PROGRAMME NEWS & FEATURES 3/2011

TYPHOON FLEET EFFECTIVENESS ON OPERATIONS

SUSTAINING AND DEPLOYING TYPHOON

NOTHING COMESCLOSE

LIBYA OPERATIONS:

n o t h i n g c o m e s c l o s e

Combat ReadyEurofighter Typhoon: the most advanced new generation multi-role combat aircraft available on the market. With an established

technology insertion programme, the Eurofighter Typhoon has supremacy over all current and evolving threats and is fully interoperable

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the Austrian Air Force to support the event aswell as the Eurofighter media tour which washeld at the air base the day before the show.The Saudi Typhoon’s were seen in their publicdebut and it was the first time that our twoexport customers have worked together, doingso in spectacular form.The German government has been supportivein the fundamental MMRCA campaign inIndia, as well as sending jets to Bulgaria,Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerlandto name a few, participating in air shows thatare important for campaigns in which Euro-fighter are participating. Many of these eventshave been attended by ministers, air forcechiefs and other decision makers, not forget-ting hundreds of thousands of aviationenthusiasts and general public that now havea better understanding of what Eurofightermeans and what Eurofighter can offer to theirnation.Finally, the Spanish Air Force has beenincredibly generous and cooperative as wefurther develop the aircraft for the Kingdomof Saudi Arabia. By allowing us to performextensive testing on their Instrumented SeriesProduction Aircraft ISPA3, we have been ableto swiftly progress the changes, which due totheir flexibility, were carried out during thenormally quiet summer months.Team work, cooperation and flexibility havebeen evident across all our customer nationswhich has been incredibly valuable to theprogramme, so this is a big thank you to ourpartners and customers from not only myself,but on behalf of everyone at Eurofighter.This edition of Eurofighter World will look atsome of the above as we review Typhoon’s airshow and exhibition activities from over thesummer months. In addition and mostimportantly, we will address why ‘NothingComes Close’ to the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Enjoy the issue

Enzo CasoliniCEO Eurofighter GmbH

Over the summer of2011, Eurofighterenjoyed unprecedentedsupport from ourpartner and exportnations on a variety ofoccasions which we atEurofighter are

extremely grateful for. Here I would like totake the opportunity to explain to our readersa little of these details. The Royal Air Force, who in light of blows theyhave faced in the past year, including budgetand staff cuts and the planned closure of theair base in Leuchars, has been proving whata fantastic asset the Typhoon is to the UKand NATO. Operational in short time scales,with Typhoon in combat missions for the firsttime, the RAF and MoD have been extremelycooperative in supporting our export cam-paigns despite the increasing demands ontheir resources. At the Paris Air Show in June,Sqn. Ldr. Rupert Joel opened the show with a key briefing on Libya operations, providingthe media with an insight into the challengesand successes of the deployment to date. Thiswas followed by a further briefing at RIAT airshow which was incredibly beneficial for theprogramme. A summary of operations inLibya, provided by the RAF, can be foundinside the magazine.Also at Paris air show, the Italian Air Forceprovided two of their operational aircraft forstatic and air displays, giving the public andVIPs the chance to see our aircraft in actionand up-close outside the pavilion. All this ontop of their responsibilities as part of opera-tion Odyssey Dawn where the Typhoons ofAeronautica Militare were flying out ofTrapani air base to protect the skies overLibya. The Austrian Air Force was pivotal in thesuccess of Zeltweg Air Show in July which sawa return to a traditional air show format.Pure entertainment was provided by a varietyof classic and modern aircraft on display forsome 200,000 people attending. In addition,the Royal Saudi Air Force worked closely with

Enzo CasoliniCEO Eurofighter GmbH

EDIT

ORIA

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33/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLDE D I T O R I A L

03 EDITORIAL FROM ENZO CASOLINI, CEO EUROFIGHTER GMBH

04 EUROFIGHTER NEWS

08 TYPHOON FLEET EFFECTIVENESS ON OPERATIONS

10 WHY “NOTHING COMES CLOSE” TO THE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON

11 EUROFIGHTER AMATEUR PHOTO COMPETITION PICKS A WINNER

14 SUSTAINING AND DEPLOYING THE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON

16 EVOLUTION OF SCENARIO AND FIGHTER CAPABILITY

18 AIR SHOWS PROVIDE A CHANCE FOR TYPHOON TO SHINE

22 TAKING THE WORLD-LEADING COMBAT ENGINE INTO GLOBAL PRODUCTION

Eurofighter World is published byEurofighter GmbH, PR & CommunicationsAm Söldnermoos 17, 85399 HallbergmoosTel: +49 (0) 811-80 1587communications@eurofighter.com

Editorial TeamMarco Valerio BonelliKathryn HolmMartina Schmidmeir

ContributersOreste Fabbro, EurofighterLars Joergensen, EurofighterAlexander HaytonBAE SystemsJamie PlummerRoyal Air ForceNat Makepeace

PhotographyEurofighter GmbHEurofighter Partner CompaniesGeoffrey Lee, PlanefocusItalian Air ForceGerman Air ForceRoyal Air ForceFrederic LertBundesheer/Markus ZinnerBryan WalshKatsuhiko TokunagaEUROJET Turbo GmbH

Design & Productionimages.art.design. Werbeagentur GmbHwww.iad-design.de

Printed byESTA Druck GmbHwww.esta-druck.de

Eurofighter World on the Internetwww.eurofighter.comFollow us on:

If you would like to request additional copies ofEurofighter World, please contact the PR & Communications Department at Eurofighter GmbHcommunications@eurofighter.com

October 2011

14SUSTAINING AND

DEPLOYING THE EUROFIGHTER

TYPHOON

CONTENTS

Title:Royal Air Force Typhoon with full Air-to-Ground configuration on its way to Libya.

Photography: Frederic Lert

11THE WINNER

3/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLD

For Squadron Leader Jody McMeeking,a ‘dawn patrol’ mission over Libya as part of NATO’s commitment to protecting thecivilian population saw him accumulate his1,000th flying hour on the Typhoon.That’s quite an achievement when you con-sider that each Libyan fast jet sortie wastypically flown around a duration of sixhours.

With around 2,000 hours flying time in total, over half of 32 year old Sqn LdrMcMeeking’s flying experience has beenwith the Typhoon. As a past instructor andhaving flown the aircraft operationally bothas part of the UK’s Quick Reaction Alertforce (QRA) and in the Falklands, he knowsthe aircraft inside out.

“It’s a fantastic jet to fly, is incredibly agile and can carry a flexible range ofweaponry” said Sqn Ldr McMeeking. “Thecockpit is great in terms of pilot interactionfor both air-to-air and air-to-surface mis-sions. The modern air battle is incrediblycomplex, and the Typhoon helps us win thatbattle by significantly enhancing our Situa-tional Awareness.”

“I’m really privileged to have achieved1,000 hours while on operations with theaircraft and it’s great to see the aircraft‘stretch its legs’ here in Italy. This is its firstwar fighting role, and our Typhoons havedeployed over 100 precision guided weaponswhile out here.”

At the time, there were six Typhoonsstationed at Gioia del Colle air base andeleven pilots. Aircraft were not personallyassigned to a pilot, allowing all pilots to fly

all the aircraft. But did Sqn Ldr McMeekinghave a favourite? “You love the one you’rewith,” he joked. ”But every jet has its per-sonality, and our ground crew do an amaz-ing job, putting in long hours to make surethat the aircraft are always in the best pos-sible condition. They work 24/7, 365 days ayear out here and they never fail to deliver.We just couldn’t do what we do withoutthem.”

The 300th Eurofighter Typhoon producedby the four partner companies of the Euro-pean consortium, was delivered on October18th by Cassidian to the Spanish Air Force,Ejercito del Aire. This milestone makes theEurofighter Typhoon the only new genera-tion multi-role aircraft to reach the impres-sive figure of 300 examples in service. The Eurofighter Typhoons – developed and manu-factured by Cassidian in Germany and Spain,BAE Systems in the UK and Alenia Aero-nautica in Italy - are now in service acrossthe globe with 16 units in six air forcesreplacing 11 aircraft types. This confirmsEurofighter as not only the best performingmulti-role aircraft available on the worldmarket but also the most effective and bestvalue solution to meet the air defence re-quirements of air forces and nations world-wide. To date, the fleet has completed over130,000 flying hours with well above aver-age operational availability and unmatchedoperational performance which was demon-strated recently during operations over Libya.

The delivery coincided with the SeoulAir Show 2011 at which Eurofighte exhibitetits capabilities to support the campaign forthe FX-III acquisition project. The South

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NEWS

NEWS

OSTRAVA: AN AIR SHOW THE CZECH WAY

Ostrava, Czech Republic, NATO Days, 140,000spectators; Main Battle Tanks and Self Propelledguns firing high calibre rounds; combined forceswith helicopters, Armoured Personnel Carriers aswell as aerobatic teams from Turkey and Lithuania;B-52 strategic bombers; various transports andfighters from several NATO nations; two AWACSand, of course, four Eurofighters. Mix everythingtogether with a helping of wonderful clear sky andyou have the 2011 edition of the Ostrava Airshow, awell organised event in the Moravian-Silesian townclose to the Polish border.

Two Italian Air Force Typhoons from Grosseto,one Neuburg based JG74 and an Austrian Air ForceEurofighter were present at the show. The first threewere on ground display whilst the Austrian Typhooncame directly from its nearby base in Zeltweg forthe air display.

In the Czech Republic, Eurofighter is promotingthe Typhoon to replace the Saab Gripen, which istoday in service with a leasing agreement that willexpire in 2015. Eurofighter for the Czech Republicis particularly attractive as it offers the opportuni-ty to use the extensive Eurofighter network of airbases and industrial plants available in Central Europe. Being a few hundred kilometres from theCzech Republic borders, can help to reduce the operational cost of the aircraft thanks to Integratedlogistics support and Joint training.

The Luftwaffe Jagdgeschwader 74 cele-brated its jubilee on 9th of June with anopen day for visitors at its home at NeuburgAir Base in Southern Germany. The array ofattractions included an impressive total of11 Eurofighters from three Luftwaffe Wingsand from the Austrian Air Force who put ona display during the dedicated air show. The base also hosted visiting aircraft andhelicopters from the Czech Republic, France,Switzerland, Belgium and Austria. A Euro-fighter full scale replica and a full operational

JAGDGESCHWADER 74CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Zeltweg Air Base showed the impressivestrength and agility of the Typhoon. And finally, an exclusively painted JG 74 Eurofighter, accompanied by three otheraircraft from the Wing, made a formationdisplay over the base.

Also there to mark the anniversary werea F-86K, Phantom F-4F, a newly restoredF-104 Starfighter and the famous, flyingMesserschmitt Me 109 and Me 262 belong-ing to EADS.

The “special colour” Luftwaffe Eurofightercelebrating the 50th Anniversary of the JG 74”

After one year of industry funding,the Eurofighter and Euroradar consortia received renewed strong support from thePartner Nations in June when they agreedto continue the full scale development pro-gramme of the next generation E-Scanradar, confirming the 2015 entry into ser-vice date.

Supported by the Eurofighter partner nations, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germanyand Spain, Eurofighter GmbH and Euroradarbegan full scale development of the newCAPTOR-E radar in July 2010.

The new radar will have AESA capabilitythat far exceeds any other radar availabletoday and in the foreseeable future. It willbe developed to satisfy the requirements ofthe Partner Nations and customers acrossthe globe.

The new AESA array, larger than theones available to our competitors thanks tothe Typhoon’s voluminous radome, will befitted on a repositioner that will provide awider field of regard when compared tothose installed or scheduled for introductionon other fighters.

simulator offered the crowd a possibility tosit in the aircraft’s cockpit where visitorswere not deterred by the long queues.

The main attraction was undoubtedly theflight displays, of which during the first dis-play, an air force exercise with four EurofighterTyphoons, two Phantoms, a Transall, twohelicopters, several Tornadoes from theLuftwaffe and even an E-3A AWACS demon-strated a complex scenario involving a com-bat search and rescue of a friendly pilot. In the second display, an Austrian pilot from

3/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLD E U R O F I G H T E R N E W S4

LIBYA MISSION MARKS 1,000 OPERATIONALHOURS FOR RAF TYPHOON´S PILOT

EUROFIGHTER DELIVERS TO THE SPANISHAIR FORCE THE 300TH TYPHOON

The new radar will offer customers thefreedom to retrofit their existing Typhoonswhen required, with significant growth potential, while both existing and new cus-tomers will be able to participate in tailor-ing the radar to meet their individual opera-tional requirements.

AESA RADAR CONFIRMED ENTRY IN SERVICE IN 2015

Korean Defence Ministry is seeking to pur-chase some 60 next-generation fighterswith the target of having them delivered foroperational service in 2016.

Enzo Casolini, Eurofighter GmbH CEO,spoke of this remarkable event: “Today’smilestone is another important example ofhow successful this joint European consortium

is. The programme, the largest industrial col-laboration in Europe, is a shining exampleof what can be achieved through coopera-tion, bringing together European capabili-ties; securing thousands of long-term jobsand generating a positive economic impactfor the customer nations”.

NEWS

NEWS

the exercise in order to protect other assetsfrom hostile air attacks. The exercisedemonstrated that the Eurofighter is in aclass of its own and after a short period thejets were nicknamed “Storm”, delivering remarkable achievements by demonstratinghow agile and dominant they were in theirrole when compared to other air assets in-volved in the exercise.

For a period of four weeks, Albacete AirBase in Spain was home to three Eurofight-ers from the Jagdgeschwader 74, based atNeuburg, Germany. The Luftwaffe’s Euro-fighters were participating in the TacticalLeadership Programme (TLP) - consideredto be one of the most demanding NATO ex-ercises for flying combat units - for the firsttime. Next to the Eurofighter jets were

MiG-29s, F-16s, Mirage 2000s, F-4s, Hawks,Alpha-Jets, various types of helicopter, trans-port planes, special units and naval assets.

In the Composite Air Operation (COMAO),the special roles of each weapon systemwere harmonised in order to gain maximumeffectiveness in a complex simulated warscenario. The Bavarian Eurofighters exploit-ed their air dominance capabilities during

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NEWS

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On Monday the 22nd of August, afterVienna's Mayor Dr. Häupl christened thenew Lufthansa A380 “Wien” at the hub ofAustrian Airlines, two Austrian Eurofight-ers conducted a QRA training interceptionof the new Airbus on its flight through Aus-trian airspace. The Eurofighters, scramblingfrom their base in Zeltweg, intercepted andflew in formation alongside the A380.

Austrian Eurofighter pilot Major GünterTaschler said: “The challenge was how toapproach the big wing span of the civil air-craft, in order to make eye contact with thepilot. It is also a challenge to approach theaircraft from below, since the airflow gener-ated by the large surfaces of the aircraft canmake for a difficult approach”

This mission confirmed the excellentreadiness of the Austrian Eurofighter fleet,which is always ready to provide the bestair sovereignty in Austrian airspace.

AUSTRIA TYPHOONS INTERCEPT THE GIANT OF THE SKY

3/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLD E U R O F I G H T E R N E W S6

GERMAN EUROFIGHTERS PARTICIPATE IN THE TACTICAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME

UNIQUE FOOTAGE FROM PARIS LE BOURGET AIR SHOW This year, the Eurofighter Typhoonteam pulled out all the stops to make the2011 Paris Air Show the most memorable to date. Notably, Squadron Leader RupertJoel gave a briefing on the Libya conflict,and how effective the Typhoon had been in scouting out and neutralising ColonelGadhafi’s forces.

It was also memorable for the fantasticflying displays by Eurofighter pilots. As isalways the case, onlookers were treated toremarkable aerobatics at break-neck speedby the world’s most advanced swing-roleaircraft.

If those displays looked good from terrafirma, imagine how they must have lookedthrough the eyes of the pilots. Thanks tounique cockpit footage filmed by Magg.Rafaele Beltrame, Eurofighter enthusiastsare able to experience the view for them-selves. Look on as Magg. Beltrame manoeu-vres the aircraft with utmost ease, despitepulling up to 9g, and marvel at the raw powerof this fantastic asset to six air forces world-wide!

To watch the video simply go to www.eu-rofighter.com/media/video-library.html andsearch for ‘cockpit footage’.

EUROFIGHTER IN ICELAND FOR NORTHERN VIKING EXERCISE

Reflecting the strong commitment to deepenthe strategic partnership with Japan, the SupervisoryBoard of Eurofighter GmbH held for the first time aboard meeting in Tokyo. Senior executives from Eurofighter partner companies (BAE Systems, Alenia Aeronautica, and Cassidian in Spain andGermany) visited Japan to discuss the status of theEurofighter Typhoon F-X campaign, strategic nextsteps, and to hold talks with Ambassadors of thefour consortium member-nations.

Eurofighter, its partner companies and the fourmember-nations are working to strengthen indus-trial and technological relations with Japan. Allfour partner countries are supporting and are com-mitted to the Eurofighter F-X campaign, which is being led by the U.K. government and BAE Systems.

Another challenging, long distance de-ployment for the Typhoon took place whenfour aircraft in service with the Italian AirForce participated in the "Northern Viking"exercise held in Iceland.

The four fighters, with the support of aKC-130J air tanker and together with otherItalian Armed Force assets, flew for the firsttime to Keflavik Air Base, in western Iceland.

“Northern Viking 2011” is a joint exer-cise based on a bilateral treaty between theGovernment of Iceland and the USEUCOM -US European Command - to train and operateseamlessly with other multinational assets.

For the Italian Typhoons this training ac-tivity was an important opportunity to de-velop the ability to redeploy at a consider-

able distance from Italy and in operationalconditions which were in stark contrast tothose during the Italian summer. As expectedwith the Eurofighter Typhoons, this deploy-ment was completed with a very high opera-tional availability rate.

The “Northern Viking 2011” exercisedeveloped realistic scenarios with a focuson validation of the air support tactics. Dur-ing the exercise, Eurofighter pilots workedclosely with naval forces and field-tested appropriate tactics for the current opera-tional requirements.

The nations participating in the exercisewere Italy, Iceland, United States, Norway,Finland and Denmark.

FIRST PHASE OF METEOR MISSILES TESTS CONCLUDES Eurofighter completed a range of air-carriage trials for the MBDA Meteor BeyondVisual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM)in the first half of 2011 which forms part ofthe process of integrating the missile ontothe Typhoon.

The first of a series of trials to ensurethe safe separation of the missile across theflight envelope were carried out by EurofighterPartner Company BAE Systems with Instru-mented Production Aircraft IPA 1 on theAberporth range, UK.

The introduction of the Meteor missilewill ensure that the Typhoon continues asthe world’s most advanced swing-role com-bat aircraft well into the future, stayingahead of developing air-to-air threats.

Meteor is a ramjet powered next genera-tion Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missilesystem (BVRAAM), with the largest No Escape Zone of any air-to-air weapon, resultingin a long stand-off range and high kill prob-ability to ensure air superiority and pilotsurvivability.

TYPHOON CENTURY FOR UK BAE Systems celebrated the completionof the 100th Typhoon aircraft which wasbuilt in the UK’s final assembly facility atWarton in Lancashire in May. BAE Systemsis responsible for the production of key air-craft parts including the front fuselage,foreplanes, windscreen and canopy as wellas carrying out the final assembly of all UKTyphoons.

Tom Fillingham, BAE Systems AircraftProgrammes Director said: “We’re delight-ed to have achieved this major milestone.Together with the UK MOD and the RAF, we continue our commitment to enhanceand upgrade the aircraft’s capabilities. ThisFuture Capability Upgrade programme is vital to the future success of the aircraftboth in the UK and for current and potentialcustomers worldwide.”

EFFORTS TO STRENGTHENSTRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH JAPAN

AH

93/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLDI N - S E R V I C E

can influence the ground environment. Inthis particular case, the Typhoon was wing-man to a Tornado GR.4. Typhoon had onlybeen declared in the air-to-surface role fortwo weeks and the pilots were still relative-ly inexperienced. However, when a targetwas passed to the formation by AWACS, theTyphoon pilot was able to cue the forma-tion’s weapons onto the pro-regime forceswithin minutes, by a combination of Link-16and Litening III targeting pod. Weaponswere delivered by the formation within 10minutes of the initial message. More re-markable, was the delivery of two EnhancedPaveway II weapons by the Typhoon - to twoseparate targets - in one pass. The pilot hadnot practiced this attack in over a year, yetwas able to choose this delivery method dueto the ease with which the aircraft allowsair-to-surface delivery.

Asked what he felt were the advantagesof the Typhoon, Wg. Cdr. Attridge said “Forme it was looking at the air-picture of theentire operating area, whilst on the groundat Gioia Del Colle. Our Link-16 datalink al-lowed us to zoom into any area, interrogatetracks to see who was operating where andpick up tasking. When you are 700 milesaway, this level of situational awareness al-lows you to prepare mentally for the missionahead before entering the airspace so thatyou are immediately effective. If you combinethis with the outrageous thrust to weightadvantage that Typhoon enjoys you have anaircraft that carries a lot of ordnance, witha pilot that has no doubt where that payloadis going to be delivered”.

As NATO forces worked to combat theaggressive actions of Libyan forces, the pi-lots faced many challenges during the mis-sions. Without being able to go into detailsas to how attacks were addressed, Wg. Cdr.Attridge did say: “The Defensive Aids Sub-System on the Typhoon is world-class. Ourpilots staked their lives on it every day, withno hesitation”.

What has been staggering to those lack-ing knowledge and pleasing for those morefamiliar with Typhoon’s performance is theease with which it carries heavy weaponryover significant distances in a fast moving,ever changing environment. Several timesTyphoon pilots were forced to climb overthundercloud activity en route to the Areaof Operation, whilst other aircraft with lessperformance were forced to re-route. Whatmakes Typhoon stand apart from its

Following six months of intensive oper-ations - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week- the British and Italian Typhoon

fleets have returned home from their keyroles in Libyan operations. The aircraft,which went into combat for the first time inboth air-to-air and air-to-surface missions,was re-deployed to Gioia del Colle and TrapaniAir Force bases in Southern Italy from the21st of March 2011, amassing over 4000 fly-ing hours in the six months of operations.During this time, in support of UN SecurityCouncil Resolution 1973, the Typhoon hasproven itself as a first class multi-role aircraft,both enforcing the no-fly-zone over Libyaand in ground attack missions against regimeforces threatening civilians. These achieve-ments have marked a significant shift forthe Typhoon and have successfully demon-strated the full maturity and adaptability ofthe platform.

Within 18 hours of the identification ofGioia del Colle as the Operating Base, theRAF deployed 10 Typhoons, provided theearly entry support staff and were manag-ing the flow of equipment and personnel into the base. Wing Commander Jez Attridge,who took part in the first missions over

Libya, spoke to us about the deployment:“We have a philosophy that if you stayready you don’t have to get ready. Conse-quently, although the RAF Typhoons werenot formally at a high readiness state, 10jets were armed and ready to deploy within48 hours of the notice from our Headquar-ters. We had no need to conduct any extrapilot training which allowed the aircrew to

focus on studying the likely air and surfacethreat and refine tactics”.

“The Station Commander told stationpersonnel on 17th March that we were onnotice to move. The Station immediatelywent into action the next morning to have 8 jets ready to deploy within 48 hours andwe were ready on 19th March. The reallyimpressive aspect of this was how everyonemoved with a common purpose and how ourindustrial partners immediately synchro-nized their activity with ours”.

This rapid response from industry inachieving the first-ever avionics update toTyphoon aircraft during operations wascommended by the RAF.

These activities which were completed inphenomenal timescales, enabled clearanceof air-to-surface roles for the full fleet. Thissuccess delivered a clear message about theefficient joint working arrangements estab-lished with the MOD and RAF and the de-termination and commitment of industry.The end result was that the RAF were ableto deploy the aircraft and maintain QuickReaction Alert tasking, whilst also continu-ing the training of pilots at RAF Coningsby.

On 12th April 2011, Typhoon first proveditself to be a potent ground attack aircraftwhen a Typhoon patrolling over westernLibya successfully engaged two Main BattleTanks to the south of Misrata with EnhancedPaveway II bombs. Since that mission, Ty-phoon continued to prosecute targets threat-ening the safety of Libyan civilians. Typhoonhas offered a credible option to defence,covering two roles that were previously op-erated by two separate platforms. “We don’tactually move from air-to-air to air-to-sur-face – the aircraft is always providing thepilot with information about the air environ-ment and we can employ missiles againsthostile threat aircraft at any time. So if youlike, employing air-to-surface weapons is acapability that works with, not against, theother capabilities of the aircraft. The diffi-cult part of the mission is interpreting thecomplicated picture on the ground and en-suring that the weapons are used againstthe right target, every time”.

An early mission in the vicinity of Misra-ta demonstrates the ease with which Typhoon

3/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLD I N - S E R V I C E8

FOCUS ON LIBYA

TYPHOONFLEET EFFECTIVENESS ON OPERATION IN LIBYA contempo-

raries is that even whencarrying 4 x 1000Ibweapons, a targeting pod and 2underwing tanks it can still fly at 40,000feet, with impressive fuelrates statistics.This has obvious benefits in terms of en-durance and more importantly, it ensuresthat the Typhoon is less of a burden on theair refuelling plan in the air-space. Whenthe bombs are released the fuel burn re-duces, allowing the aircraft to loiter whileproviding airborne cover with its full com-plement of air-to-air weapons for a signifi-cant period of time.

The fact that the airframe is largely con-structed of carbon fibre composites andlight alloys to save weight – meaning it con-sumes less fuel and can carry more weapons- was never more vital than on the five hourplus missions along the Libyan coastline. Asexplained by Squadron Leader Rupert Joelduring his Libya de-brief at the Paris AirShow, it is about 600 miles from Gioia deColle to Libyan air space. “In Afghanistan Iflew 325 miles maximum and in Iraq, 350miles”. At 800 miles, the Libyan coast iseven longer. “The aircraft doesn’t suffer atall from flying those extra hours. We’re fly-ing them a lot and they’re performing exact-ly as they do in the UK”.

“As a Service, we've been fortunate tohave at our disposal an aircraft that fulfilsthe RAF's mantra of being agile, adaptableand capable. This is reinforced by the factthat the average hours flown per aircraftduring this operation have increased fromthe initial 24 hours to nearly 90 per month,which demonstrates the platform's stunningserviceability”.

Further testimony tothe Typhoon’s ease of oper-ation and therefore minimal training burdenwhen operated in the swing-role configura-tion is that several pilots were deployed withno air-to-surface experience. After one week’straining they were combat capable and havenow delivered several weapons with nomishaps or excursions from the Rules of Engagement.

Below can be found some Operation Ellamydata, related to the combined fleet of RAFTornadoes and Typhoons

Part of the Birgi Air Task Group, createdby the Italian Air Force for these operations,Typhoons from 4 and 36 Stormo joined theLibya mission on 29th March 2011. The Ital-ian Typhoons reached the milestone of 1000flying hours in June whilst responsible forthe defence of high value airborne assetsdeployed by NATO such as AWACS, ISR andair tankers, plus the protection of tacticalassets involved in Combined Air Operations(COMAO).

The Italian Typhoons worked in partner-ship with those of the RAF, operating with-out any technical or interoperability issues.While Gioia is a permanent Eurofighterbase, Trapani, in Sicily, was used by theGrosseto based aircraft, proving the typicallysmall footprint and high operational avail-ability that is standard for the Typhoon.

TheBritish and

Italian fleets were withdrawnfrom Libya starting from the

23rd September 2011 as part of a “strategyto optimise the air contribution to the cur-rent and future campaign” according to anMOD statement. The Italian Typhoons re-turned to their home bases to continue intheir air policing missions over Italy, Slove-nia and Albania following their successfulinvolvement.

The achievement of these missions andTyphoon’s rapid deployment 72 hours fromthe initial UN mandate and the subsequentmissions 12 hours later, are testament tothe “instant deployability and relevance ofthis new generation aircraft”, as WingCommander Attridge states.

The Officer Commanding 906 Expedi-tionary Air Wing of the Royal Air Force,Group Captain Squires, commented on theTyphoon’s vital role in the operation. “TheTyphoon’s contribution to enforcing the UNResolution has been immense. The skill, determination and professionalism of thepilots and engineers alike, combined withthe potent capability of an aircraft whichcan switch from air-to-ground and air-to-air

tasking in a moment’s notice has been ex-ceptional and earned them a superb reputa-tion within NATO. The Typhoon force canreturn home extremely proud of their im-mense contribution to NATO’s OperationUnified Protector.”

OP ELLAMY STATS. Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug

(18 Aug) TOTALHours Flown 181 460 525 501 590 301 2519Planned Missions 32 94 107 83 124 62 486Achieved Missions 29 88 103 83 114 58 459Weapons Released 0 17 35 25 87 45 209Frame Swaps 0 2 5 5 5 1 18COMAOAverage of 2 to 3 COMAO's flown each week 66Overall success rate: 97% (source: RAF)

Officialimages fromthe RAF ofthe first air-to-groundbomb drops

RAF Typhoon armed with four Paveway II bombsduring five hour long missions over Libya

PICKS A WINNERFrom its launch in February 2011,

Eurofighter GmbH received an amaz-ing number of entries to its first

Amateur Photography competition. Overthe seven months it ran, entries came fromskilled photographers from all over theworld, including Japan, the Netherlands,South Korea, India, Ireland and Portugal,Following the 31st August deadline, a panelof experts met in Eurofighter headquartersin Munich at the start of September tochoose the winners. The panel consisted ofthe professional Eurofighter photographerGeoffrey Lee from Planefocus, Munichbased professional photographer AlvisePredieri, Neil Bury, photographer of thefront cover image on the 2011 EurofighterCalendar, and representatives from the Eurofighter Communications team.

The entries, all of which were of an im-pressively high standard, provided a thor-oughly enjoyable challenge for the judges.After whittling down the favourites to ahandful, several breathtaking imagescaused a heated debate.

The eventual winner was Ian Ramsbot-tom, whose stunning shot of a 17 Sqn Typhoon in the Mach Loop in Wales, UK,left the judges with little to disagree on.

In second place was Alvaro Muñoz-Ay-cuens who took an image of the Typhoon in the stormy skies at Duxford Air Showworthy of a renaissance era painting, and inthird place was the iconic photo of Typhoon

taken at Aero India 2011 in Bangalore byRajesh Kumar Elumalai, who captured thestark contrast between the white displaysmoke and the clear blue Indian sky. A specialmention went to 16 year old Paddy Fidling

Eurofighter judging panel

EUROFIGHTER AMATEUR PHOTO COMPETITION

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FACTS, NOT JUST WORDS:WHY“NOTHING COMES CLOSE”

TO THE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON

Facts, not words. That is what’s impor-tant to highlight when the performanceof fighters is being scrutinised.

The recent Libya operations have seenthe participation of several types of fighterjets with the remarkable exception of thestealth fighters which seem to have spent a very relaxing summer grounded most ofthe time due to serious technical issues. Mirage 2000, Mirage F.1, Super Etendard, F-16, Gripen, A-10, F-15, F-18, Tornado,AMX, Rafale and, of course, Typhoon, wereall in operation over the Libyan skies.

Much has been written about the opera-tions, about the problems that arose such as the lack of interoperability between theGripens and the NATO logistics and com-mand chain. Much has been written aboutthe various merits and the “wonderful” performance of some aircraft, in particularfrom the Rafale team.

However, perhaps a less written aboutfact is that the French Air Force and Navywere forced to use four different types offighters to complete their tasks: Rafale, Mirage 2000 (in different versions), the obsolete Mirage F.1 and the Super Etendard.Why? Is it possible that the capabilities ofthe Rafale were not as “wonderful” as hadbeen reported and the aircraft was not capa-ble of flying all “swing-role” missions asplanned?

It is fact that a large majority of theRafales deployed for the operations weretwin-seaters - another demonstration of thelack of capabilities in their single-seater tosuccessfully complete missions. If we alsotake into account several emergency land-ings carried out by Rafales in Malta, thecomplete picture is probably not as rosy asis being reported in the press around theworld.

But to go back to simple facts: Libya hasprovided an insight into why Eurofighter isconsidered superior to its direct competitors(Rafale, F-18 etc.). Why? Because “NothingComes Close” to the Eurofighter Typhoonand here are the reasons:

3/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLD F A C T S10

LARGE RADAR: Typhoon’s voluminous radome and the cooling and electrical power capacityis designed to accommodate a repositionable Active Electronic Scanning Array (AESA). Thisprovides a significant scan coverage enabling the best conditions for very long range detections,“Big SAR” radar mapping, tracking large numbers of targets, with a datalink for long rangemissiles within their entire flight envelope.

POWERFUL ENGINES WITH PROVEN GROWTH POTENTIAL: Very Powerful enginescombined with the Typhoon’s efficient aerodynamic and low weight airframe provide the required performance to take off on short runways and fly high and fast with a large weaponload. The engines have a tested and proven growth potential of up to 20% in power: furthergrowth can be achieved with the Thrust Vectoring Nozzle.

SUPERSONIC AND HIGH ALTITUDE PERFORMANCE: The Typhoon can fly for extendedperiods with three external fuel tanks and sustaining manoeuvres at very high altitude, theaircraft is able to fly supercruise with a full air-to-air missile load.

MAX G-LOAD: The Typhoon always flies with the max g while launching its weapons andcarrying three external fuel tanks and an extensive air-to-air missile load.

CAREFREE HANDLING: The Typhoon has a very advanced flight envelope protection system:carefree handling at any flight speed and with any external weapon load, and Automatic Low-Speed Recovery (ALSR) in the entire flight envelope.

COCKPIT AND DVI: The Typhoon has a spacious cockpit with large displays and DirectVoice Input (DVI) with an extensive range of commands available.

HELMET MOUNTED DISPLAY AND HIGH OFF BORESIGHT MISSILES: The Typhoonhas a very lightweight operational bifocal Helmet Mounted Display, which in combination withthe IRIS-T or ASRAAM High Off Boresight Missiles provides the Typhoon with superior dogfightcapabilities. The HMD gives Typhoon with a laser designator pod, superior targeting capabili-ties in a Close Air Support environment.

FUTURE PROVEN FLIR AND INFRARED SEARCH & TRACK SENSOR: The Typhooncan track and target multiple aircraft with its Pirate Infra Search and Track sensor. The IRSTperformance has been continuously improved through software upgrades. The FLIR providesthe Typhoon with an excellent night intercept capability in the air policing role while identifyingthe target at safe distances. The FLIR is also an excellent landing aide in haze and night con-ditions.

TOWED DECOY, ACTIVE MISSILE APPROACH WARNER, LARGE COUNTERMEA-SURES AND EW CUED MANOEUVRES: The in-built towed decoy and an active missileapproach warner combined with the electronic warfare (EW) system cued manoeuvres pro-vides Typhoon with the best protection against guided missiles without losing a weapon station.

LARGE ORDER BOOK, LARGE OPERATIONAL FLEET: The large number of ordered,produced and delivered Typhoons provides attractive economies of scale for cost sharing onfuture upgrades and potential for pooling and sharing weapon system maintenance and sup-port facilities.

ATTRACTIVE USER COMMUNITY: The Eurofighter Typhoon user nations includes theowner of world’s largest oil reserves/largest oil export country and some of the most influentialEU/NATO countries with G8 membership.

First place photograph: Ian Ramsbottom

Third place photograph: Rajesh Kumar Elumalaiwho the judges felt has a bright future in aviation

photography. Ian’s picture will be featured in the2012 Eurofighter Typhoon calendar and he will siton Eurofighter’s Amateur Photography Competitionpanel in 2012.

Second place photograph: Alvaro Muñoz-Aycuens

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Night shot from Giovanni Colla taken at Trapani, during the deploymentof the Typhoons of the 36th Stormo for the Libya operations.

Flight evaluations for potential customers are incredibly complex and demanding undertakings, yetthe aircraft always arrived on schedule andserviceable. We have conducted successfuldeployments to Singapore, Switzerland andIndia, completing them within the plannedtime frame, showing the tremendous opera-tional capabilities of the aircraft. The experi-ence gained from each deployment has con-tinued to shape Typhoon’s ever decreasinglogistic footprint.

SUSTAINMENT SOLUTIONSThe sustainment solution for customer airforces comprises of all the support featuresrequired to maintain the availability and operational capability of the Eurofighter Typhoon, its subsystems, software, andground support systems over its entire lifetime. This includes maintenance, training,technical support, the management of parts,technical data, configuration and repair capability, in addition to failure reportingand analysis, and reliability growth.

The selected sustainment solution is de-termined by the number of aircraft and therequirements for deployment of the fleet.The fleet’s diversity – single seat, twin seat,and various configurations within the fleet– helps to shape the solution. Local andglobal politics, employment conditions andregulations can all play a role in shapingand tailoring the flexible Typhoon sustain-ment solutions.

Although a highly skilled and welltrained workforce is key, Typhoon sustain-ment solutions benefit from built-in condi-tion maintenance reporting, operating withmodern enterprise resource planning tools,and a supply chain that is structured ac-cording to best business practices.

Additionally, the sustainment activitiesrequire significant coordination and com-munication across a myriad of functionsand organisations. This process is facilitat-ed by fleet-wide shared reporting and plan-ning tools.

OPTIMISED FLEXIBLE SUSTAINMENT SOLUTIONSFlexible sustainment can vary from entirelyair force operated, to industry/air force“Partnered Support”.

Under air force operated sustainment, anair force will procure and manage discretepackages comprising of spares, repairs,technical support, manpower, transport,logistics and other support services. Conse-quently, the air force retains the full owner-ship of the solution definition. In this way,through-life support, sustainment and avail-ability, is wholly an air force responsibility.

“Partnered Support” solutions embracecollaboration between the air force and

industry, and the level of collaboration can range from individual elements of the sustainment solution, through to full industrialisation of the entire sustainment solution. In the full industrialisation scenario, industry would assume all non-operational risks by provid-ing on-base manpower, managing the sup-ply-chain, supporting the infrastructure set-up and providing an integrated and proac-tive technical support service, includingresponsibility for managing operations.

“Partnered Support” is an efficient andeffective balance between the air force’sneed to retain autonomous operational ca-pability, and the utilisation of industry andservice personnel. In this solution, the airforce retains full responsibility for definingtheir support requirements and for deliver-ing the actual operational effectiveness,whist industry assumes the responsibilitiesoutlined above.

Eurofighter Typhoon users have em-braced the flexibility of Typhoon sustain-

RAF Typhoon with air-to-ground missionmakings returns to base in Italy

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greater proportion of the overall defencebudget, which in itself is most likely shrink-ing. Fortunately, the Eurofighter Typhoonfleet is at the beginning of its weapon sys-tem life cycle, and is starting to reap thebudgetary benefits of maturity having justreached 130,000 flight hours.

TRUE GLOBAL DEPLOYABILITYThe ability to deploy means different thingsto different air forces, with some having norequirements to do so, whilst for others it isa key requirement. The European partnernations have had good experiences deploy-ing Eurofighter Typhoon on a range of expe-ditionary taskings and commonly share thisknowledge across the Typhoon community.During the development phases of the Ty-phoon programme, when the platform wasrelatively immature, our deployments ofthe aircraft were very successful.

The Typhoon has demonstrated excellentrobustness in severe environments, behavingflawlessly under monsoon conditions in Sin-gapore, enduring soaring high temperaturesin Nevada and Saudi Arabia and has excelledunder arctic conditions in Kiruna, Swedenand on the Falkland Islands: high altitude operations over the Himalayas have alsoproved successful.

Eurofighter Typhoon’s sustainability has been tested at length across a range of operational missions,including long-duration combat operations in multiple scenarios, involving diverse intelligence, surveil-lance and recon ops. Eurofighter Typhoon has this summer offered an average of 85% operationalavailability across the RAF; Luftwaffe; Italian Aeronautica Militare and Spanish Ejercito de l’Aire. Typhoon continues to demonstrate that it is available, deployable and supportable; offering excellentlevels of fleet effectiveness using different models of logistics support across customer bases.

Each customer nation has chosen toutilise different levels of industrialsupport, demonstrating the aircraft’s

suitability to adapt to each nation’s individ-ual requirements. The role that local indus-try plays in this process is one demonstra-tion of how this relationship brings greatervalue for money to the Typhoon customers.

Platform increasing sustainment costsare a concern for all customers because asthey age, they risk demanding a greaterproportion of the overall defence budget,which in themselves are shrinking. The Eurofighter Typhoon fleet is at the begin-ning of its weapon system life cycle, and isstarting to reap the budgetary benefits ofmaturity, having reached over 130,000flight hours.

Each customer nation utilises variouslevels of industry support, a remarkableachievement unique to Typhoon, demon-strating the aircraft’s suitability to adapt toeach nation’s individual requirements. Tak-ing into account the role that local industryplays in this process, recognises how thisrelationship brings greater value for moneyto customers.

The threat of increasing costs of sustain-ment is a concern for all weapon systemsbecause as they age, they risk demanding a

HIGH AVAILABILITY, BEST MISSION CAPABILITY & VALUE FOR MONEY

3/20113/2011 EUROFIGHTER EUROFIGHTER WORLDWORLD I N - S E R V I C E14

SUSTAINING AND DEPLOYING THE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON

ment solutions, and are demonstrating highlevels of platform availability, enjoying bestmission capability, with demonstrated val-ue for money.

Eurofighter Typhoon is not just theworld’s most advanced new generation mul-ti-role/swing role aircraft on the market.Customers and future customers are of-fered a well developed sustainment solu-tion, tailored to their individual require-ments, that has evolved from customer in-teraction and feedback. In combinationwith the performance of the aircraft, this isfurther proof as to why “Nothing ComesClose”.

Yet another huge penalty due to the VLOdesign is the heavy maintenance requiredand the large logistic footprint needed andhence limited mission availability, whencompared to a similar fighter with a moreconventional survivability design.

As the Raptor is not available for export,the Typhoon’s design characteristics and itsoperational performance are the next inline, and considerably superior to the lega-cy fighters on offer today. The same is truefor the limited low observable JSF, whosedesign is optimised for the strike role andrequires the support of a true air superiori-ty fighter in order to operate effectivelyaccording to the USAF, RAF and Italian AirForce operational requirements.

Typhoon’s kinematic performance--withthe exception of a lower super cruise speedwith the current engine nozzles--is in thesame class as the Raptor. The survivabilityequation in Typhoon is resolved through asmart and cost-effective combination of cer-tain stealth technologies, highly sophisticat-ed electronic countermeasures, use of pas-sive and off-board sensors, kinematic ma-noeuvrability, accurate mission planningand combined / networked formation tactics.

The new Typhoon will soon have the lat-est generation AESA radar (an important at-tribute in a field where the technology isstill evolving relatively rapidly). Typhoon’sradar will also incorporate those highly ef-fective scan volume extension featuresdropped from the Raptor’s design for finan-cial reasons. The antenna is re-positionableso as to cover an angular scan of 200 de-grees, thus augmenting considerably thesurvivability in the BVR combat domainand its performance in the SAR mode.

The radar is complemented by passivesensors such as the IRST and the ESM toprovide a robustly fused situational aware-ness and the capability for passive attacktactics.

In terms of missile carriage, both theRaptor and Typhoon design teams have con-cluded (after comprehensive operationalanalysis studies) that a 6 MRM + 2 SRMconfiguration represents the gold standardin air combat. The introduction of the long-range Meteor missile will considerably ex-tend the ‘No Escape Zone’ of the missileshot and the overall air combat capability ofTyphoon, something that even the Raptorcannot achieve today.

The synergistic combination of best-in-class kinematic performance, state-of-the-art re-positionable AESA radar and passiveIRST, and long-range BVR missiles bringsthe air combat effectiveness of Typhoon notfar short of the Raptor’s level. These resultshave been validated in several operationalanalysis simulations and form part of thejustification for the investment in suchbreak-through technologies.

Still in store for future combat effective-ness enhancements are growth in enginethrust in the order of 15% to 20%, thrustvectoring nozzles to increase, among manyother things, the super-cruise speed, andregular avionics and ECM updates.

These upgrades will maintain Typhoon’smargin of superiority over the new genera-tion of Russian and Chinese designs, includ-ing stealth designs now in development.

The path leading to such high levels ofperformance is indeed different from theone chosen by the F-22, though both fight-ers represent the best available on the mar-ket today.

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When examining the current greatfighters on the market, it is quitecommon in some quarters to refer

to them as ‘Relics of the Cold War’. Machinesthat were designed to defeat the Flanker-class threat with a considerable margin ofsuperiority and starting from a quantitativedisadvantage could easily be accused of

irrelevance today. We are speak-ing about aircraft whose designdid not allow for any compromisein the quest to achieve air su-premacy, as this condition wasdeemed a sine qua non to windecisively and rapidly any con-ventional confrontation with theWarsaw Pact. They are fighterswhose superior combat effec-tiveness would contribute mas-sively to maintaining and in-creasing the deterrent effect ofthe Western Forces and to dis-suade opponents from even considering a military solutionas a viable option.

Today's world is quite differ-ent from that of the Cold War, atleast in the West. Unfortunatelythe same cannot be said of theFar East nor the Middle East,where the potential for geopolit-ical issues still exists and is un-

likely to disappear in the short to mediumterm.

In such scenarios, fighters such as Rap-tor and Typhoon are not, by far, an unneces-sary relic of a distant past. In fact it is quiteclear that these high-end combat planesmust enter the risk-reward calculus of anywould-be aggressor right now. In this sensethey are already contributing to a saferworld by simply exercising their deterrentvalue. If powerful military assets such asRaptor and Typhoon in the American andEuropean inventories are already a politicaland military asset for their air forces theireffect would be much more robust shouldthey fly with air forces, of the Far and Mid-dle East countries.

The question of whether the latest gener-ation of western fighters would be an effectiveway to counter the vigorous re-armament un-derway in China is more than an academicexercise, as both Japan, South Korea and

missiles, UCAV, new generation fighters likethe J-11 and the J-10, stealth fighters likethe J-20 or the T-50), the paramount attributeof any new fighter is to add significantly tothe overall defence capability to deter anddissuade in the first place. Should this fail,in order to be able to defeat the threat withan ample margin of superiority once the de-sired level of air control is achieved, theability to swing back to surface attack rolesis a necessity.

The Raptor is a fighter eminently suit-able for air superiority missions, eventhough less suitable to swing later on instrike roles. The key attributes making theRaptor the pre-eminent fighter of today arethe following design parameters:• Superb kinematic performance (acceler-

ation, climb and turn rates, supersonicmanoeuvrability, super-cruise, highthrust loading and low wingloading);Very low observability (VLO) inall aspects; Combination of high speedand VLO to achieve high survivability (asopposed to strike designs with frontal as-pect only stealth and poor kinematics);Big aperture AESA radar and sensor fu-sion; Very high firepower (6 AMRAAM +2 AIM-9X).Two additional features that would have

significantly improved the air combat effec-tiveness of the Raptor that were droppedfrom the original design configuration dueto the severe cost escalation of the F-22 pro-gramme were:• AESA radar side arrays (mainly to in-

crease the radar scan volume and thusthe fighter survivability in BVR combat);IRST sensor to increase the situationalawareness and the passive combat capa-bilities.Another significant Raptor limitation is

its restricted network capability, as any ra-dio transmission (radar included!) is severelydetrimental to a stealthy mode of operation.

Taiwan are currently planning some re-equipping of their Air Forces’ combat fleets.

Before examining in some detail thetechnicalities of the different fighter modelsand their relative suitability to Far Easternscenarios, it is worth taking a closer look atthe political aspects surrounding most pro-curements of military materiel. Given themassive presence of the US military in theregion and the tight relationship built overdecades between the Armed Forces of therespective countries, most of the analyststhink that it would seem unrealistic to ex-pect Japan or South Korea to order a Euro-pean fighter, even if such a product weremore suitable for dealing with the threatand for supporting the expansion of theirnational aviation industry.

It is from such a perspective that the Eurofighter consortium and the four nationsbehind it have taken the challenging step ofentering markets that up to now have beendominated by the US. In a multi-polar worldthat is becoming ever closer and more inter-connected, where the events of the recentpast are fading away into history and nationsare desiring to exert a more assertive roleand render themselves less dependent on asingle big power, there is more room formoving away from the strictures of the pastand for creating new alliances with the restof the world.

There is no doubt that in the possible fu-ture, if faced with threat scenarios in NorthEast Asia, the F-22 Raptor would representthe best fighter to achieve the air suprema-cy necessary to eventually reduce the ten-sion. And there is also no doubt that if suchan aircraft were available for export toJapan and South Korea, there would be noreason for Typhoon to be offered to their airforces.

In a defence environment characterisedby a growing airborne capability, both interms of quantity and quality (UAV, cruise

3/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLD E V O L U T I O N16

EVOLUTION OF SCENARIO AND FIGHTER CAPABILITY

TYPHOON, THE RIGHT SOLUTION TO KILL

J-20 AND T-50?

It is fair to say that the Eurofighter teamwas aware from the very beginning that thelast 10% of extra performance would comeat a very high price, as one would be enter-ing the flat part of the performance-pricecurve. It is also fair to say that the “combi-nation philosophy” for the survivabilityproblem versus the VLO design was madewith the full knowledge of the stealth de-sign techniques and their negative impacton the size and mass of the fighter, and itsacquisition and operating costs (the Ger-man Lampyridae project in the 1980s wasclosely tracking the black stealth pro-grammes in the US and was of strategic im-portance in defining the key design fea-tures of Eurofighter Typhoon).

Bearing in mind that the cost to procureand operate a true VLO fighter (not to beconfused with a frontal aspect only LOstrike plane like the JSF) would allow asmaller fleet of aircraft with low missionavailability due to heavy stealth mainte-nance, the rationale for a higher number ofTyphoons (at the same LCC budget) is quitecompelling. It is therefore safe to concludethat Eurofighter Typhoon represents the mostcost-effective multirole fighter among com-bat aircraft in service or under development.

Any air force that has considered theF-22 Raptor as the best solution for their future threat scenarios should carefullyassess the multirole capabilities offered bythe new Typhoon weapons system and itsoverall cost-effectiveness. On the contrary,it is hard to believe that an air force thatwas interested in the Raptor would serious-ly consider any “stretching” or upgrading of legacy platforms or an unproven LO strikedesign like the JSF (requiring an F-22 or Typhoon to operate in an air superiorityenvironment), unless it was going to lowerits requirements and depend on third par-ties for the protection of its sovereignty.

OF

The ChineseJ20

The RussianT50

craft fully loaded in an operational war load– the extra mass of fuel, air-to-air and air-to-surface armaments causes significant stress-es and demands on the airframe. On top ofthis there are the operational aspects such asmanoeuvres, tactics, minimum heights forweapon effects etc... You get the idea: Typhoonmakes this easy.

What the public saw at RIAT 2011 was acombination of raw power and exceptionalmanoeuvrability which gives the Typhoon pilot an unparalleled ability to fly carefreeand deliver operational capability in fullheavy combat fit. It clearly demonstrates thata combat pilot in a Typhoon can deliver the

aircraft’s full capability easily, reliably andaccurately. In the real world it is these thingsthat are important, and that is why Typhoonchose this display configuration – not to lookits best, but to demonstrate its capabilitiesrealistically. As with all things at an air showit is important to display the aircraft clearly,accurately and safely; and obviously the RI-AT air show committee believed that theTyphoon’s display had excelled at achievingthis too. A fitting recognition of a great dis-play, in a great aircraft, in a realistic opera-tional configuration.

NM

TYPHOON TAKES THE TITLE AT THE ROYALINTERNATIONAL AIR TATTOO

RIAT 2011 at Fairford air base, UK,was a great opportunity to see thebest the world has to offer in military

aviation. For its impressive fully loaded, air-to-ground configured air display, the Typhoon,piloted by Eurofighter test pilot Mark Bow-man, was honoured with the Steedman Dis-play Sword for best British display. The dailyflight, which was watched by up to 138,000trade and public visitors highlighted the Typhoon’s agility regardless of weapon load.

Just like at Farnborough 2010, the aircraftwas carrying a heavy operational fit, similarto that flown by the RAF on operations overLibya, and demonstrating the sheer perfor-mance as a swing-role combat fighter. Asusual the other aircraft at RIAT were display-ing with lighter basic operational fits, allow-ing them to show the high manoeuvrabilitythey have to offer under such circumstances.However, the Typhoon decided not to take theeasy path, but instead adopted a more realis-tic configuration. Why? The aircraft clearlycannot manoeuvre as well when fully loaded,so what does it demonstrate?

Well, it demonstrates the awesome powerand agility of the platform in a realistic oper-ational scenario, not just an optimum theo-retical lightweight air display configuration.The configuration flown is what the men andwomen who fly this aircraft in 6 different airforces around the globe will be using in a real-world combat situation. It is easy to un-derestimate the complexity of flying an air-

Visitors to the Eurofighter Pavilion get thechance to fly the simulator

AIR SHOWS PROVIDE A CHANCEFOR TYPHOON TOSHINERIAT

The air shows during the summermonths of 2011 marked a significantshift in approach for Eurofighter Typhoon,

as we were able to highlight the full maturityof the programme in the most impressive ofways – multi-role combat proven.

Whilst at many previous air shows therehad been future capabilities and the latestweapon systems on display, now there wereoperational pilots straight back from flyingcombat missions with the Typhoon whocould provide honest and detailed feedbackon the aircraft’s performance.

The biggest event in the 2011 air showcalendar, Paris Le Bourget, began for Eu-rofighter on the Sunday - a day before theshow’s official opening - when a media brief-ing was held in the Eurofighter Pavilion.Squadron Leader Rupert Joel, Executive Of-ficer of 11 Squadron, deployed to Gioia de Colle in southern Italy in March of thisyear, spoke to a packed room of journalists:“Flying the Typhoon is like a pilot’s dream”stated Joel to the large crowd eager to hearwhat he had to report following his returnfrom deployment. “Within 24 hours of arrivingin Italy, we were operational flying in Libya”which he credits to “the dedication of RAFsupport personnel, the engineering teamand all the civilians who have helped usdeploy so well out to theatre”.

When asked about how well the aircrafthas been performing and how it has respondedto the long missions, Sqn. Ldr. Joel contin-ued with the praise “The aircraft has suchexcellent performance and handling, itdoesn’t really suffer from flying long mis-sions; you’re really only limited by the pilot”.

Fundamental to the success of any airforce is the serviceability and through-lifesupport of the aircraft. Never has this beenmore important than on operational deploy-ment in Libya and the Falkland Islands.“The aircraft has been great in terms of ser-viceability. Back home in the UK we wouldnormally fly about 24 hours per month, inLibya we’re flying 84 hours per month” andthe aircraft has been performing outstand-ingly well according to Joel.

Paris Air Show was also important be-cause during the event Eurofighter an-nounced a Letter of Intent signed by thefour core nations confirming their full sup-port in the development of the new AESAradar for the Typhoon and the commitmentto the entry in-service date of 2015.

British Typhoon IPA5 flies in its winning fully loaded display during RIAT

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LEBOURGET

t Eurofighter at Seoul Air Show, South Korea

q Eurofighter stand, with the EADS Me109 atPlovdiv, Bulgaria

213/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLDA I R S H OW

THE MOUNTAIN FIGHTER, THE DESERT FIGHTER Zeltweg air show, located in a valley between the picturesque mountains of Aus-tria took place at the beginning of July andwas attended by more than 200,000 avia-tion fans, and once again the EurofighterTyphoon did not disappoint the crowds, whowere privy to the public debut of two RoyalSaudi Air Force Typhoon jets that stoppedoff en route to customer handover in SaudiArabia. More details on their journey can befound to the right of this article. At Zeltweg,which served as the perfect setting for theEurofighter display, we saw a return to atraditional programme of historic aircraft,fighter jets as well as helicopters and aero-batic display teams. Typhoon jets from theAustrian Bundesheer were on both staticand flying display alongside the GermanLuftwaffe who had two aircraft at the show.In addition, journalists came from aroundthe world to get an update on the latestEurofighter news, visit the state-of-the-artTyphoon facilities at the air base, and ofcourse, see the flying displays, which in-cluded the ‘interception’ of a C-130 Herculesaircraft.

Public debut for the Saudi Typhoons at Zeltweg.Present at the show were also German andAustrian Eurofighters

ZELTWEG, AUSTRIAAIRPOWER

3/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLD A I R S H OW20

Eurofighter doesn’t just attend the well-heeled air shows and exhibitions in andaround the Core Nations, as our presencewith aircraft, pavilion and stands in Radomand Kielce in Poland, Roskilde in Denmark,Plovdiv in Bulgaria, Sion in Switzerland,Ostrava in the Czech Republic and Bucharest

NORTH, CENTRAL, EASTERN EUROPEAN TOUR

DSEI: THE BRITISH AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE INDUSTRY SHOWCASE

Former UK defence secretaryLiam Fox, at the September DSEi defence exhibition in London gave aspeech on the importance of theBritish Defence industry, talking

about the role it plays in supporting over 300,000high-tech jobs in the UK and contributing over£35bn to the wider economy. As part of this keynote speech, he talked about the value of Typhoon to the industry, stating: “In particular, the perfor-mance of the Typhoon in its first multi-role contri-bution to operations has been fantastic – exceedingour own high expectations. For some time Britainhas relied on the Typhoon to defend our homelandand our dependent territories. Now the Typhoon istried and tested in a ground attack role too”.

EUROFIGHTER AT ROSKILDE AIRSHOW, DENMARK Despite the harsh conditions, Eurofighter pro-vided a strong demonstration of what it takes to be“all-weather” during the Danish air show held atRoskilde, not far from Copenhagen in August. Theshow, which was attended for the first time by theEurofighter team had to be interrupted on severaloccasions due to severe thunderstorms on the firstday, but did not deter the Eurofighter team whohosted a range of VIP guests in their display tent.

During the second day, Roskilde airport wel-comed approximately 15,000 enthusiastic visitorswho were delighted by displays of classic warbirds,general aviation aircraft, private aerobatic teamsand a "spirited" display by two RDAF F-16s.

Eurofighter had experts on hand to brief the visi-tors on the Typhoon jet, explaining the importanceand value of the aircraft, highlighting its capabili-ties and exceptional levels of performance as well as detailing why the Eurofighter Typhoon is the bestoption for the future of the Danish Air Force.

in Romania prove. Hundreds of thousandsof visitors at each of these events stoppedby the Eurofighter stand which had a vari-ety of capabilities on display, ranging fromthe real aircraft to the HMSS advanced hel-met and the new AESA radar.

On October 16, 1912, Bulgarian aircraftmade history when they undertook the firstever air combat operations. It was not by

At Radom Air Show and at Kielce DefenceExhibition in Poland during the summer, Eu-rofighter briefed the air force and institutionsabout the potential of the Typhoon replacingthe MiG-29 and the Su-22 in service today. Apotent air force, they started modernisingwith 48 F-16C but the plan is to replace allthe old Soviet built platforms by the end ofthe decade.

In September Eurofighter exhibited inBucharest, at the local defence exhibition,Expomil 2011. Romania will soon need toreplace its MiG-21 Lancer and the Typhoonis one of the candidates under consideration.The deep economic crisis that hit most of theEuropean countries is not easing the process,but Typhoon is the only candidate that couldfulfil all the expectations of the RomanianAir Force in terms of operational requirementsand NATO commitments.

A major air show attended by Eurofighterin the autumn was the Seoul air show. TheKorean capital hosted a large event at which

Eurofighter made its debut. A large stand,with all the most advanced capabilities already in service on the aircraft, displayedalongside those that are a part of Typhoon’sfuture integration plan. The Defence Ministryplans to send the request for proposal forthe FX project in the near future, selectingthe winner as early as next year. The maincontenders are the partially stealthy F-35and F-15SE, but it is becoming clear inSouth Korea that the advanced stealth fight-er projects from the United States might be‘shovelling sand against the tide’, due to repeated failures and price hikes whichhave seen them losing ground to Europeanand Russian fighters. Led by CassidianSpain, the South Korea campaign is target-ing the Asian nation to become a new part-ner on the Eurofighter programme, offeringhuge technology transfers and productioninvolvement. The tender is for 60 aircraft,making it one of the largest in the fightermarket.

chance that the first aircraft used for thismission was of German origin, an AlbatrossFIII. Today, another aircraft with a share ofGerman origin could be a solution for the future requirements of the Bulgarian AirForce who are evaluating fighters capable ofreplacing the MiG-21, MiG-29 and the Su-25in service today. Eurofighter participated inan air show in Plovdiv, the second-largestcity in Bulgaria, with a population of 330,000inhabitants and known as the “nest” of Bul-garian aviation.

Four aircraft were present at the show;two Italians and two Germans with a vividair display flown by Eurofighter test pilotChris Worning. In order to highlight thestrong and historical relations between theBulgarian and European aerospace indus-tries, Eurofighter partner company Cassidiansent to the show one of its Messerschmitt Bf 109s, a G version example, of which 85were in service during the Second World Wardefending the Bulgarian skies.

Eurofighter test pilot Nat Makepeace’sjourney from Warton, UK to Saudi Arabia ina Typhoon aircraft gave him the opportunityto blog about his experiences. During thistime, which covered a period of 10 days, heupdated us with insights into his life as anindustry test pilot.

Nat’s eventual goal was Al-Taif Air Base,where he was to hand over one of the 72 Typhoons that the Saudi government agreed topurchase in 2007. However, before reachinghis destination, Nat made a scheduled stop-off in Austria to take part in the biennialZeltweg Air Show. This fantastic occasionwas memorable not only for the flying dis-plays, which Nat described as “amazing”and “magical”, but also because it was thefirst time that the Typhoons of both exportnations flew together, a moment which Natremembers vividly:

“Suddenly two extra voices came onthe frequency and we had been intercept-ed by an Austrian Typhoon and a Saab105 aircraft with a photographer onboard. We did a little manoeuvring forsome photos over the mountains and thenwe descended back down to the valleysand into our final destination. Absolutelystunning is the only way I can describe it!”

Unfortunately the regular challenges oflife on an air base meant that Nat’s departurefrom Austria was delayed, meaning that theaircraft he was to deliver would be too. Asalways, Nat was keen to point out the essen-tial work performed by ground staff to en-sure everything runs as smoothly as possible.He also noted the fantastic facilities avail-able at Zeltweg, providing pilots in the

Austrian air force with the best possibleequipment both in the air and on the ground.

After leaving Austria, Nat took the Typhoonto Rhodes, Greece, where he was again struckby the helpfulness of the ground crew. Un-fortunately, he was unable to give the airfielda fly past, due to the long journey ahead. Hedid however note that “I think we will bringthe Typhoon back – just like Malta, they re-ally appreciate our visits.”

Once again flying at over 45,000ft, aboveboth commercial aircraft and the weather,Nat was allowed to fly his Typhoon directlyover Cairo, where it was a beautiful, clearday, giving him the chance to look down onthe Pyramids below! He described theamazing experience, and it certainly musthave been impressive to fly over one of theseven wonders of the ancient world in oneof the modern world’s most advanced fight-er jets.

On the final leg of his journey, Nat wasexcited to be able to fly at the unusual alti-tude of 35,000ft, normally reserved for com-mercial airliners. However, he commentedthat the RSAF Typhoon was the perfectplace to be, allowing him to zip along at 94%of the speed of sound with minimal fuelconsumption.

Job done, Nat reflected on the satisfactionhe gets from handing over such valuableand impressive pieces of machinery. Hope-fully the Saudi pilots will get as much fulfil-ment from their new aircraft as Nat did be-fore them!

A PILOT’S VIEW

WARTON - ZELTWEG – TAIF

2011

q Eurofighter at Sion, Switzerland

These attributes will ensure a successfulproduction transfer to a new facility.

SUSTAINING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCTIONCAPABILITY

Over its many years of series production,EUROJET has amassed a mature productiondatabase which provides an excellent bench-mark for monitoring the capability of a newproduction facility.

Due to the fact that it is based on manyyears of experience, correlating data from anew production facility against the existingfacilities will ensure a rapid route to achiev-ing a stable production capability (Fig. 2).

FUTURE PRODUCTION OF THE EJ200 ENGINE

From the outset, ease of production has beena key consideration for the EJ200 programme.This is reflected in the engine’s modular ar-chitecture which boasts fully interchange-able modules. The benefits of the EJ200’sdesign will naturally be realised by all newproduction facilities.

The EUROJET consortium has a wealth ofknowledge gained throughout the manyyears of EJ200 production. Its experienceranges from establishing an initial produc-tion capability through to transfer of pro-duction but also extends to sustaining a ca-pable production line. Leveraging from itsbest practice in component manufacture,coupled with the most modern technology,EUROJET will ensure the highest levels inproduction efficiency are achieved.

It’s evident that manufacturing andproduction capabilities play a significantrole in the overall selection process of futurefighter aircraft programmes. EUROJET withits EJ200 engine offers a broad range of ad-vanced manufacturing technologies thatwill augment existing in-country capabilitieswhilst ensuring long term national security.

Through building on the successful ex-periences of the past and using the inherentskills from within its four partner compa-nies, EUROJET is ready to extend the pro-duction of its world leading engine to aglobal market.

DESIGNED FOR ASSEMBLY

Significant design effort was invested in ensuring that the assembly of the EJ200 is astraightforward, low-risk activity irrespec-tive of which production facility was used.This has been achieved through the adoptionof a design principle that mandated a mini-mal number of engine components. Wherenecessary, special design features have alsobeen incorporated making it impossible toincorrectly assemble the engine.

A modular architecture for the EJ200 en-gine was selected with the requirement thatall modules must be fully interchangeable.This significantly reduces the required levelsof inventory and subsequent demands on thesupply chain.

INITIAL PRODUCTION PHASING

Any initial export production phasing willinvolve final assembly of the engine frompre-assembled engine modules. The moduleswould be assembled by one of the EUROJETpartner companies before being dispatchedfor final assembly at the export customer’snew production facility. Once the engine isfully assembled, a limited amount of confir-mation running is required on a test bed.

During implementation of the Europeanproduction programme, an exhaustive set-upinitiative was carried out by EUROJET,resulting in a fully optimised productionprocess which was standardised for use acrossa variety of production lines.

Using this past experience, the EUROJETteam will initiate similar activities to ensurethat a new production facility from outsidethe existing operation is successfully estab-lished.

ACHIEVING A MAXIMUM PRODUCTION CAPABILITY

The step from initial production phasing toan intermediate phase requires a more in-volved assembly line which, in addition towhole engine assembly and testing, is capa-ble of building modules from individual en-gine components.

To achieve the maximum level of indi-genisation requires the manufacture of en-gine components as well as assembly of themodules, the final engine and final confir-mation testing. This requires high levels oftechnological competence and therefore cantake many years of development before asustainable supply chain is established.

However, on the European programmethere are several modules and componentsassembled/manufactured by more than oneEUROJET partner company. This has beenachieved through applying standardisedprocesses, use of proven tooling and thepresence of optimised quality checks.

GermanySpainItaly

Production data fromexport customer

UK

500

Lower Limit

Upper Limit

1000

Production Data

Number of Engines Produced

Rolling Average

EJ200 with Thrust Vectoring Nozzle

233/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLDE N G I N E

MEETING THE DEMANDS OF TOMORROW’SEXPORT CUSTOMERS

Future markets for the EJ200 poweredEurofighter Typhoon comprise well estab-lished sovereign nations which have a wealthof experience in maintaining and operatingcombat aero engines. Such markets general-ly have a continued need to sustain highlevels of technological competency withintheir respective countries. This drives the

requirement for high level in-country indus-trial participation which can be achievedthrough indigenisation of the EJ200 engine.

There are many elements to this, such asmandated levels of industrial participation(Transfer of Technology), production risksand economies of scale, which must be tak-en into account. In recognition of these fac-tors, EUROJET’s approach is to phase the in-troduction of EJ200 indigenised productionactivities (Fig. 1).

EUROJET has successfully managedover a decade of European-based pro-duction for its EJ200 engine. During

this time, over 820 engines have been deliv-ered to the air forces of six nations whomregard the EJ200 to be the best performingengine available on today’s market.

However, with the EJ200 powered Euro-fighter Typhoon attracting ever-increasinglevels of export interest, the engine’s futureproduction programme will need to extendits focus from the established European op-eration to production operations elsewherein the world:

“But how easy is it to export a well-es-tablished and high-technology productionprocess?”

Significantly, the groundwork to achievesuch a challenge was laid at the beginningof the programme. During initial productdevelopment, positive steps were taken inthe design and early production phaseswhich ensured that the engine met high ex-pectations; not only in the air but also onthe assembly line. Additionally, owing toEUROJET’s multinational collaborationwhich consists of four separate sharehold-ers, it has inherent experience of managingbusiness within an international and multi-cultural framework.

TAKING THE WORLD-LEADINGCOMBAT ENGINE INTO GLOBAL PRODUCTION

3/2011 EUROFIGHTER WORLD E N G I N E22

Low

Medium

High

Initial Production

Phasing

MaximumProduction

Phasing

IntermediateProduction

PhasingTime

Leve

l of I

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tria

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ticip

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isk

Final engine assemblyfrom modules

Engine acceptancetesting

Engine moduleassembly from

individualcomponents

Indigenous enginecomponent

manufacture

Engine moduleassembly from

individualcomponents

Growing level ofin-country industrialcapability

Low level ofproduction risk maintained throughout

Final engine assemblyfrom modules

Engine acceptancetesting

Final engine assemblyfrom modules

Engine acceptancetesting

Fig. 1: Generic Indigenisation of the EJ200 Engine

Fig. 2: EJ200 Production Data Management

An EJ200 engine during final assembly