weapon system’s Inter-face Processor Unit (IPU). The DECMU willbe incorporated into all Tranche 2 standardengines, integrating the engine control andmonitoring system into a single unit, provid-ing benefits in terms of cost, mass and func-tionality. 519 Tranche 2 engines are to bedelivered over the next five years.

In mid-July, the Eurojet consortium announcedthe delivery of the first Tranche 2 standardEJ200 engine. Officially accepted by the Ital-ian Air Force, the advanced engine was to beinstalled into Instrumented Production Air-craft two (IPA2) and ground tested before going for full flight. On 14 Sep-tember, IPA2 lifted off from Alenia Aeronau-tica’s Caselle plant, Italy, powered, at leaston one side, by the upgraded EJ200 (theother engine was of Tranche 1 designation).

During the flight, lasting approximately50 minutes, dry and reheat engine handlingcycles were performed at various subsonicand supersonic flight conditions. The firstengine relight on a Tranche 2 EJ200 was also successfully carried out as part of thetest schedule. Mario Mutti, Project Test Pilotfor Alenia Aeronautica, reported that theengine behaviour was problem-free through-out the duration of the flight and was equal-ly enthusiastic in his description of the “excellent” engine handling.

A second EJ200 engine of Tranche 2 capability is to be integrated into IPA2 during

The Chief of Staff of the German Air Force,Lieutenant General Klaus-Peter Stieglitz,took the opportunity to fly the latest Eu-rofighter Typhoon software version on IPA3in Manching. He participated in a test flightwhich is part of the qualification pro-gramme for the Final Operational Capability

of Tranche 1. General Stieglitz himself exe-cuted a significant part of the test itemsfrom the front seat, supported by EurofighterTyphoon Project Test Pilot Chris Worning,and thus got a comprehensive and personalpicture of the weapon system performance.

He was impressed by the new functional-ities and the system stability and stated after the flight: "I am extremely pleasedwith the Eurofighter and its capabilities asa weapon system! This aircraft is exactlywhat the German Air Force needs to masterthe challenges to come in the next decades."

With the qualification of the latest soft-ware, Eurofighter Typhoon will achieve thecontractually agreed Final Operational Capability of Tranche 1. This is a key mile-stone in the conversion of the Partner AirForces to the type.

them instantly recognisable from any otherof the world’s fighting forces.

On Saturday 16 June, Her Royal HighnessQueen Elizabeth II celebrated her officialbirthday with a little help from the RoyalAir Force’s newest weapon system. A nine-ship formation of Eurofighter Typhoons, ledby No.3(F) Squadron chief, Wing CommanderLol Bennett, made its way from RAF Conings-by to Buckingham Palace for an eye-catch-ing flypast over the onlooking Royal Familyand members of the public who’d gatheredin their thousands to join in the celebrations.

The aircraft returned to their Main Oper-ating Base on completion of their Royal duties.

The annual festivities that mark the BritishMonarch’s birthday provide a platform for theUnited Kingdom’s Armed Forces to demon-strate the pomp and pageantry that makes

First flight of the next generation engine

Tranche 2 PowerGeneral flight test

Stieglitz Pilots IPA3

Eurofighter Typhoon scrambles to meet Russian bomber

High Profile Intercept

EADS CASA receives Spain’s Minister of Defence

MoD VIP

Nine-ship flypast for HRH Queen Elizabeth II

By Royal Appointment

An official Ministry of Defence statementconfirmed: "RAF Typhoons from Numbers3(F) and XI Squadrons launched to shadowa Russian Bear-H aircraft over the North Atlantic Ocean."

The Royal Air Force had only placed

Eurofighter Typhoon on Quick Reaction Alert(QRA) duties in July, and their responsivenessto this high profile incident justifies fully theirdecision.

For more information on Eurofighter Typhoon in the Royal Air Force, turn to page 12.

European defence and security politics andfurthermore to establish links with the Atlantic Alliance.”

Señor Alonso was accompanied through-out his stay by Carlos Súarez Pérez, ChairmanEADS CASA, Pablo de Bergia, Head Defence& Security Spain and President Military AirSystems Spain and by the Spanish AirForce’sChief of the Air Staff, José Francisco Garcíade la Vega.

Spain´s Minister of Defence takes inthe Eurofighter Typhoon Cockpit

The Tranche 2 EJ200 ready for installationinto IPA2

Key Industrial, political and military figures convene at Morón Air Base

The 9-ship formation heads for BuckinghamPalace

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Austria takes first Eurofighter Typhoon

Export DeliveryThe sun was trying to break through the clouds, when the first Eurofighter TyphoonAS001 for Austria approached its new home base Zeltweg in Styria on Thursday morning12 July. Escorted by two F-5E Tiger of the Austrian Armed Forces, Martin Angerer, testpilot at EADS Military Air Systems in Manching, took AS001 over the runway and thenlanded the aircraft at 1045.

Captain Springer, one of the first AustrianEurofighter Typhoon pilots and leadingthrough the event, welcomed the aircraft:“This is a memorable day for Austria’s AirForce. AS001, a heartly welcome in Austria.”

Martin Angerer in the meantime taxiedthe aircraft towards the ceremonial area,where political and military leadershipwaited for the arrival. He took the fighterwith the Austrian registration 7L WAthrough a water cascade, a traditional welcome for new aircraft of the base’s fire department. And then the aircraft came to a stop in front of the soldiers and civilian employees of the Überwachungsgeschwader(Surveillance Wing), who cheered the aircraft.

After an introduction of the guests byBrigadier Rupert Stadlhofer, CommanderAir Surveillance Command, Lieutenant General Günter Höfler, Commander ArmedForces Command, officially welcomed theaircraft. With Eurofighter Typhoon, the Nation will have one of the world’s bestfighter aircraft in operation and the focusnow shall be to guarantee an optimum airsurveillance and defence for Austria. Hecalled for an end of the negative public debate in the country and was convincedthat Austria’s population in a few yearswould be as proud of their Eurofighter Typhoon as they had been with the Draken.The Draken had been retired two years agoand leased F-5 from Switzerland are currentlybeing used to guarantee the sovereignty ofAustria’s air space.

Wirtschaftsminister Wolfgang Bartensteinwelcomed the aircraft on behalf of the government. He reassured he would makethe same decision in favour of Eurofighter Typhoon as five years ago.

Top: AS001 air to air over its new home base of ZeltwegAbove: EADS pilot Martin Angerer lines up with Austrian Air Force pilots next to the new aircraft

AS002 is welcomed to Zeltweg

The aircraft is the best available and theright one to serve Austria’s requirements. The cost for procuring and operating the Eurofighter Typhoon would be high, but arich Nation like Austria certainly can affordto safeguard its neutrality with this system.

Eurofighter’s Austria Programme DirectorPeter Maute replied: “We have worked fouryears to achieve this handover. This is avery important day for the Eurofighter consortium of Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Sys-tems, EADS CASA and EADS in Germany, aswe now can say: Five Nations fly EurofighterTyphoon!” AS001 was the 125th aircraft delivered to the five Nations that have ordered the system.

Immediately after the short ceremonyhad ended the handover formalities wereconducted between the Eurofighter consor-tium representatives and the Austrian authorities, while in the meantime theground crew of EADS Military Air Systemsand the wing’s maintenance squadronturned the aircraft around. After 30 minutesthe aircraft was cleared to fly again.

With signature of the so-called F1 docu-ment the aircraft finally was owned by theAustrian Armed Forces. And they took own-ership. Briefed by experts from EADS opera-tion of the Ground Support System startedalmost at once, as the wing intended to flythe aircraft within a few days and start theinitial flying operation out of Zeltweg air base.

Based on the June 2007 agreement between the Austrian Ministry of Defenceand the Eurofighter consortium, Austriawill receive 15 aircraft out of Tranche 1 toreduce costs for the procurement and opera-tion of their Eurofighter Typhoon fleet. The aircraft will be delivered up until 2009,with AS002 delivered in early September,A003 and AS004 to follow in October andDecember 2007.

Every piece of the Eurofighter Typhoon production puzzle is now receiving industrialattention. With aircraft deliveries exceeding130, the Partner Air Forces’ Tranche 1 fleetsare reaching full capacity. This includes allBlock 1, Block 2 and Block 2B weapon sys-tems, meaning that the Nations will, fromSummer 2007, only be receiving the multi-role capable Block 5 Eurofighter Typhoon.

The Tranche 1 production programmepassed another milestone in August throughthe completion of Tranche 1 deliveries tothe Spanish Air Force. ST008 was handedover to the aircrew at Morón Air Base, becoming the 19th Eurofighter Typhoon to enter service in Spain. It is also the firsttwin-seat variant at the Block 5 standard.

As deliveries of the first Tranche draw toa conclusion, production work on Tranche 2is ramping up with almost 20 aircraft in final assembly. First flight of the first Tranche2 standard Eurofighter Typhoon IPA6 isscheduled for Autumn this year. The thirdTranche of aircraft, although not on the production line, is very much in the indus-trial focus. The four Partner Nations, Ger-many, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom,have, through NETMA, requested that theEurofighter consortium deliver a compre-hensive bid for Tranche 3 by the end of2007. This bid will be based on the umbrellacontract for the original 236 Tranche 3standard aircraft. Achieving success in a quadri-national

programme is dependant on effective co-op-eration between all parties. In June, duringthe Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, represen-tatives of the four Ministries of Defence, thefour Heads of the Eurofighter SupervisoryBoard, the General Manager of NETMA andthe Eurofighter GmbH Chief Executive Officer, together developed a joint vision:

“Working in partnership to excel in thejoint delivery and support of Eurofighter Typhoon capability through life to our AirForces whilst supporting our industries.”

The document sets out the values thatembody the spirit of partnership and thatwill work to secure the Primary Business

ST008, the final Tranche 1 weapon system for the Spanish Air Force

Eurofighter Typhoon production gathers pace

3-Tranche Planning

Eurofighter Typhoon Strategic Cooperative Agreement

Joint Visionaries

Objective of improving delivery of programmeperformance, cost and time, including sup-port and availability through life.

A comprehensive set of enabling objec-tives were formed and agreed upon, includ-ing establishing a joint planning process,improvements in decision-making as well asincreased efficiency throughout the supplychain and in payment schedules.

As the programme approaches the nextmajor milestone, namely Tranche 3, effec-tive cooperation from all sides will help todeliver the best solution and ultimately pro-vide the Partner Air Forces with the world-beating weapon system that they deserve.

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The Panavia Tornadoproject and the Eurofighter Typhoonprogramme haveproved to be majorsuccesses in termsof international collaboration. ErwinObermeier, formerProduction Director

of the Eurofighter consortium, has had thegood fortune of being able to witness the mechanics of multi-national projects fromthe inside, having played a key role inbringing both of the aforementioned multi-role weapon systems off the drawingboard and into operational service. In aninterview with Eurofighter REVIEW, Mr Obermeier described the challenge ofinternational co-operation.

For four decades, your working environ-ment has been in international partner-ships. What is the key to making them asuccess?

Having joined Messerschmidt in April1966, I began working internationally from1970 as the Tornado programme commenced.I took a small break to complete the Test Pilot school at Patuxent River, Maryland, inthe United States but, after a one-year break,I returned in 1974 and was immediatelyheavily involved in the Flight Testing of theTornado. This really was my initial foray into an international working environmentand, from then on, it has been internationalall the way.

Looking back to that time, that reallywas a step into the unknown and we werebasically the pioneers in forming interna-tional teams and projects. Crucially, at thattime, I think we were much more focusedon the project and not on political issues.Over time, politics came more and more into the picture and, just reflecting on thelast two years of the Eurofighter programme,100% dedication was not afforded to theproduct, with man-hours instead focused onpolitical objectives and national interests,consequently slowing the progress.

I believe this has changed for the better,with the aircraft capability now at the

forefront of peoples thinking. Nevertheless,certainly we had more advantages by work-ing in a team, working in international pro-jects, because the internationality can be astabilising influence. If we remember wayback in 1992, when the Germans were unsure as to whether they should continuewith Eurofighter Typhoon, the industrialconsortium were backed by the other PartnerNations, especially by the United Kingdom,and finally we recovered in unity and wereable to continue the programme. These issues do crop up, but dealing with them inthe right manner is critical. So, all in all, I think an international programme offersstability when all concerned are motivatingone another to reach the ultimate target, butlessons can still be learned on maintainingthe product focus as opposed to wasting resources on political and national interests.

You mentioned the German uncertainty inthe programme. How challenging was there-orientation phase of the early 1990s?

That was indeed a real problem. Thechange was actually required by the thenMinister of Defence in Germany, however,when he requested industry to carry out a study and evaluate the programme again,the result was that the aircraft was still theright solution. At the end of the evaluationin 1994, in December I think it was, the newDefence Minster in Germany agreed thatthe programme should continue, but withsome slight modifications as far as the air-craft and the development system was con-cerned. Those two or three years when we conducted this international study were indeed extremely tough, but the outcomei.e. proving that Eurofighter Typhoon is theright aircraft for Europe and for crisis areas,was immensely satisfying.

You started life in aerospace as a FlightControl Systems engineer on the VJ101. Howwas the shift from mechanical flight con-trols to computer-based flight controls?

It was a progression of course, an evolu-tion, but it was also quite different as far asthe work on the aircraft was concerned.When I came into this business, and we had

mechanical flight control systems that required adjustment, it was carried out withsome mechanical tooling and we could cal-culate exactly that if we turn one screw onthe left hand side it had a definite effect onthe other side of the aircraft. With the elec-tronic flight control system, there weresome initial problems because you weren’table to operate with the older mechanicaltools. Computers became the driving forcebehind all the testing.

The troubleshooting on the aircraft was notas easy as with mechanical systems, butnevertheless the flight control system wasmore precise and we could allow for moreaerodynamic instability with an electric system in comparison to mechanical systems.

In terms of your involvement, what havebeen your personal milestones over thecourse of the programme?

My personal milestones on whicheverproject I have contributed to were simply toalways try to complete the programme. Iwas never satisfied if somebody asked me tomove on from a programme and I was nottotally finished. But, in reality, it has turnedout pretty well. When I managed the VerticalTake-off and Landing aircraft business, wehad actually finished all of our developmentto a point where we had flying prototypes.We even achieved some world records, such

Multi-national co-operator

Making InternationalProgrammes Work

as flying supersonic with a vertical take-offand landing aircraft, some of which are stillvalid today by the way. I was also involvedwith Tornado right up to the completion ofall development work as the aircraft pro-gressed into Series Production.

On Eurofighter Typhoon, I am more thanhappy that I had the opportunity to join theprogramme over 20 years and, again, in myopinion the Eurofighter programme is in astabilised condition. The programme statusis good, but I would loved to have been moreinvolved on the Export side. One of my per-sonal targets, which unfortunately I couldnot achieve, was to personally manage amarketing campaign in an Export Nation toa successful conclusion. This I did notachieve, but thankfully other people did,

At Tanagra in Greece, Erwin Obermeier spreadsthe word in his role as Greek Campaign Director

Above: Mr. Obermeier is always happy totalk about the programme to the mediaLeft: Talking with General Stieglitz of theGerman Air Force at RIAT, UK

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The students from Team Switzerland wonthe Eurofighter Typhoon Trophy at the second International Aerospace SummerSchool competition. Teams from 12 coun-tries competed in this unique event sup-ported, for the second year running, by thefour Nation Eurofighter consortium.

After submission of a presentation to define an “environmentally friendly trans-port aircraft”, the teams had to prove who isbest during one week full of aerospace activities at Cranfield University, England.They flew small aircraft and helicopters,took a first hand glance at wind tunnel test-ing, flew in a test bed and were briefed inmany areas of aerospace. The highlight ofthe week was the visit to the Royal AirForce Eurofighter Typhoon base at RAFConingsby, where they received first handinformation from the pilots.

Each team consisted of three studentsaged 16 to 18 advised by a teacher. Theycame from the four Eurofighter Nations Germany, Italy, Spain and the United King-dom, plus representation from Austria, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Singapore, SouthAfrica, Switzerland, and Turkey.

These budding engineers will, in years tocome, be the driving force in the aerospaceindustry. The Eurofighter-sponsored Inter-national Aerospace Summer School, and theexperiences gained from their participationin it, will help to set them up for managingthe challenging tasks that lie ahead of them.

2 - 2007 eurofighter review - p r o g r a m m e -10

such as the colleagues from Industry andthe Nations who delivered to Austria andwho are working hard to achieve success inSaudi Arabia. I am still involved in Greece,so maybe I will have my chance to be successful there.

How is the Greek campaign progressing?

Too slow. I made my first presentation onEurofighter Typhoon to the Greek authoritiesin September 1997. At that point, it waslooking good and actually turned positivequite rapidly. We removed some other com-petitors out of the competition and, in January2001, we initialled the contract for the procurement of 60 Eurofighter Typhoons forthe Hellenic Air Force plus 30 options. Unfortunately, for us at least, the Greekssuccessfully bid to host the 2004 OlympicGames which meant that tremendous pres-sure was placed on the national budget.This was a problem and we were requiredby the Greek Government to stop the Eurofighter Typhoon procurement processfor a couple of years, which we did.

In 2005, they announced that therewould be a new process for the purchase ofa modern fighter and we were again invitedto submit proposals. This is where we aretoday and I would expect it again to go veryslow as far as a decision is concerned. Afterthe recent Parliamentary elections in Greecewe will be required to start negotiations onEurofighter Typhoon but, again, I would expect that we only start these talks beforethe end of 2007.

With the new “empowered Eurofighter”,what do you foresee for the future of theprogramme? Is it shaped now to meet fu-ture challenges in your opinion?

I firmly believe that, with the small butvery powerful organisation that EurofighterGmbH has become, it is ideally set up forthe future. Of course, there is room I thinkfor even more strengthening of the organi-sation at the first and second level, but thiswill take time. However, with the smallmanagement team in place, I really believethat the organisation’s strength lies in its

efficiency and ability to make decisionsquicker than in the past. The organisationas a programme is of course an evolution-ary process which needs to be tackled, but I think Eurofighter GmbH is in very verygood shape to maintain progress and im-prove as a powerful company.

When your role with the Greek campaignfinishes, do you think you can ever switchoff from Eurofighter?

It will be very difficult. I’m officially retired now for almost six months, but youcan see that I’m still sitting in the officehere! I do it actually because my heart iswith the Eurofighter programme, my heartis with this business. I never want to be totally switched off. I will follow the pro-gramme via internet, via newspapers, andI’ll find some time for personal tasks andtargets to be able to contribute to the pro-gramme, by perhaps writing an article forone or another newspaper or somethingalong those lines.

Interview by Phillip Lee

Swiss Team wins Eurofighter Typhoon Trophy

Engineers of the Future

The hottest property in world sport, LewisHamilton, breezed into the Paris airshow at LeBourget in June. As part of his commitments asan ambassador for the Bombardier Learjet brand, the McLaren Mercedes Formula Onechampionship challenger attended the show topublicise his new link-up with Learjet.

Despite his tight schedule, the fastest man onfour wheels found time to try out a high-speedmachine of a different nature when he droppedinto the Eurofighter Typhoon pavilion for aflight in the cockpit demonstrator.

Under the guidance of Craig Penrice, BAESystems’ former Eurofighter Typhoon test pilot,Lewis Hamilton showed the sort of abilities thathave taken him to the top of his sporting profes-sion, successfully taking the aircraft through asimulated sortie before executing a near-perfectlanding.

Aloysius Rauen, Eurofighter Gmbh Chief Executive Officer, was on hand to greet theBritish racing star and to congratulate him onhis meteoric success in his debut season.

Lewis Hamilton visitsEurofighter Typhoon

From Pole toSwing-Role

Left: The winning swiss teamBelow: The group receive a briefing on the aircraft

International Aerospace Summer School competitors,RAF Coningsby 15 August 2007

Eurofighter Typhoon: the outcome of successfulEuropean collaboration

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RAF Gear Up for Deployed Operations

Preparing for War

The build-up to QRA

31 March 2006. No.3 (F) Squadron is declaredthe first frontline Eurofighter Typhoon unitin a Stand-Up ceremony at RAF Coningsby.At this point in time, they had just one pilotwho’d completed the Operational Conversion

Unit (OCU) training. Over thenext three months, No.3 (F)Squadron would increase itsranks enough to be able tobreak away from the OCU inJune and start to shape the unitindependently. A little over 12 months later andNo.3 (F) Squadron are at battlestrength with 16 pilots, 14 ofwhich are ready to deploy in theair-to-air role. According to

Squadron Leader Paul “Mufti” Smith: “Eurofighter Typhoon is good to go to waras a fighter right now. There is nothing Ifear out there in Typhoon and that’s takinginto account both Western and Eastern jets.”

The build-up to QRA is the first majormilestone as the Royal Air Force seeks toachieve a ready-to-deploy status in January2008. All work immediately after the forma-tion of No.3 (F) Squadron was closely tied inwith the Operational Evaluation Unit (OEU),29 (R) Squadron, and was focused on initialtrials of tactical operations with the weaponsystem. Since November 2006, however, theindependency of the squadron has begun toshow through with increased participation inexercises involving not only other nationalAir Force assets, but also internationally-op-erated aircraft.

The Combined Qualified Weapons In-structor (CQWI) Course, a United Kingdom-

29 June 2007. Two Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from No.3 (F) Squadron at RAF Coningsbyare assigned to Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties for Southern United Kingdom airspace. Put simply, the most capable weapon system in the Royal Air Force inventoryis on 24-hour readiness to respond to any threat entering United Kingdom skies, armedwith a fearsome air superiority package of four advanced medium range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM) and four advance short range air-to-air missiles (ASRAAM). This milestone announcement from the Royal Air Force comes just over a year since No.3 (F)Squadron received their first aircraft. Eurofighter REVIEW visited RAF Coningsby for abehind-the-scenes look at how a raw aircraft is ramped up into the most feared multi-role platform in the world.

led tactical exercise, was the first such as-signment. “It’s a course that we put togetherfor two weeks to train our tactical leaders, ata Captain/Flight Lieutenant level” commentedSquadron Leader Smith, adding: “These arethe guys who are going to be the tactics andformation directors in the air.” The No.3 (F)Squadron Eurofighter Typhoons, workingclosely with the Royal Air Force’s other fighter,the Tornado F-3, went up as a combined forceand the results were, according to SquadronLeader Smith, extremely satisfying. Reflectingon the event, he commented: “The Typhoonsdid very well.

The November CQWI Course proved that,even at an early stage in its frontline devel-

opment, Eurofighter Typhoon is able to holdits own in a combat environment. In Marchof this year, the pilots of No.3 (F) Squadronunleashed the aircraft at the multi-nationalNight Tactical Leadership Training (TLT) exercise. Other Nations were invited to par-ticipate, including the Americans with F-15C

jets, flying both as team mates and opposi-tion fighters, and once again Eurofighter Typhoon emerged largely unscathed. “Weachieved a very high kill ratio” declaredSquadron Leader Smith, adding: “we have avery close working relationship with the U.S.and we do a lot of work with the F-15C guysat Lakenheath. There’s a lot of mutual respect between us and they respect the capabilities of Typhoon.”

As the QRA deadline drew nearer, No.3(F) Squadron sent a detachment to RAFMarham under the banner “SouthernGuardian”. Operating in a similar set-up toRAF Coningsby, the week-long deploymentserved to fine tune the aircrews for the demands of QRA scrambles while also allow-ing them to familiarise themselves with RAFMarham operations should the need arise tobolster Southern Q. Reflecting on the

SquadronLeader Paul

“ Mufti”Smith

Top: 3(F) Sqnjet in fullQRA configu-ration

Left:FlightLieutenantMark “Flunk”Flewin

Pilots of the Royal Air Force and the Spanish AirForce all praised the success of “Lone Eider”

3(F) Sqn on deployment in Spain as part of Exercise “Lone Eider”

deployment, Flight Lieutenant Mark “Flunk”Flewin commented: “We didn’t know whatwe were going to get, so we manned Q downthere for a week and they just scrambled us,and we always made the time limit.” Althoughreluctant to discuss the officially-set time requirements for QRA scrambles, practiceruns have recorded times under six minutes,from the pilot receiving a phone call notifica-tion to the aircraft getting airborne.

Air-to-air deployability

Achieving the required levels of readinessto start QRA duties is, as far as No.3 (F)Squadron are concerned, only the first oper-ational milestone for Eurofighter Typhoon.Being prepared for deployment as an air-to-air fighter anywhere around the world aspart of a coalition force is the next objective.January 2008 is the planned deadline andboth Squadron Leader Smith and FlightLieutenant Flewin remain confident that theaircraft is on track. Eurofighter Typhoon’sperformances at both the CQWI and NightTLT exercises have proven that the jet hasthe capability to war fight air-to-air, however,although the aircraft is meeting combat expectations, the Squadron, as a whole, areworking hard on reducing the logisticalfootprint of a full deployment. This is one ofthe biggest challenges facing the engineeringand maintenance crews of No.3 (F) Squadron.“We’re still refining the deployment proce-dures” explained Squadron Leader Smith,adding: “Initially, the aircraft left quite a biglogistical footprint, in terms of engineeringmanpower and spares. With each Exercise away from Coningsbywe’ve been able to refine and lean our requirements.”

On the first exercise, CQWI, around 80engineers accompanied the aircraft andwere able to achieve the planned four sor-ties a day with five aircraft. The second

visit, Night TLT, saw No.3 (F) Squadron takesix aircraft flying ten sorties in three waveseach day. Crucially, this was achieved usingjust a 60-man ground crew, proving the trials to be a success in terms of leaningdown the footprint. “The engineers wereworking very hard to maintain that flyingrate” stated Squadron Leader Smith “but it worked out pretty well and proved theprogress we’re making!” he added.

Up until April of this year, all of No.3 (F)Squadron’s ramping-up exercises had beenconducted at other Royal Air Force baseswithin the United Kingdom. What followedwas exercise “Lone Eider” at Morón AirBase, Spain. The deployment of seven air-craft to Morón was the first squadron-strength overseas exercise undertaken with-out tanker support, with each EurofighterTyphoon making the journey in a three tankconfiguration. Backed with full support fromboth the Spanish Air Force and industrialcolleagues from EADS CASA, the Squadronwere able to execute some complex missionsincluding an eight-ship multi-national Eurofighter Typhoon fleet against a 16-strong“enemy force” made up of 12 F/A-18 Hor-nets and Mirage F-1s out of the Spanish in-ventory. The result? “No problem” confirmedSquadron Leader Smith. “Typhoon did well,and we put in a good performance out there.”

In July, the Indian Air Force deployed the Su-30 MKI to the United Kingdom in ahigh-profile exercise codenamed “IndraDhanush 2007”. Over the two weeks, boththe Operational Evaluation Unit and No.3 (F) Squadron went up against the powerful fighters from the East in a seriesof combat exercises. The irony that Euro-fighter Typhoon pilots are honing their aircombat skills against the calibre of aircraftthat the initial design requirement suggest-ed they would face in real wartime scenar-ios is not lost on the Royal Air Force, butany mention of the worn out “cold war relic”

bombs. We need to get everyone up to speedbecause there’s a lot of people who’ve neverdropped weapons, and we’ll also need to getpeople working with the pods!”

By the time the first jets head off toAfghanistan, it will have been a little overtwo years since the formation of the RoyalAir Force’s first frontline Eurofighter Typhoon squadron. Such is the flexibility of the weapon system that the decision of military chiefs to bring forward the expan-sion into multi-role capability has not beenat the expense of its Quick Reaction Alertresponsibilities, but will be achieved as wellas. The enthusiasm for Eurofighter Typhoonthroughout the squadrons is contagious, asis the determination from pilots and engi-neers to have the aircraft ready for a deploy-ment where it can justify its existence.“We’ll send Typhoon when it’s ready to go”declares Flight Lieutenant Flewin. That time is coming.

Interviews by Phillip Lee

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The high profile summer visit of the Indian Air Force´s Su-30 MKI aircraft, shown here being escorted by 17(R) Sqn Typhoon

“Mufti” on a QRA scramble

Two 3(F) Sqnjets are on

24-hourstandby at

RAFConingsby

on the aircraft” states Flight LieutenantFlewin. “It’s a really good bit of co-opera-tion that’s going on, the joint team goingthrough all the pre-work as opposed towhat could have happened where we’re justhanded the system and no-one has flownwith it and we’d have to square away all thepre-work before we can even work on thetactical use of it.”

Industrial representation on-base at RAFConingsby is also proving to be a valuableasset. The constant upgrades to the aircraft,including the arrival and beginning of oper-ations with Block 5 aircraft, mean that boththe pilots and the engineers continuouslycall upon the outstanding system knowledgeof the industry liaisons. Squadron LeaderSmith states: “The support is very good Ithink. We understand that industry has tomake a profit but, at the same time, we getgood support from the on-site representa-tives.” This is echoed by Flight LieutenantFlewin. “We find that we need these guyshere all the time and, as we move into air-to-surface, we’ll have guys from the Avionicsteam here giving the OEU a heads-up onwhat’s coming in. We do use that link withindustry to keep an eye on what’s going onso that we can maintain the progress on thefrontline, not wasting the products they deliver.”

Preparing for war

There isn’t much flex in the pre-deploymentschedule. There is an intent to see a muchtalked about weapon system being put touse operationally. The software for the LDPwill arrive on the squadron in early 2008,so all tactics and expertise as well as all tutoring of the frontline pilots must be com-pleted. Within three or four months of thesoftware installation, it is planned that thefrontline squadrons will go to the UnitedStates on heavy weapons deployment. Initially, No.3 (F) Squadron were pencilledin for participation in the Red Flag air com-bat trials in the U.S. in January next year,but the shift in focus to multi-role opera-tions has altered preparations slightly.“That was intended to be Typhoon’s demon-stration of air-to-air capability” confirmsSquadron Leader Smith. “But, instead, nextSpring, once we get the clearance to dropbombs, we’ll prove that capability on a detachment.”

The anticipation is building ahead of themulti-role capability and the excitementamongst the pilots is plain to see. “We’ll geta massive amount in the deployment todrop” adds Flight Lieutenant Flewin. “Theannual training allowance for weapons islarge. It’s going to be a Wing event as well,so we’ll be dropping a large number of

accusation is quickly dismissed by them.“It’s just total nonsense” says SquadronLeader Smith. “You have to dominate the airas a pre-requisite to any operation beforeyou can project your strike capability. Thisair dominance is not automatically given toyou and sometimes people forget that. Thefact that Typhoon can own the air and stillcarry six 1,000lb precision weapons to putin an effective air-to-ground performance ina hostile environment gives you a good indi-cation of the capabilities of the jet.” FlightLieutenant Flewin adds: “If you look at theinitial design requirement for just an air-to-air platform, it’s been developed massively.Now we are staring down the barrel of beingmulti-role by July 2008, so I don’t think that“cold war” line holds anymore at all, andcertainly everyone here would argue that.”

The results of Exercise Indra Dhanush?“Outstanding!” declares Squadron LeaderSmith, adding: “This is an Su-30 MKI, thevery latest Russian technology with thrustvectoring, probably the pinnacle of EasternEuropean weaponry currently fielded andfrom the results we’ve seen this week, not a problem!”

Austere operations

An increased significance was placed on thesuccess of “Lone Eider” in terms of deploya-bility with it coming so soon after theStand-Up Parade of No.XI (F) Squadron, thefirst truly multi-role squadron of the RoyalAir Force, on 30 March. Commenting on theplans for the newly formed unit, Wing Com-mander, Gavin Parker, iterated his intention

to lead Eurofighter Typhoon into the warzone of Afghanistan from July 2008. Thishas shifted the focus of the entire station interms of their operational ambitions.

At the end of June, the crews of No.3 (F)Squadron began their “austere” prepara-tions. In order to build up a checklist ofwhat needs to be considered in supporting a full deployment, the squadron took to liv-ing in tents just outside the airfield at RAF

Coningsby, with two aircraft stationed onthe pan in a mission-ready condition. Overthe two days, the entire operation, both en-gineering and flight-planning, was conductedout of this “tent city”.

In September, No.3 (F) Squadron carriedthe tent city initiative one step further witha squadron-level deployment to RAF Fair-ford. This simulation of a combat territorytheatre involved around 500 personnel, over70 tents, eight aircraft, plus all the planningand maintenance equipment normally re-quired for a full wartime scenario. This included the Engineering Support Systems(ESS) and the Mission Support Systems(MSS), as well as the generators to upholdthe austere nature of the assignment. “Theplan was to fly the jets two or three times a day for two weeks, totally austere” con-firmed Squadron Leader Smith, adding:“Everything was set up as if it was in themiddle of a field somewhere, albeit a fieldwith a bit of runway!”

Multi-role development

The push towards full combat deployment isbeing driven, at varying degrees, by all fourof the Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoonsquadrons. The Block 5 standard aircraft, thefirst of which was accepted by the UnitedKingdom in June, contains the multi-role capability required for realising the aspira-tions of action in Afghanistan. Delivered intothe hands of the Operational Evaluation Unitat RAF Coningsby, Flight Lieutenant Flewinand his team are putting the Block 5 weaponsystem through a rigorous schedule of as-sessment in order to develop tactics to max-imise the multi-role capabilities of the air-craft. On the other side of flight ops, the Op-erational Conversion Unit (OCU) are chargedwith moulding the pilots to a capability levelsuitable to mission-flying the aircraft. Thisoften involves the OCU instructors spendingtime integrated into the frontline squadronsto gain an exposure to the sort of tactical flying that is expected of their aircrews. Thisexperience helps the instructors to tweak the

pilot training courses to match up to front-line demands.

With four squadrons at RAF Coningsbyall geared towards achieving multi-role status for Eurofighter Typhoon, a healthy rivalry between them ensures that a focus onthe common objective is maintained. Accord-ing to Flight Lieutenant Flewin: “We need to work together very closely as we haven’tgot time to repeat the same work.”

This close cooperation is exemplified on a regular basis through the lending of assetsand people across the airfield. While pilotswapping is part and parcel of general opera-tions, the exchange of aircraft, althoughmore of a complication, is not too uncommon.“If we need to, to achieve a task, then we’llmake it happen” states Flight LieutenantFlewin, adding: “At the moment, there’s somuch work to get done. The OEU are busy,the frontline squadrons are so busy, but wegenerally work it so that we’re not steppingon each other’s toes.”

Co-operation with industry

With the publicly stated deadline for multi-role looming on the horizon, there is hugepressure to deliver on both sides of the pro-gramme, from a consortium perspective andon the side of the Royal Air Force. Thebiggest challenge for industry is the integra-tion of the laser designator pod (LDP) ontothe weapon system, one being taken on bythe Flight Test engineers at BAE Systems’Warton site. Because of the risk involvedwith the advanced software being used withthe LDP, all initial integration work is car-ried out by industry, but for two weeks eachmonth, aircrew from the Operational Evalu-ation Unit are assigned to Warton to get aninside look at the multi-role trials.

In support of the Development, Test andEvaluation (DTE) work, the Royal Air Forceloaned what was to be their fifth twin-seataircraft, BT005 (or Instrumented Series Production Aircraft (ISPA) one, as it isknown to the consortium), back to industryto maintain the progress of the Flight Testprogramme. “What this means is that as upgrades go through industry developmentFlight Test, our OEU get a limited access toBT005 and it’s a really useful exchange ofinformation” comments Flight LieutenantFlewin. “I go up there and fly with an indus-try test pilot on a test aircraft under theguidance of the test programme, so it’s agreat example of the co-operation with industry to keep things moving along.”

The highly advantageous aspect for thefrontline squadrons is that all the pre-worknormally associated with validating newtactics is carried out before the equipmentin question even reaches RAF Coningsby.“We want to be there once the pod works

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tanking for deployment and sustainment offixed and rotary wing aircraft, the Divisionhas an enviable track record for solutionsthat people can trust. Specialising in wingtipto wingtip solutions, the Division offersweapon systems integration including safetycritical interface electronics, pneumatic tech-nologies and advanced lightweight designsfor air to air and air to ground carriage.

Cobham and the Eurofighter Programme

Cobham is proud of the strong history of association with the Eurofighter consor-tium and supplies a full range of wingtip towingtip products including air to air missilelaunchers, air to ground ejector releaseunits, defensive aids (in partnership withSAAB) together with other aircraft systems.

Air to Air• MRAAM Eject Launcher (MEL) • AMRAAM/Meteor - Qty 4 off / A/C.

Air to Ground• Advanced Heavy Duty Ejector Release

Unit (Gas System) – 2000lb Store Class - 2 off/ A/C.

• Advanced Light Duty Ejector Release Unit (Gas System) – 1000lb Store Class - 2 off/ A/C.

Defensive Aids• Flare Dispenser - 2 off / A/C• Chaff Dispenser - 2 off / A/C

(SAAB BOL 510)

Aircraft System• Tank Eject Unit (Gas System) up to

3off / A/C• Brake Parachute Lock and Release Unit

1 off/ A/C

Company Heritage

Cobham is today a global leader in the de-fence and aerospace industry with six divisions – five in the technology sector andone in the service sector. Cobham has busi-nesses on five continents, and employssome 11,000 people producing world classproducts, systems and services. All thisstems from one man and his enthusiasm foraviation – Sir Alan Cobham.

The story begins when, in 1934, Sir AlanCobham founded a company to investigatethe use of air refuelling - Flight RefuellingLimited. In the subsequent years, manylandmark events took place including thefirst non-stop air refuelling crossing of theAtlantic Ocean in 1939.

In 1949, Sir Alan Cobham’s company invented the probe and drogue method ofair refuelling. Today, his pioneering sys-tems are used in both military and civil applications worldwide. The Air Refuellingproducts, although the symbols of Cob-ham’s expertise, account for only a smallpart of the Group´s annual £1bn turnoverdue to their continual expansion into otheraerospace fields.

Sir Alan Cobham retired in 1969 at theage of 75, but the Cobham legacy continuesas Cobham grows both acquisitively and organically to develop its global status inthe world’s defence and aerospace markets.

Air Refuelling & AuxiliaryMission Equipment Division

With operations in the United States andthe United Kingdom, the Division is themarket leader for air refuelling, providinginnovative fourth generation nose to tail solutions to defence customers around theworld. From tactical tanking for helicoptersand buddy stores for fast jets, to strategic

Multi-Role Supplier

The partnership with the Eurofighterconsortium has seen Cobham achieve manysignificant milestones, reinforcing its posi-tion as a world leader in weapons carriageand release systems

The programme saw entry into service ofCobham's Chaff and Flare Defensive AidsSystem following an extensive qualificationprocess conforming to the highest industryspecifications. Flight Refuelling, part ofCobham’s Air Refuelling & Auxiliary MissionEquipment division, is contracted throughAlenia Aeronautica and is the systems de-

Missile Eject Launcher provides rapid ejectionand separation of AMRAAM missile

BRU 61/A: Four place pneumatic carriagesystem for Small Diameter Bomb

sign authority responsible for leading an international workshare partnership includ-ing Saab Avitronics in Sweden, Fibretecnicin Spain and Elettronica Aster in Italy.

Cobham continues to develop its productsworking together with the Eurofighter part-ners to provide the ultimate in fighter capa-bility. The programme has also supportedservice release for AMRAAM on the MRAAMEject Launcher, as well as preliminary clear-ance for MRAAM Eject Launcher carriageand release of the Meteor missile, thus providing a dual mode system.

Inside the Eurofighter community, Cob-ham counts on and values the strong busi-ness relationships it has developed with thefour Eurofighter Partner Companies AleniaAeronautica, BAE Systems, EADS CASA andEADS Deutschland, as well as close ties withAerea and Secondo Mona S.p.A amongstothers.

Future Developments

Cobham’s Air Refuelling & Auxiliary Mis-sion Equipment Division is a technologybusiness unit with the investment to match.Cobham will continue to invest in leadingedge technology to support current and future Eurofighter Typhoon requirements.

Future Campaigns

Cobham is well placed to support the Eurofighter consortium in upcoming and future campaigns. The company has an established presence in key markets, suchas India, where Cobham products areproven and in service. For example, Cobhamejector release units have more than 30years’ service on Indian Air Force platforms.Air Forces across the world benefit fromhigh quality, reliable products whose designhas been drawn from a rich Cobham heritageand expertise. Cobham is a proud memberof the Eurofighter Typhoon team and looksforward to being a part of this exciting venture for many years to come.

Brake Parachute Lock and Release Unit:Small but vital

The world-leading weapon system, Eurofighter Typhoon, is built on a foundation of engineering excellence. The supplier networkfrom across Europe delivers cutting-edge technologies that combine to give Eurofighter Typhoon its unrivalled capability. A leadinglight in the supply of aircraft equipment is Cobham plc, an international company engaged in the development, delivery and sup-port of advanced aerospace and defence systems in the air, on land, at sea and in space. The company specialises in the provisionof components, sub-systems and services that work to keep people safe, improve communications and enhance the performanceof aerospace and defence platforms.

Supporting Eurofighter Typhoon Multi-Role Capability

Multi Store Pneumatic Carriage Systems

Investment in weapon system technologies is part of Cobham’s core business. Within theprivate venture activities targeting the US Navy Multi-Purpose Bomb Rack (MPBR) compe-tition, Cobham is developing a state-of-the-art multi store pneumatic carriage system, theBRU-XX. Their expertise in armaments carriage spans 50 years and includes the develop-ment of the BRU-61/A Small Diameter Bomb carriage system, the forerunner to the BRU-XX. It is recognised that a key requirement of modern Air Forces is the ability to maximiseweapon load out, and Cobham’s BRU-XX provides the solution.

Pneumatic Ejector Release Units

A world leader in the supply of integrated weapon systems, Cobham is developing newcold gas ejector systems for current and future combat aircraft requirements. Vastly re-duced costs of ownership, increased accuracy in control of gas pressure and potentialweight reductions are just a few of the key benefits of this technology.

Air to Ground Missile Launchers

Cobham’s Triple Rail Air to Ground Missile Launcher is designed for carriage and releaseof air to ground stores such as Brimstone, Hellfire and next generation munitions such asJAGM. The system is currently in service with the Royal Air Force on the Tornado and AV-8Harrier and has operational and proven combat performance. Unique features in thislauncher include the fairing design which allows for supersonic carriage with a reduceddrag and radar cross section. A twin store variant is also available.

Dual Mode Missile Eject Launcher (DMMEL)

An upgrade to Cobham’s Missile Eject Launcher is currently under development. The dualmode will allow the launcher to adopt a true multi-role capability with the ability to carrynot only the AMRAAM but the also the Meteor Beyond Visual Range missile dependent onoperational requirements.

Cobham’s MEL takesthe AMRAAM load

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Through the launch of the EJ200 engineprogramme, the Spanish aero-engine indus-try, ITP, was born. From the start, the participation of ITP in the project was ofcritical importance in view of the Spanishprogramme responsibility. The EJ200programme enabled the creation of an industry and founding of factories, whichdid not exist in Spain before. It also providedan opportunity to develop the technicalmanagement expertise of a company as wellas increasing its industrial capabilities inthe areas of production, instrumentation,assembly of prototypes, logistics and testing.What was once a 12-man operation workingout of small offices in Madrid and Bilbao isnow able to boast a more than 2,500-strongworkforce and is today the leading Spanishaero-engine manufacturer.

18

ITP: A European Success Story

Powering an Industry

ITP Today

An important factor of ITP’s company devel-opment has been the success of Sener’s decision in 1986 to include Rolls-Royce as ashareholder, allowing the Spaniards accessto over 100 years of engineering experience.In the short period since they were founded,ITP has established twelve production facili-ties in Europe and America. They also ownthe subsidiary company Industria de Tuberías Aeronauticas (ITA) and are able tocall upon their expertise in pipe manufac-turing. In addition, ITP is the major share-holder in Precicast Bilbao (PCB), an invest-ment casting company, and Industria deTurboreactores (ITR) in Mexico who specialisein engine maintenance. ITP provides main-tenance service for the world’s leading en-gine manufacturers such as General Elec-tric, Pratt & Whitney, Honeywell, Snecma,

Historical Background

Prior to the creation of ITP, the SpanishGovernment had decided to participate inthe feasibility phase of the aircraft that wasto become the Eurofighter Typhoon. Repre-sentation in the aeronautic industry fromSpain at that time was through Construc-ciones Aeronáuticas S.A. (today known asEADS CASA) focusing mainly on airframemanufacturing and, to a certain extent, electronics, but there was no easily recog-nisable Spanish presence in engine manu-facture. Sener, an engineering group fromthe Spanish Private Sector, had signalled

their intentions to fill this void since the1960s, a goal finally achieved by signing anagreement with the Ministry of Defence inMay 1985. Since then, Sener has been invit-ed as Spain’s representative to the Euro-pean meetings where the Eurofighter Typhoon engine studies were discussed.

By 1986, the Air Forces of the four Part-ner Nations had reached agreement on theoperational requirements of the aircraft and nominated the National Representativeson the Management Committee. The fourengine manufacturers, Avio (former FiatAvio), ITP (represented by Sener until itscreation in 1989), MTU Aero Engines (for-mer Motoren und Turbinen-Union MünchenGmbH) and Rolls-Royce, came together andfounded the company Eurojet Turbo GmbH,the European military aero-engine consor-tium tasked with the responsibility of man-aging the entire international business ofthe new generation EJ200 engine for Eurofighter Typhoon.

A key political consequence of the pan-European Eurofighter Typhoon programme hasbeen the generation of a massive supplier network maintaining some 100,000 jobs. In Spain, thanks to the Eurojet programme for the development of the EJ200 engine,an entire industry has been created and one which now plays a leading role in many major engine programmes, both in Europe and worldwide. Industria de Turbo Propul-sores (ITP) is the successful result of Europe’s premier defence collaboration.

Turbomeca and Rolls-Royce. The presence ofITP in these important European and inter-national programmes demonstrates the highlevel of confidence that the global aero-en-gine industry invests in ITP and, because ofthis, how they can count themselves amongthe international elite in engine manufacture.

The main technical module supplied byITP in the EJ200 project is the convergent-divergent nozzle. This component is opti-mised for multi-mission, subsonic and supersonic performance. The position of thenozzle is controlled by the Digital EngineControl and Monitoring Unit (DECMU) andadjusted constantly throughout the dry andwet range of engine operation. ITP has developed a thrust vectoring variant for theEJ200, successfully bench-tested in 1998.This thrust vectoring technology would offeradvantages in terms of increased aircraftagility, range and reduced fuel burn. Thesignificance of the industrial challenge forITP, particularly with regard to the nozzle,was enormous. Never before had a nozzle of this nature been produced in Western Eu-rope. This gave ITP the opportunity to devel-op the only European vectoring nozzlebased on Spanish patents.

EJ200 engine on the testbed at ITPs facilities

The main headquarters of ITP in Spain

ITP Technical workshare

ITP is responsible for five modules in the EJ200 project:

• Variable Exhaust Nozzle (VEN): Design and manufacturing

• Turbine Exhaust Cone (TEC): Design and manufacturing

• By-Pass Duct (BPD): Design only, manufactured by Rolls-Royce

• Front Jet Pipe casing (FJP): Design and manufacturing

• External dressings: Design and manufacturing Harnesses: Design only, supplied by Rolls-Royce

• Accessories: Main Fuel Measuring Unit (MFMU) and vibration transducers, Design and supplying

ITP is involved in the following important engine programmes:

• EJ200 for Eurofighter Typhoon• TP400 for the A400M• MTR390 for the Tiger helicopter• Trent900 for the Airbus 380• Trent1000 for the Boeing B787• Trent500 for the Airbus A340

• Industrial turbines: TF50, LMS100 and LM2500.

The ITP success story is a demonstrationof the European collaborative culture andsharing principles. It shows the ability ofmulti-national projects to integrate the bestknow-how and technology of each partner inone state-of-the-art high-tech product, theEJ200 engine.

For more information about the SpanishEurojet Partner Company, please visit theofficial ITP homepage: www.itp.es

Katarina Elbogen

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Although the Le Bourget exposition is neither a home Nation nor a campaign market,the airshow in Paris is still a major event in the exhibition calendar for the Eurofighterprogramme. France’s showcase aerospace jamboree attracts a wealth of key decision-makers, at a political, industrial and Air Force level, and it is therefore essential thatthe Eurofighter Typhoon presence carries the weight to elevate the programme abovethe competition.

Eurofighter Typhoon takes Paris by storm

Exhibitions Review Dinter. His visit on the Monday was followed by the unexpected, but very welcome, arrival of the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, General James Conway, who was able to gain an insight into the capabilities that have putEuropean aerospace in the same technologi-cal bracket as the American products.

The importance of airshow attendance interms of the opportunities to meet and briefinfluential figures from the global exportarena was continuously highlighted throughthe tremendous list of visiting delegationswith links to campaign markets. The Eurofighter hosts received: Colonel Ali AlGazlam, the Saudi Arabian Air Attaché inLondon; from the Indian Ministry of Defence,Mr K. P. Singh, the Secretary of DefenceProduction and the Chief of the Indian AirForce, F. H. Major; Colonel E. Pamnak of the

Turkish Air Force; General Chang of the Korean Air Force; and, visiting fromDenmark, were Admiral Finn Hansen, Chiefof Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organi-sation, and the Deputy Permanent Secretaryof State for Defence, Bjorn Ingemann Bisserup.

Airshows are also critical for the pro-gramme in terms of demonstrating the con-tinued political support for the weapon sys-tem from within the four Partner Nations.During the Le Bourget week, making theirway through the Eurofighter Typhoon

The airshow itself presented a real mixof visitors to the Eurofighter exhibition.Representing the customer, in his final tripto Le Bourget before retirement, was theNETMA Deputy General Manager, Ernst

exhibits were: the Italian Minster of Defence,Arturo Parisi; Peter Hintze, German StateSecretary of Economics and Technology;Hermann Muntz, General of Air Force arma-ments and Deputy Commander of weaponsystem command of the German Air Force;and Dr. Peter Eickenboom, German Secre-tary of State from the Ministry of Defence.

Other significant occasions during LeBourget included a joint BAE Systems-Ale-nia Aeronautica media briefing, held in the

Eurofighter pavilion, with regards to thestatus of the campaign efforts in Japan.There was a second media-related briefingin the middle of the week as AloysiusRauen, Eurofighter GmbH CEO, and hismanagement colleagues, hosted a group ofaround 30 members of the press allowingthe assembled guests the chance to pose direct questions on current hot topics. Addi-tionally, involvement on a supplier level wasmaintained as Rocco Ortuso, ProgrammeIntegration Director, hosted the ManagingDirectors from a broad cross-section of thesupplier community. During the briefing,Mr Ortuso took the opportunity to highlightthe need to maintain improvements inequipment delivery in order to meet the increasingly demanding production sched-ules of Tranche 2 and future export.

For the plane-spotters around the site,Eurofighter Typhoon delivered a powerfuleye-catching aerobatics routine during thedaily flying timetable. The participation inthe flying schedule was orchestrated by theItalian Air Force, with Captains MatteoMaurizio and Alessandro Scaburri alternat-ing cockpit duties over the course of theweek. A second Italian Air Force aircraftwas stationed on the static area of Finmec-canica.

The 47th Paris airshow was no different.The Eurofighter team was comprised of experts from across the four PartnerNations, both from the industrial consortiumand the customer, fully reflecting the multi-national driving force behind EurofighterTyphoon. The exhibition presence featuredall the key ingredients including: the Eurofighter Cockpit Demonstrator (at futurecapability standard); the CAESAR antennareplica model (carrying even more signifi-cance following the e-scan radar’s firstflight with Development Aircraft Five (DA5)in May); the Full Scale Replica EurofighterTyphoon complete with weapons display;and a full scale EJ200 model engine.

Colonel Ali Al Gazlam, Saudi Arabian Air Attaché in London

General James Conway checks out EurofighterTyphoon in Paris

Denmarks Deputy Permanent Secretary for Statean Defence

Eurofighter Typhoon on the Turkish campaign trail

IDEF 2007 Ankara

The IDEF defence exhibition in Ankara al-lowed the industrial consortium the oppor-tunity to keep Eurofighter Typhoon firmlyin the frame with regards to Turkey’s futuredefence procurement strategy. As the leadPartner Company in Turkey, Alenia Aero-nautica are, on behalf of the Eurofighterconsortium, working to promote the mixed-fleet combination to Turkey mirroring thatwhich will form the future of both the Italian Air Force and the Royal Air Force,namely a Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35fleet structure.

During the show week, external high level discussions took place between AleniaAeronautica management and Turkish AirForce Logistics figures in order to outlinethe proposals to integrate Eurofighter Typhoon into a two-type fleet. Throughoutthe exhibition itself, the Eurofighter teamwere able to receive and brief a wealth ofVIP delegations. The explosion that rippedthrough downtown Ankara on the eveningof Tuesday 22 May meant that tensionswere raised, resulting in the non-appearanceof the majority of high-ranking officers whowere scheduled to visit IDEF the followingday. Of those who did make the journey, alarge delegation featuring the four Ambas-sadors representing the Partner Nations accompanied by the Italian and German

Undersecretaries toured the Eurofighter exhibition with the Italian and Spanish National Armament Directors, the UnitedKingdom Air Attaché and a representativefrom the German Ministry of Defence.

Representing the Turkish Air Force, sixF-16 pilots were given a detailed 90-minutebriefing at the Eurofighter Cockpit Demon-strator, each taking the opportunity to fly asimulated mission under the supervision ofPartner Air Force pilots. The Turkish flierswere shown the aircraft’s capabilities inmanoeuvring and target tracking, and wereall fully appreciative of the cockpit’s excel-lent man-machine interface.

Although a member of the F-35 club,strong indications are coming out of Turkeysuggesting a requirement for an adequatenumber of air superiority aircraft to counterthe threat of the Sukhoi fighters operatedby neighbouring countries. The F-35 standslittle chance against fleets of this natureand, with four Nation political support firm-ly behind the export of Eurofighter Typhoonto Turkey, the industrial consortium remains convinced that the two-type fleet isthe best solution for the Turkish Air Force.

VIP delegations at IDEF, Turkey

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Receiving the RFP on behalf of the Eurofighter consortium, EADS Military AirSystems are in the process of analysing therequirements detailed within the document.The India campaign has attracted the world’sleading combat aircraft manufacturers tobid for the contract, with Eurofighter Typhooncompeting against Lockheed Martin’s F-16,Boeing’s F/A-18, the Saab Gripen, Dassult’sRafale and the Russian MiG-35.

While exact details on the content cannotbe disclosed, EADS Military Air Systems areworking in close co-operation with all Euro-fighter shareholders in order to formulatethe best response. Additionally, with politi-cal issues likely to be a major influence dur-ing the course of the negotiations with theIndian customer, the Governments of Ger-many, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdomhave voiced their full support for EurofighterTyphoon’s participation in the competition.

Moving east from India, BAE Systemsrepresentatives are upping their efforts inJapan in a bid to establish the aircraft as ahighly-capable solution to the Japanese AirSelf-Defence Force’s (JASDF) FX Programme.The Group Managing Director of BAE Sys-tems’ Military Air Solutions division, NigelWhitehead, conducted a visit to Tokyo inearly Summer pushing the case for

Speculation on the timing of the Indian Request for Proposal (RFP) had been mount-ing even before the Aero India aerospace exhibition in February of this year. At theend of August, however, the Indian Ministryof Defence released the RFP for 126 Medi-um Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

Eurofighter Typhoon and reinforcing theconsortium’s readiness to co-operate closelywith all levels of Japanese Government, military and industry.

This openness was demonstrated earlierin the year as a nine-man team from Japanarrived in the United Kingdom on a “sitesurvey visit” spending time in Warton, Lon-don and RAF Coningsby. Flights in EurofighterTyphoon were also undertaken. Speakingafter his trip, Nigel Whitehead commented:“Japan represents a significant opportunityfor the company [BAE Systems] and the Typhoon consortium” adding that: “My tripto Japan reinforced my conviction that theJapan Air Self-Defence Force is genuinelyinterested in Typhoon.”

A strong defence trade relationship between Japan and the United States meansthat the Eurofighter consortium will haveits work cut out in trying to persuade Japan-ese officials on credible alternatives toAmerican products. However, complicationsin the export of the F-22 “Raptor” aircraftunquestionably leave Eurofighter Typhoonas the most advanced weapon system available.

BAE Systems are leading campaign efforts in Japan, working closely with theSumitomo Corporation locally, and with crucial support on the bid from Alenia Aeronautica. The FX Programme is expectedto be worth in the region of 50 aircraft witha Japanese decision on which aircraft to or-der due by the turn of the year.

Campaign activities heat up in India and Japan

Exporting EastEurofighter Typhoon blazes the campaign trail

European Summer Tour 2007

At the end of the final day in Plovdiv, Bul-garia, after a trip that had already taken inAir Bases in Denmark and Norway, the Eurofighter Typhoon fan base had swelledby a further 200,000 people. Orchestratedby EADS Military Air Systems, the teamfrom the German Eurofighter Partner Com-pany had, on behalf of the consortium, successfully waved the Eurofighter Typhoonflag across three European Nations in whichthey are the campaign lead. With a sizeablecontribution from Eurojet throughout thistour, and combined with the efforts of theconsortium in Ankara and Paris, Summer2007 has been the year that Eurofighter Typhoon blazed a campaign trail throughEurope.

The EADS-led tour opened in Aalborg,Denmark, through participation at a RoyalDanish Air Force Open Day in mid-June.75,000 visitors were given the opportunityto see the Eurofighter Typhoon exhibition,obtain information on the aircraft and itsEJ200 engines, and to learn about Europe'slargest defence procurement programme.Whilst an almost endless stream of peoplewaited patiently to take a seat in the FullScale Replica (FSR) aircraft, Danish pilots,high-ranking Air Force Generals, Ministryof Defence representatives, politicians andjournalists were all invited for detailedbriefings on the weapon system and thechance to “fly” the Eurofighter CockpitDemonstrator.

A similar result was achieved during atwo-day airshow at the Royal Norwegian AirForce Air Station at Rygge. For the durationof the event, the Eurofighter team was rein-forced through the presence of two GermanAir Force Eurofighter Typhoons and theircrews from Fighter Wing 73 "Steinhoff" atLaage. One of these aircraft was splendidlypresented in the flying display programmeon both days by EADS Project Pilot ChrisWorning, visibly demonstrating the spirit ofco-operation between the consortium andthe customer, and impressing on the Scan-dinavians the breath-taking agility and power of the Eurofighter Typhoon. On the

ground, some 70,000 visitors swarmedaround the FSR while the multi-role enabledCockpit Demonstrator was available for in-vited guests. The highlight of the event wasthe visit of the Ambassadors of the fourPartner Nations together with their militaryAttachés, and their presence clearly showedthe strong support provided by the respec-tive Governments for the Norwegian cam-paign efforts.

The last stop of the Summer tour was atPlovdiv in the heart of Bulgaria. At thisbase of the Bulgarian Air Force, roughly50,000 people attended the two-day showincluding the Prime Minister, Sergej Stani-shev. Bulgaria’s Head of State and the Chiefof the Bulgarian Air Force were honouredguests in the Eurofighter exhibition areaund were comprehensively briefed on thecurrent programme activities. Whilst theflying programme was highlighted by thepresence of the "Patrouille de France" and"Red Arrows" aerobatic teams, the staticdisplay was, according to the visitors andthe media, clearly dominated by the Eurofighter Typhoon FSR. The CockpitDemonstrator was not the only exhibit onshow for the visiting delegations due to the presence of the Captor radar model andthe EJ200 engine.

Overall, the Summer tour was deemed a resounding success. All three eventsshowed a high degree of team spirit andprofessionalism from the parties concernedfurther improving the image and marketingperspective of the Eurofighter Typhoon inthese Nations. The co-operation betweenEADS Military Air Systems and the GermanAir Force, as well as with BAE Systems andEurojet, was excellent. The outcome of theroad-show was that almost 200,000 morepeople in the North and South-East of Eu-rope became acquainted with the Eurofighter Typhoon as an outstandinghigh-tech product, developed and producedon a European scale, ready to protect theirnational territories and increase their economic well-being.

Wolfram Wolff

Top: First stop for the FSR was Aalborg, Denmark

Below: Visitors get aircraft information from the Eurofighter Typhoon hangar at Rygge, Norway

Colonel Toru “Boxer” Ota of the JASDF takes a Typhoon flight at Warton

The Multi-Role Eurofighter Typhoon is generating agreat deal of interest in the international export market

Above: Queues for the FSR at Plovdiv, Bulgaria

issue 2 - 2007 eurofighter review

■ MakingInternationalProgrammes Work

■ Export Delivery

■ Powering an Industry

p r o g r a m m e n e w s a n d f e a t u r e s

RAF goes Multi-Role

Preparing for War

The two images demonstrate the growing presence of Eurofighter Typhoon in the Partner Nations’ Air Forces. The image above features anine-ship formation of Eurofighter Typhoons from the Royal Air Forceen route to Buckingham Palace for a fly-over to mark Queen Elizabeth

II’s official birthday. The image below was taken during operations atthe Italian Air Force’s Grosseto base, with six aircraft either preparedfor, or taxiing to, take-off.