Eurofighter Typhoon

EXCLUSIVE 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL PUBLICATION

Eurofighter  TY PH PH O O N  

SPECIAL

 THE CO  THE COM MPLETE STORY  From Production to Future Capabilities

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EAP AND THE  TEST  TEST FL FLEE EETS TS MULTI-ROLE OPERATORS,  TEN  TEN YE YEAR ARSS PIONEERS AND PILOTS OPTIONS UNITS & CREWS OF RAF OPS

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EUROFIGHTER | 3

Welcome! A

S TEST pilot Peter Weber said during recent celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of his firs t flight in the jet, "Eurofigh ter is an amazing story".  This special souvenir publication, timed to coincide with the 20th anniversar y of the Eurofighter’s first flight — although if you include the Experimenta l Aircraft Programme (EAP) technology demonstrator it's closer to a 30t h birthday — aims to tell that amazing stor y, with more detail than has ever been attempted before.  One wonders if any aircraf t has ever been developed under such public scrutiny. This unique military project , forged from the politica l will of European nations (and, of course, former enemies) to work together on common defence, has also had to come through the choppy waters of nationa l and Chief Writer: Alan Writer: Alan Warnes Consulting Editor: Paul Editor:  Paul Hamblin Design: Lee Design:  Lee Howson, Moppy Smith Production Editor: Janet Editor:  Janet Watkins Advertising Manager: Ian Manager: Ian Maxwell Production Manager: Debi Manager: Debi McGowan Marketing Manager: Martin Manager: Martin Steele Marketing Executive: Shaun Executive: Shaun Binnington Commercial Director: Ann Director: Ann Saundry Managing Director and Publisher: Adrian Cox Executive Chairman: Richard Chairman:  Richard Cox

Royal Air Force/29 Reserve Squadron Typhoon Typhoon FGR4 ZK343 ‘BX’ seen on March 31, 2014, after being unveiled earlier the same day at its base at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, in special markings for the Eurofighter Typhoon Typhoon Display Team. Team. The colours are based on the various elements of the 29 (R) Sqn emblem. This year’s RAF display pilot is Flt Lt Noel Rees, a Qualified Flying Instructor with 29 (R) Sqn. MOD Crown Copyright/Senior Aircraftman Daniel Herrick LBIPP 

international economic constraints and priorities. Its position at the forefront of European defence in the second decade of th e 21st century will be a surprise to many who doubted it could last the course.  In a bid to provide more value for mone y to British, German, Ita lian and Spanish taxpayer s, the fourth generation jet has transitioned from air defence to multi-role. Industry has transformed Eurofighter by consistent and relentless software updates, Drops and Phased Enhancements. At the same time there has been continual co-ordination of effort between the four Eurofighter Partn er Companies (EPCs) and the six — soon to be seven — air forces operating it. This publication encapsulates everything

from the pioneering days of EA P right up to Eurofighter's future capabilit ies. It has been written and edited from an objective, independent perspective. While we have approached key players at Eurofighter for help with facts, figures and information, it is not sponsored or of ficially approved by Eurofighter or any of its partner companies.

Contacts Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ Email: [email protected] Email:  [email protected] www.keypublishing.com

Printed By: Warners By: Warners (Midlands) plc, Bourne, Lincs The entire contents of this special edition is copyright 2014. No part of i t may be reproduced in any form or stored on any form of retrieval system without the prior permission of the publisher. PUBLISHER: Key PUBLISHER:  Key Publishing Ltd PRINTED IN ENGLAND

Distribution Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PP Tel: 0207 Tel:  0207 4294000

Alan Warnes Chief Writer

4 | EUROFIGHTER

EXCLUSIVE 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL PUBLICATION

Eurofighter  TY PH PH O O N  

 6 The Dream Back in the mid-80s, the Experimental Aircraf t Programme was being used as a technology demonstra tor for a dream future aircraft – the Eurof ighter. 14 Lift Off! After years of political posturing and disagreement, the prototype Eurofighter finally flies. 26 IPAs Are Go As the prototype programme headed towards a conclusion, aircraft coming off the production line were being used for development.  An RAF Typhoon Typhoon sits on the ramp at Red Red Flag 13-3 in February/March 2013. Jamie Hunter 

EUROFIGHTER | 5

34 Production Perfection

50 Forza Italia

86 Red Flag

With four Eurofighter Partner Companies responsible for building Eurofighter, production product ion has to be timed to perfection.

Italy ’s EF.200 EF.2000 0 is scrutinized by Riccardo Niccoli.

 Jamie Hunter Hunter reports on the RAF Typhoon Tranche 2 deployment to Nellis AFB, Nevada.

56 Tifón on Track

88 Sizzling Saudis

38 The Office A look inside the cockpit cockpit..

Roberto Yañez and Alex Rodriguez give an account of the Tifón in Spanish service.

42 Deutsche Eurofighters

62 Ten Years of Typhoon

Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoons were on exercise at RAF Coningsby in September 2013, to learn some tricks of the trade fr om the RAF.

Dietmar Fenners look s at the Eurofighter in German Air Forces (GAF) service.

A decade of RAF Typhoons ops from Case White to the last Tranche 2 delivery deliver y in March 2014.

92 Going Digital...

46 Work Hard, Play Hard

74 Flying Typhoon

The GAF’ s JG 73 deployment to Deci back in  July 2010 was a massive occasion, but why? why?

Wg Cdr ‘Cab’ Townsend discusses what its like to fly the RAF’s premier fighter.

Despite being in service ten years, Eurofighter still continues to evolve, with the latest technologies being integrated now and into the future.

48   German Stars 48

80 Testing, Testing 1,2,3... - and 4

98 Milestones

 June 2012 2012 saw eight GAF Eurofighters head to Alaska, to figh t with the best in the world.

All four nations have test departments, but how is the testing process split?

Dave Allport looks at the important dates and moments in the histor y of Eurofighter.

6 | EUROFIGHTER

I

N THE early 1980s, the Cold War was at its coldest. If it got dirt y, hundreds of Warsaw Pact fighter aircraft would have to be defeated. The tension between East and West seemed permanent. A new, agile fighter that could mix with and defeat the best the Soviets could muster was a priorit y for anxious European governments. In such an atmosphere, the Eurofighter EFA (European Fighter Aircraft) was born. It would eventually become the most expensive military procurement programme among any of its four partners: I taly, Spain, West Germany (later Germany) and the UK. However, when the unthinkable happened, it came in a way no-one had quite foreseen. Instead of war, peace ‘broke out’ and by 1990, the Cold War as the world knew it was effectively over. What would this mean for the EFA? Many years of debate between partners, taxpayers, governments and politicians

 Above: Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) technology demonstrator ZF534 made its first flight on  Above: Experimental  August 8, 1986, 1986, with test pilot Dave Dave Eagles at the controls. controls. EAP would demonstrate demonstrate technologie technologiess that would eventually be used on Eurofighter. Back in the mid-80s, the project was a dream which throughout the 90s looked likely to fail. BAE Systems-Geoff Lee Top: With its sleek lines and canards, it is difficult to believe the EAP was designed over 30 years ago. Its futuristic looks seemed light years ahead of other RAF fighters at the time – the Phantom, Jaguar and Tornado – which the Eurofighter would replace. BAE Systems-Geoff Lee

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The Th e Dream A distant 30-plus years ago, Eurofighter – or European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) (EFA) – was just a dream. But a technological demonstrator, known as the Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP), was being designed. This is the story. ensued, as defence budgets plummeted and European monetary crises came and went. At the time of going to press, in s pring 2014, the Eurofighter is whatever the partners want it to be; an air defender for some and a multirole aircraft for others. Undeniably, all of those original partners as well as Austria, Oman and Saudi Arabia, have one of the best fighters in the world. The Eurofighter is far from the finished article – it is a case of evolution rather than revolution – but its potential is jaw-dropping. Evolution not Revolution

Who could have imagined back in 1979, when the UK and West German governments launched a proposal for a European Combat Fighter, that it would be such a colossal effort? There were hopes other European nations would join the programme and, slowly, they did. Italian aerospace giants, Aeritalia joined in 1980 and for five years

 Above: Seen at Farnborough in 1982 was the canard delta designed twin-fin ACA (Agile Combat Aircraft),  Above: Seen allowing the public to get its first feel of how futuristic the European Fighter Aircraft would look. By the end of 1982 the design had evolved into a single tail. Key Archives

8 | EUROFIGHTER EAP Pilots At the end of the flying trials, 13 test pilots had been fortunate enough to add the EAP to their logbooks:

Dassault of France were also in. However, disagreements over workshare, design and export leadership as well as manufacturing, eventually led to the French dropping out, opting instead to concentrate on their own Rafale, an arch-rival of the Eurofighter today. By April 1982, Anglo-German co-operation resulted in the mock-up of a canard delta designed twin-fin ACA (A gile Combat Aircraft) specialising in air superiority that went on to appear at the 1982 Farnborough Air Show. By the end of that year, the design had morphed into the single tail EAP (Experimental Aircraft Programme). The objective of EAP was to demonstrate new, emerging technologies that could be merged into a European fighter aircraft. However, these plans were dashed when the German and Italian Governments withdrew in 1983, leaving the UK and British Aerospace (BAe) to pursue the project on their own. The UK Government, committed to producing the next combat aircraft as a collaborative venture, would only fund EAP i f it was a technology demonstrator and not a production line f ighter ighter.. Fortunately, industry recognised the project’s potential and continued to support

Peter Orme

132 flights

Chris Yeo

57 flights

Peter Gordon-Johnson

24 flights

Don Thomas

21 flights

Keith Hartley

6 flights

Dave Eagles

4 flights

Peter Weger

3 flights

Derek Reeh

3 flights

Napoleone Bragagnolo

2 flights

Etore Nappi

2 flights

Mirco Zuliani

2 flights

Colin Cruikshanks

2 flights

Bernie Scott

1 flight

 Above:  The EFA mock up was seen at the  Above: The Farnborough Air Show in September 1986, where the real aircraft made its public debut with Chris Yeo at the controls. Key Archives Below: Four Below:  Four key personnel of the EAP programme seen in the mid-80s (from left to right): John Vincent EAP Executive Director along with test pilots Chris Yeo (57 flights), Pete O rme (132 (132 flights) and Dave Eagles (four flights). Dave Eagles

the project, leading to Turbo Union lending a couple of Mk 104 engines with thrust reversers removed, while many other companies provided components. Initial plans saw Germany’s MBB, then carrying out carbon fibre research, produce the EAP’s centre and rear fuselage, while Italy’s Aeritalia concentrated on the wings, in a similar work share to the Tornado. When they both pulled out, BAE was forced to re-design, take over production and use Tornado parts whenever possible to keep to the deadline. EAP Test Pilot Dave Eagles, who flew the EAP on its first flight, explained in 2012, “The loss of interest by two of the original three governments made the project management easier. The build was extremely fast and I was very impressed by the hands-on control of our then Managing Director, Frank Roe, who ran the early build management meetings himself.”

Below:  By the early-90s a newer, more modern full Below: By scale model of EFA had appeared in a pale grey air superiority camouflage. The aircraft is seen here carrying a representative weapon load of  AMRAAM, ASRAAM ASRAAM and fuel fuel tanks. Note Note the RWR housing at the top of the tail. Key Archives

EAP

The EAP was rolled out at British Aerospace Warton on April 16, 1986 and made its first flight on August 8, 1986, when Dave Eagles, the company’s then executive director

EUROFIGHTER | 9

Unsung stalwart - Jaguar ACT While most people look at the EAP as the Eurofighter technology demonstrator, the huge role of BAe’s Jaguar Active Control Technology (ACT) has been largely overlooked. The aircraft was used us ed to develop the Typhoon’s unique flight control system. After finishing life as an RAF GR1 with the 226 OCU at RAF Lossiemouth in June 1976, the fighter was stored before being flown to BAe Warton on August 4, 1978, where it was modified by installing electronic systems and eventually leading edge strakes. BAe Test Pilot, Chris Yeo flew the Jaguar ACT for the first time on October 20, 1981. In doing so XX765 became the first aircraft to fly with an all-digital quadruplex fly-by-wire flight control system with no form of reversionary (back up) support. That meant the pilot would have had to eject if control was lost! At the EAP Unveiling at RAF Cosford on February 14, 2014, Chris provided an insight into the ‘raspberry ripple’ jet. “It flew in standard Jaguar avionics with a FBW initially. Then we put ballast on the fourth fuel tank at the back, so we could destabilise it longitudinally. Then the strakes went on, and

with ballast it became highly unstable in the air using the FCS. The handling of the aircraft was configured by the FCS, by looking after the loads and Angle of Attack (AoA), which EAP eventually did. The standard Jag was quite a demanding aircraft to fly – had serious AoA limits, G limits, negative angle of attack limits, rapid rolling limits and performance varied depending on how full the tanks were and the underwing stores on board! “By the time we had finished with this aircraft it was virtually carefree – it looked after negative and positive AoA, rapid rolling, wing loads and the only thing the pilot looked out for was G. As Jaguar was a 7 1/2 G aircraft, the FBW aircraft demonstrated a standard aircraft could be made carefree. “This aeroplane has been forgotten but if you look at the technical achievement, flying an longitudinally unstable aircraft, single-pilot without reversion, it was a fantastic achievement at the time. The technologies led to the interactive concept on EAP. EAP took it to the next level, by using the FCS on a different configuration where you didn’t know the characteristics or you

Chris Yeo.

Chris Yeo In the lead up to EAP's first flight, test pilot Chris Yeo flew the Jaguar ACT 45 times for a total of 36 hours 25 minutes between October 20, 1981 and September 10, 1984. During those three years he matured the  Jaguar's fly-by-w fly-by-wire ire systems for EAP and eventually the Eurofighter.

didn’t know intellectually/by design whether it would work until it flew. It was a very important stepping stone.”

The Jaguar ACT was the first quadruplex Fly By Wire fighter and flew with no revisionary (back up) system. Much of BAE’s understanding of FBW came from this jet, so it played a big role in the development of EAP and eventua lly the Eurofighter. After being retired in 1984, British Aerospace acquired the aircraft for ground testing before it was delivered to th e Loughborough University of Technology and was then put on exh ibition at RAF Cosford Museum in Novembe r 1999. BAE Systems

of flight operations, took it to Mach 1.1, faster than the speed of sound. All went according to plan. “We checked the landing gear,, general handling at 10,000, 20,00 0 gear and 30,000ft, took the aircraft supersonic to Mach 1.1 and looked at handling in the circuit,” he said. The aircraft itself stood up to everything asked of it. “It was very responsive to control input,” Dave explained. “Stick forces in pitch were slightly heavier than our classic British standard as seen in t he Hunter, Hunter, but very satisfactory.” Apart from a slight rumbling from the cockpit floor when the engines were throttled back, the aircraft performed smoothly. Eagles went on, “It was a delight to handle, even though the leading edge flaps, which were to be an active par t of the flight control system, were locked for the early flying. It would obviously have made a superb fighter as it stood, with the introduction of a weapons system.” Dave Eagles retired shortly after the first

flight and the bulk of the EAP flying was shared by Pete Orme, the EAP project pilot and Chief Test Pilot Chris Yeo, who flew the  jet at the Farnborough Air Show Show barely a month after its first flight. Chris Yeo told this publication in February 2014: “With the canard, EA P had a different control system. People who were designing EAP had learnt from the J aguar ACT (above) before it. So technologies for Eurofighter would have come from EAP and then progressively built up. That’s why demonstrators are so important and why EAP was so impor tant – it had all kinds of

EFBites The test pilot’s job is to demonstrate an aircraft’s capabilities and report any flaws in design or the aircraft’s sys tem. rolled out at Warton on  EAP was off icially rolled April 6, 1986.  The ECR 90 radar was renamed CAPTOR when the project passed the product ion contract milestone.. 

new technologies which included a digital FBW, canard and carbon brakes. “Today everyone has carbon brakes, but in those days, it was very early c arbon technology. It had a super plastic form titanium keel section which was also a new technology as well as lithium alloys, while its primary structures were carbon fibre – all sorts of new technologies which are taken for granted today.” After its final flight in May 1991, the airframe was stored at Warton, having made 259 test sorties, totalling 195.21 flying hours, reached speeds in excess of Mach 2.0 and angles of attack of over 35° in controlled flight. During June 1996, it was taken to Loughborough University, Leicestershire, for undergraduate students to carry out design appreciation exercises, before making the move to Cosford in March 2012. During its flying career as a proof-of-concept demonstrator it contributed much to computer controls, advanced aerodynamics and new methods of construction.

10 | EUROFIGHTER

EAP Statistics Type:

Single-seat technology demonstrator

In Use:

1986-1991

Max Speed:

Mach 2 (1522 mph/2,450 km/h at sea level)

Engine:

 Two 9,000  Two 9,000 ibf/4 ibf/40 0 kN (dry thru thrust) st) Tu Turbo rbo Union RB199 3-spool turbofans

Empty weight: 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Airframe:

Metal

Skin:

Carbon-fibre composite

Span:

38 ft 7 in (11.8m)

Length:

48 ft 3 in (14.7m)

Right: Dave Eagles, a former Royal Navy pilot, applied a Fly Navy sticker on the aircraft for its first flight. That kind of humour would be frowned upon now. Dave Eagles Below: The Below:  The Experimental Flight Report from Dave Eagles’ first flight on August 8, 1986, was declassified in January 1992. Dave Eagles

RAF Needs

By the mid 1980s, EFA was being earmarked for several different roles. One was to replace the remaining Phantoms and complement the Tornado F3 force with its agility and ability to engage Russian fighters escorting their bombers. Another was as an air superiority fighter in RAF Germany, with both Beyond Visual Range and close combat essential. The third role was effectively a s wing role, or as they were to call it in the early 1990s, dual mission, moving from air-to-air to the air-to-ground role when needed, replacing  Jaguars in Germany. Germany. Not surprisingly, surprisingly, it would carry a 50% greater weapon load than the Jaguar but would also need a greater self defence capability, with up to four ASRAAMs. A fourth requirement would lay outside NATO’s area of control, deploying to such places as the Falkland Islands, Cyprus, the Middle East and even Belize. All of this meant that there was plent y to keep the designers and RAF’S Operational Requirements Branch busy. Group Captain Ned Frith had served in that off ice before leaving the RAF for BAE, so he knew all too well what was expected of the new EFA . As critics questioned the need for EFA following the break-up of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact in the early-90s, Frith, who was responsible for BAE’s EFA marketing, made a compelling case to stick with the futuristic fighter. “I am conscious of the current political upheavals in eastern Europe, and that national economies are building up pressures for substantial defence procurement reductions,” he argued, adding, “I feel the uncertainties in the present turmoil support a strong case for a cautious approach and that it’s worth reminding ourselves that even neutral countries need defensive forces and if you have an air force, you need the air superiority fighter.” When West Germany returned to the EFA programme in May 1988 the go-ahead was

EUROFIGHTER | 11

Everyone wanted to be seen with EAP – even the Red Arrows in 1989. BAE Systems/ Geoff Geoff Lee

given to produce eight flying prototypes, including a pair of two-seaters. The first two would fly at Manching and Warton respectively. At that time the governments of Italy and Spain were yet to approve any investment.

Bidding Wars The first prototype, scheduled to fly in mid-1991,, would be powered by an mid-1991 a n interim engine, possibly the Turbo Union RB199 or General Electric F404 but, as it turned out, the RB199 was selected, while Rolls Royce and Turbo Union developed their Eurojet EJ 200. Several companies made a bid for the radar contract. Ferranti of fered a development of Sea Harrier’ s Blue Vixen radar, West Germany’s AEG in partnership with GEC Marconi offered a European version of the Hughes AN/APG-65 and Italy’s FIAR along with Inisel of Spain and Ferranti (which was clearly hedging its bets) offered a brand new radar, the ECR 90. On May 8, 1990, UK Defence Minister

Tom King announced that the ECR 90 had been selected as the EFA radar and wi th it a lucrative £300 million contract to develop the system. Ferranti (later bought by GEC Marconi and now Selex ES) provided the technology and co-ordinated production, although the work was to be split between the four partners. A third went to the UK, another third to West Germany, 21% to Italy and 12% to Spain. Flight testing of the ECR 90 radar commenced on January 8, 1993, on BAC One-Eleven trials aircraft, ZE433 of DRA Bedford. It later moved to Edinburgh/ Turnhouse Airport for continued flight trials, closer to GEC Marconi’s Edinburgh HQ. In terms of aircraft production, BAE’s workshare of 33% included the production of the front fuselage and half of the right wing, while MBB’s equal share covered the centre fuselage and vertical fin. Italy’s 21% share would see Aeritalia produce the left wing and half the rear fuselage while CASA of Spain with its 13% workshare would build

half the rear fuselage and half the right wing. Eventually CASA would build all the right wing. In the late-80s this arrangement seemed to be the fairest way to split the work share but as time would prove, it added substantial costs and delays to production of the new  jet. Yet Yet without it, there would simply have been no European fighter. It was anticipated that the RAF would buy 250 aircraft, the Luftwaffe 200, Italian Air Force 150-200 and the Spanish Air Force 75-100. EFA was not due to be fully operational until 2000.  Just bef before ore EFA was giv given en the the go ahead ahead,, the the French Government officially launched Rafale – its rival advanced combat aircraft programme – with Dassault Breguet and SNECMA covering production of two prototypes, Rafale D for Air Force and Rafale M for the Navy. France was expected to require up to 350 production Rafales, a huge number. The French Government soon became concerned even then over the costs of such a programme, with Dassault seeking

Other aircraft played an important role in the development of the Eurofighter including Active Control Technology (ACT) Jaguar XX765. Test pilot Chris Yeo Yeo is seen here flying the aircraft, fitted with leading edge strakes. Flight trials were concluded in September 1984, shortly after EAP’s first flight. BAE Systems

12 | EUROFIGHTER

European partners to share development and production of the fighter, making overtures to Belgium, which had assembled Mirage Vs in the 60s. It had been expected Belgium would take a 10% stake in the development costs but cuts to Belgian defence spending in early 1989 put paid to those thoughts. A major step in the EFA programme occurred on November 23, 1988, when the two main development contracts were signed. Signing the agreements were the NATO European Fighter Aircraft Management Agency (NEFMA) and the EFA airframe management company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug Gmbh as well as the propulsion company Eurojet Turbo Gmbh.

 Above: On May 8, 1990, the UK’s Defence Minister  Above: On Tom King announced that Ferranti had won the £300 million contract to develop the new ECR 90 radar for Eurofighter. Key Archive

The contracts effectively transformed the Memorandum of Understanding into the first true phases of the four nation project. The first EFA flight was scheduled to take place at Manching, West Germany, in 1991 with a service entry of 1996. Development costs of £2.1 £2.19 9 billion were incurred by the UK Government in 1989/90 as it stepped up its investment into the RAF’s future f ighter ighter.. The last major sub-system contract came on January 20, 1992, when the EuroDASS consortium led by GEC Marconi was awarded a $200 million deal to develop an electronic warfare suite. It came as no surprise, given they were the only bidders to put forward a comprehensive proposal, but they still had to wait three years before being announced the winners. In addition to GEC Marconi, the EuroDASS consortium comprised Elettronica of Italy and Spain’s Inisel. Most of the work was carried out at GEC Marconi’s Stanmore and Portsmouth sites. The advanced defensive aids support system would include an ESM/ECM pod on each wing tip, although Italy, Spain and the UK confirmed they would fit the EuroDASS system. Germany had announced they were to investigate cheaper alternative equipment. GEC Ferranti subsequently won a £20 million contract in March 1993 for the development of Eurofighter 2000’s laser warning receiver, receiver, which alerts the aircraft to being illuminated by an anti-aircraft or missile guidance system laser.

Red Light…Green Light

 Above: The new ECR 90 radar, which went on to be named CAPTOR was installed into modified DERA  Above: The Bedford BAC One-Eleven ZE433 during late 1992 as there was no Eurofighters available then. Key Archive

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in the early 1990s, many began to question the importance of this expensive fighter. The so-called ‘peace dividend’ was causing havoc within the defence ministries of Europe. It came as no real surprise when Germany’s Parliament voted to pull out of the project on June 30, 1992, not because of cost but because German politicians believed “it was the wrong aircraft at the

EUROFIGHTER | 13

Left: Once ECR 90 trials began in January 1993 Left: Once the BAC One-Eleven was moved to Edinburgh-  Turnhouse Airport, closer to the Ferranti (now Selex ES) Headquarters. The aircraft’s nose was considerably altered to accommodate the new system. Key Archive

wrong time”. In doing so, it suggested that all the EFA partners abandon the project and put any allocated funds into a new light combat aircraft project. At the same time Italy’s commitment to the new fighter began to wobble. Meanwhile, on September 16, 1992, the German State Secretary adv ised the British Government that Germany intended to withdraw from the development phase in February 1993, the earliest permissible date under the dispute process agreed in 1988 by the participating countries. However, Germany was still obliged contractually to continue paying its share of expenditure or pay for the cost of transferr ing work until the end of the development phase in 1999. In addition to all this uncertainty, DASA announced on October 7, 1992, that it was to cut 7,500 jobs, 11% of its workforce, mainly in the defence sector, because of a lack of political guidance as to the future needs of the German armed forces. T he Spanish

and Italian governments then ordered a slowdown followed by a freeze on all development, stating that no EFA contracts were to be signed. Eurofighter Gmbh commissioned a study into cutting costs of the EFA to suit differing national requirements, resulting in a seven volume report issued to participating nations on October 16, 1992. A revised New EFA (NEFA) eventually labelled Eurofighter 2000 could reduce cost s by between 12 and 30% while still using the existing airframe but excluding major design changes. The Eurofighter 2000 would be tailored to individual air force needs, the more basic version required by Germany featuring a 4-5% reduction in capabilities compared to the original EFA. Alternative equipment offered at the time included the replacement of GEC Ferranti’s ECR 90 radar with the Hughes AN/APG-65 and a more limited defensive aids sub system. Fears that EFA would be abandoned were allayed on December 10, 1992, by a NATO agreement in which Germany agreed to complete development work with the t hree partners. The Eurofighter 2000 option was the way ahead and would allow a number of alternatives of varying sophistication to be produced from the same basic airframe and engine. Germany would opt for the least  e  sophisticated, cheapest alternative. Left: Many of the pioneers who worked on the Left: Many EAP programme attended the EAP Unveiling. Left to right: Brian Weller (System Design Engineer Flight Control Systems Team), Allan Seabridge (EAP Utility Systems Management System), Leon Skorczewski (Chief Engineer Avionic Systems and Cockpit), Ivan Yates (Chief Executive Aircraft Group), John Lowery (Chief Engineer EAP), Dave Eagles (Director of Flight Operations), Terry Smith (Flight Test engineer), Bob Hartley (Senior Flight Test engineer), Chris Yeo (Chief Test Pilot) and Dave Ward (EAP Flight Test runner). Alan Warnes Below: EAP Below:  EAP ZF534 was unveiled at RAF Cosford Museum on February 14, 2014, after spending many years at the Loughborough University of Technology. Alan Warnes

14 | EUROFIGHTER

Prototype Eurofighter, ‘DA1’ wearing serial 98+29 made its first flight on March 27, 1994. DASA’s Chief Test Pilot, Peter Weger, flew the aircraft for 40 minutes checking all systems were functioning correctly. British Aerospace

I

N 1993, the Eurofighter programme was still stalked by uncertainty. German Defence Minister, Volker Ruhe ruled out any decision on production before 1995 because the German Parliament would have to vote on it, even asking for a two year delay in development. With the UK and Italy looking for their first deliveries in 2000, this would cause a three to f ive year slippage. More delays were inevitable as Germany and Spain were not looking for their first deliveries until 2002. Of the seven development aircraft (DA1 to DA7) being built, the German prototy pe DA1 (98+29) was moved from DASA’s production facility at Ot tobrunn by road to Manching on May 11, 11, 1992, in readiness for its f irst flight. The UK ‘s DA2 (ZH5 88) was undergoing final pre-flight testing. However, technical issues surrounding the aircraft’s digital flight control system (DFCS) obstructed the aircraft’s first flight, initially until the second half of 1993 then to March 1994, leading to the fighter falling two years behind schedule. With technical as well as political delays

 Above: After After returning returning to terra terra firma following following the first flight of of ZH588 'DA2', on April 6, 1994, 1994, Chris Chris Yeo Yeo was greeted by a jubilant British Aerospace work force. Left to right: Bill McNaughton, Managing Director, Eurofighter GmbH; Kevin Smith, Managing Director, British Aerospace, Military Aircraft Division; Chris Yeo, Director of Flight Operations, British Aerospace, Military Aircraft Division; John Weston, Chairman and Managing Director, British Aerospace Defence Ltd; David Gardner, Deputy Managing Director and European Programmes Director, British Aerospace, Military Aircraft Division. British Aerospace

EUROFIGHTER | 15

Lift of off! Dogged by political indifference in the early 1990s, the Eurofighter prototype finally made it into the air, and the programme gathered some much needed momentum

these were dark days for Eurofighter. Debates were breaking out across Europe over the cost and necessit y of a requirement born in the Cold War days but now apparently facing no real threat from the east. Nevertheless, industry continued continued with the project and taxi trials of DA1 (98+29) (98+29) began on July 1, 1993, to assess the nose wheel steering, undercarriage and braking characteristics. While preparations for the Eurofighter’s first f light continued, it became clear in early 1996 that the German Government had still not rubber-stamped any funding for the project, thus delaying procurement plans for another year. German sources were claiming technical issues with the radar and avionics development lay behind the delays.

First flight Finally, after years of anticipation, the big day arrived. With very little pre-publicity, the prototype Eurofighter, DA1/98+29, finally lifted of f on March 27, 1994, from the Manching runway. The 40-minute flight saw the aircraft successfully complete airborne

RAF Eurofighter Basing Plans In March 1999, the RAF announced the bases that Eurofighter would operate from when it entered service in the 2000s. Supervising the RAF Eurofighter into service was Air Commodore Rick Peacock-Edwards, the RAF’s Director of Eurofighter Assurance Group. He reported RAF Coningsby, Lincs, would be the first to equip with the new fighter when the Operational Evaluation Unit/Operati Unit/Operational onal Conversion Conversio n Unit was established in 2002. Following this, two frontline squadrons were to equip at Coningsby in 2006, then RAF Leeming,North Yorkshire would re-equip with two squadrons in 2008-10 and finally RAF Leuchars, Fife,

was to gain three squadrons between 2009-10. As we know now, that timetable did not work out, due mainly to the Royal Saudi Air Force deal for 72 Eurofighters, when jets were diverted from the RAF as well as delays to Tranche 2. Of the 232 RAF aircraft, 40 would be two-seaters, thus seeing a fundamental swing from the RAF’s make up of 70% two-seat and 30% single-seaters in 1999 to 30% two-seat and 70% single-seat. An eight-man team working in the Air Warfare Centre at RAF Waddington, Lincs, calling upon experiences that included exchange postings on the F-14 Tomcat. F-15 Eagle and F-117, was tasked with setting up Eurofighte Eurofighterr doctrine. Work included the

compilation of tactical manuals, conversion manuals and syllabus for operational squadrons. As a result, most became the first pilots to convert. In a first for British industry, the Eurofighter Operational Evaluation Unit (OEU) ,17 (R) Squadron, was raised at BAE Warton during the initial stages of operations, a logical step allowing maximum use of the site there. The OEU initiative, under the name ‘Case White’ was based out of Hangars Four and Five. Twelve pilots initially converted to the type at Warton to form the OCU at RAF Coningsby, where it was anticipated the first squadron would be declared operational in 2005. 2005. (For more see RAF First Ten Years.)

16 | EUROFIGHTER

 Above: BAE Systems (or British Aerosapce as it  Above: BAE was known then) prototype, ZH588/’DA2’, flew for the first time on April 6, 1994 with BAE's Chris Yeo, Test Pilot and Director of Flight Operations at the controls. British Aerospace Below: German Below:  German test pilot, Peter Weber steps out of DA1 after the prototype made its first flight on March 27, 1994. Eurofighter GmbH 

Development Developme nt Aircraft  The pro prototy totypes pes were were all buil builtt on indi individu vidual al jigs, jigs, not not on on a prod producti uction on line line and and as a result result wer were e built built with with speci specific fic tasks tasks in mind. They all had subtle differences which allowed capabilitie s to be built into them. A/c No

Serial

Partner/Base

Role

First Flight

Last Flight

DA1

98+29

DASA/Manching, Ge Germany

Engine te testing/handling

27.03.94

21.12.05

DA2

ZH588

BAE/Warton, UK

Envelope expansion

06.04.94

29.1.07

DA3

MMX602

Alenia/Turin-Caselle, Italy

Engine, weapons and store

04.06.95

7.2.06

DA4

ZH590

BAE/Warton, UK

ECR 90 radar assessment

14.03.97

13.12.06

DA5

98+30

DASA/Manching, Germany

ECR 90 radar assessment

24.02.97

30.10.07

DA6

XCE.16-01

CASA/Getafe, Spain

Environmental and handling

31.08.96

W/o 21.11.02

DA7

MMX603

Alenia/Turin-Caselle, Italy

Weapons an and stores tr trial

27.01.97

10.9.07

system and handling checks in the hands of DASA Chief Test Pilot, Peter Weger, who described the flight as “extremely successful and the handling as superb” before adding “this is the beginning of a new phase in fighter aircraft technology”. On the 20th anniversary of DA1's first flight in 2014, Peter Weger spoke of Eurofighter, "I had little idea when I made that maiden flight from Manching what an amazing story this would become. I knew I was piloting an incredible aircraft and we had something special. It is certainly one of those days that

EFBites Lt Colonel Heinz Spolgen was the first German AF pilot to fly a single-seat Eurofighter, 98+29/DA1, during Spring 1996 

DA2 was first to achieve Mach 2, on December 23, 1997. 

 Above & right: right: The  The front and rear view of the EFA prototype’s centre fuselage manufactured at MBB Augsburg in 1990.

lives with you for the rest of your life." At the time DA1 was set to complete 20 sorties from Manching before transfer to BAE Warton and being re-serialled ZH586 for handling and envelope expansion trials. The idea idea was was later dropped and

the jet stayed in Germany. The second prototy pe Eurofighter, DA2/ZH588, flew from BAE Warton on a miserable April 6, 1994, with Chris Yeo, Test Test Pilot and Director of Flight Operations. Not too surprisingly, it was an emotional day for those working at the facility, with most of them leaving their work place to witness the memorable event. Work share

Industry negotiations between DASA (Germany), British Aerospace (UK), Alenia

EUROFIGHTER | (Italy) and CA SA (Spain) over production issues were cited for further delays amidst fears Germany only intended to buy 140, thus decreasing its work share from 33% to 23%, while BAe would wrestle extra production from DASA. A compromise came in mid-January 1996, when Germany accepted a 30% work share in produc tion and the UK was allocated 38%. The decision was precipitated by German Defence Minister Ruhe, who requested an additional batch of 40 Eurofighters for air-toground missions, later earmarked as multirole, in addition to the proposed 140 EF 2000s. T his, and the fact the UK was looking to reduce its initial forecast for aircraft to replace the Tornado F3 and Jaguar to 232, led to the compromise. The two nations, along with Italy and Spain, could now finalise production investment. Inevitably, on August 8, 1996, another twist came when the UK National Audit Office (NAO) issued a statement showing the UK’s share of the project had esc alated by £1.25 billion to a total cost of £15.4 billion, some 43.7% over budget. It forced the Eurofighter issue into the public forum. Restructuring the programme, the aircraft was now costing £38 million each, based on the UK’s acquisition of 232 aircraft. Despite all this, on September 2, 1996 – the first day of the Farnborough Air Show – the UK Ministry of Defence announced it was ready to go ahead with production of the £40 billion Eurofighter. There was light at the end of the tunnel!

 Above: The front fuselage of the first European Fighter Aircraft, as Eurofighter was known then, P01 being  Above: The transferred to the Stage 2 assembly jig at Warton Warton in June 1990. Stage 2 saw the fitting of access panels and systems components. After Stage 2, avionic equipment, cockpit canopies and the ejection seat were to be fitted at Stage 3 before shipment of the complete front fuselage to MBB at Manching in early 1991. Final assembly took place at Manching prior to the roll out in 1992. British Aerospace Below: CASA’s Below:  CASA’s Director of Flight Operations, Alfonso de Miguel, is seen here flying the dual seat prototype from CASA’s Getafe facility on August 31, 1996. The flight, which lasted 55 minutes, meant DA6/XCE.16-01 flew before DA4 and DA5. British Aerospace

Delayed operationally Many issues had beset the programme, mainly through the German Government’s unwillingness to fund such an expensive project on the back of the country’s costly re-unification. It meant Eurofighter was not expected to become operational until 2003, initially with the UK and Ital y, a delay of some six years over the original proposals in the late 1980s. After the Spanish Eurofighter’s inaugural trip on August 31, 1996, when dual-seat prototype DA6/XCE.16-01 carried out its first test flight, came more welcome news. The country’ s Government finally agreed to fund participation in the Eurofighter programme, planning to buy 87 fighters at a cost of around £470 million between 1997 and 2010. At the same time, DASA and the German Ministry of Defence were trying to close a £100 million funding gap. DASA required DM350 million in 1997 but the German Ministry in September 1996 was only offering DM100 million. Meanwhile, Italy’s Government was set to cut the Italian Air Force's order from 130 to 90, though t he Air Force wanted 121 aircraft. The clearest indication yet that Germany would find the required money to go ahead with Eurofighter came on June 24, 1997 1997,, when German Finance Minister Theo Waigel announced the project was “absolutely necessary” for Germany’s defence plans. It coincided with DASA threatening to stop its

Eurofighter Orders No

Ger

Italy

Spain

UK

 Tranche  Tra nche 1

147

44

28*

20

55

 Tranche  Tra nche 2

237

68

47*

33

89

 Tranche  Tran che 3A 3A

112

31

21

20

40

 Tranche  Tran che 3B* 3B*

124

37

25

14

48

 Total  Tot al

620

180

121

87

232

*Although it was agreed to build 620 aircraft, the four partner nations could not agree over o ver the final 236 jets. Instead it was decided to split Tranche 3, which saw Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet and NETMA sign a 9 billion Euros ($12.7 billion) Tranche 3a production contract on July 31,2009, for a further 112 Typhoons, plus 241 engines for the four partner nations. In addition, the 12 aircraft ordered by Oman and 48 for Saudi Arabia, sold by BAE Systems, are being treated as part of Tranche 3 production. That means 172 of the 236 Eurofighters have been contracted and will go some way to alleviating pressure on restructuring the work share. * After Italy supplied a Tranche 1 aircraft to to Austria during production they took an extra Tranche 2 jet.

investment in the programme if a decision was not reached soon. No f inal decision was made until the defence budget was set, but a requirement of DM850 million (£30 0 million) was needed in the 1998 federal budget and it finally came on July 11, 1997.

Political agreement On November 26, 1997, the German Parliament committed to a budget for the purchase of 180 aircraft. Could the Eurofighter community dare to believe that, finally, after years of wrangling over production and costs, all four nations might come to an agreement? Meanwhile, the Eurofighter continued to make history. On December 15, 1997, the first ever missile was launched, from Alenia’s DA7. Flown by test pilot Maurizio Chell, it fired an AIM-9L Sidewinder air to air missile over the Decimomannu ranges in S ardinia;

17

18 | EUROFIGHTER

DA6 is lost As is often the case in any developmen t phase, misfortune hit the programme on November 21, 2002, when DA6/XCE.16-01 crashed shortly after take-off from Getafe. The dual-seater was undertaking engine relight trails, when one engine flamed out while flying at 40,000ft (12,200m) and Mach 0.7 over Toledo. After Af ter descending to 30,000ft (9,150m), the crew attempted to relight the dead engine but at this point the second engine also wound down. As this was a development aircraft, it was not fitted with a ram air turbine that would have provided hydraulic and electrical power following total engine failure. Failure of both engines meant there th ere was no power for the flight control systems, meaning that control would have been lost in seconds. The crew, EADS CASA chief test pilot Colonel Eduardo Cuadrado and Spanish Air Force official test centre test pilot Commander Igancio Lombo, therefore ejected as soon as the second engine failed, both landing safely. The aircraft came down at 1215hrs, 15mins after take-off, in unpopulated countryside on the Poligono de Pruebas de Anchura military test range about 60 miles (100km) south of Madrid, near Belvis de la Jar a, Toledo province. This was the first Eurofighter loss and although loss of a prototype during extensive modern military aircraft flight test programmes is not unusual, the timing of this crash, just before the first four production aircraft were to be handed-over to the partner nations in December, was a little unfortunate. DA6 had completed 326 flight hours in 362 test flights. As the aircraft was a prototype, it was fitted with specialised flight test instrumentation and flight data recorders plus telemetry equipment for relaying data in real time on every aircraft system and parameter to the flight test cen tre at Getafe. Although Eurofighter flight-testing was temporarily suspended for 24 hours after the crash, the type was not officially grounded and testing continued. The loss of both engines was attributed to a problem concerning the particular engine model fitted to DA6 during a certain part of the flight envelope. The problem did not affect other variants of the EJ200 engines.

DA3 MMX602 touches down at Alenia’s Turin-Ca-  selle facility on June 4, 1994. The 52 minute flight was carried out by Chief Test Pilot Commandante Napoleone Bragagnolo. Alenia

two days later on December 17 an Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) was successfully fired. In the UK, BA E Chief Test Pilot Paul Hopkins took DA2 to Mach 2.0 on December 23, 1997, followed by a series of successful air-to-air refuelling trials on  January 12, 1998, 1998, over the Irish Sea with a VC-10, VC10, simultaneously completing it s longest flight to date. Also in January, Italy’s DA3 became the first to fly with large external stores – wing mounted fuel tanks. Finally, on January 30, 1998, after years of disagreement, the governments of Germany, Italy, Spain and UK finally signed the first production contracts. The aircraft’s future was secure. Contracts on production tooling and various other elements of preparatory work for 620 Eurofighters, with another 80 on option, were signed. In doing so, it safeguarded some 80,000 jobs in the UK and provided the RAF with an aircraft to replace the Jaguar and Tornado Air Defence Version (ADV). Germany would acquire 180, Italy 121, Spain 87 and the UK 232. However, further disagreements surfaced on March 11, 1998, when the four partners could not come to a conclusion on the name for the Eurofighter. Although widely tipped to be Typhoon,

 Above: Prototype 98+29 wearing Joint Produc-   Above: Prototype tion 001 (JP001) (JP001) build number, sits at Manching in early 1994 1994 after being rolled rolled out. This aircraft and the second prototype, DA2, flew initially wit h modified RB199 Mk104E Mk104E engines, al lowing rapid expansion of the flight envelope during t he early stages of the flight tes t programme. Rolls Royce Below: An Below:  An early publicity shot of the Martin Baker Mk 16A ejection seat for EFA. The DA aircraft ini-  tially had Mk 10LX ejection seats, replaced later with Mk 16As after they were qualified. Martin Baker 

EUROFIGHTER | 19 Left: Engineers fit an EJ200 engine into the DA3 Left: Engineers at Alenia, Turin, when the aircraft was being assembled in August 1993. The engine installation trials were completed successfully. The first two prototypes were powered by the RB199. Rolls Royce Below: At Below:  At Warton on April 10, 1992, the front fuselage of DA3 being loaded for shipping to the  Alenia facility facility at Turin-Caselle Turin-Caselle,, Italy. Italy. British Aerospace

Germany protested that the name was associated with World War Two, when the aircraft was used to kill German citizens. In August the consortium finally agreed to rename the Eurofighter 2000 and Typhoon was finally adopted on September 2, 1998, although as time has shown only the UK and Italy use the name. First Tranche contracted

During September 1998, a week after the Farnborough Airshow, Eurofighter, Eurojet and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) converted the production contracts that were signed on January 30 into fixed-price firm orders valued at DM14 DM14 billion ($8.2 billion). The deal covered the first batch of 148 Eurofighter/ Typhoon aircraft (Germany 44, Italy 29, Spain 20 and UK 55 aircraft) and 363 EJ 200 engines. Also included in the deal were spare engines and other equipment for this initial batch, as well as funding for long lead items for the second batch of 2 36 aircraft. Being tasked with overseeing the procurement of weapon systems for the air forces of the four partners, NE TMA played a key part in the Eurofighter’s evolution. By early 1999, construction of the first production Eurofighter was underway right across Europe, with all the partners working on the first sub-as semblies and components. Production halls and hangars

EFBites Martin Baker Mk 16A ejection seats were retro-fitted retro-fi tted to the DAs after their first flights. 

The first successful firing of a Mauser 27mm cannon took place on March 13, 2002, from aircraft DA3. 

were also being built at the facilities of Alenia (Italy) and CASA (Spain). Sub assembly of the front-fuselage commenced at BAE during December 1998, as did the centre-fuselage at DASA, while CASA had commenced sub assembly on its first right wing in  January 1999. In a

press briefing on March 3, 1999, it was announced that assembly of the first of f ive instrumented production aircraft (IPA) was scheduled to occur during late 2000, firs t flight in 2001 and deliveries to commence in 2002. The first three were two-seaters – IPA1 operated by BAE tasked for defensive aids sub-system integration; IPA2 (Alenia) for air-tosurface weapon integration and sensor fusion; IPA3 (DASA) for air-to-air weapons integration; IPA4 (CASA) the first single-seater single-seater,, was for air-to-surface weapon integration as well as environmental trials; while IPA5 was the second aircraft for BAE, for air-to-air and airto-surface weapon integration. BAE’s Director of New Eurofighter Business, Mike Rudd, was tasked with finding additional business over the 620 aircraft ordered by the four founder countries. He believed “delays “delays to Eurofighter Eurofighter have found it only now being prepared for production, just as world demand is set to increase, and sees Eurofighter with a potential export sale of up to to 1,000 aircraft”. As so often, that now sounds wildly optimistic, because 15 years on the Eurofighter has sold 99, to Austria (15), Saudi Arabia (72) and Oman (12) in addition to the 496 the four partners have agreed to buy so far.

 Above: DA7/MM-X603 was the second prototype to be powered by the EJ200 engine (the other was  Above: DA7/MM-X603 Italian too) and made its first flight from Turin-Caselle on January 27, 1997. Alenia

20 | EUROFIGHTER

DA3 MMX602 was the first jet to be powered by the EJ200 but as well as engine tests, the aircraft was used for weapons and store testing.

The four companies known then as Alenia, BAE, CASA CA SA and DASA involved within the Eurofighter Gmbh consortium, carved up the world’s export markets between themselves. The company with the strongest regional links was left to market the Eurofighter. Eurofighter. BAE was responsible for marketing Eurofighter to Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and UAE. Germany’s DASA was making headway in Greece, which in February 1999 looked set to order up to 80 Eurofighters in a contract worth around $4.54 billion, with deliveries scheduled scheduled after 2005. However as Greece headed towards signing up to the European monetary union, the Greek Government looked to keep a tighter grip on its finances…the consequences of its finance management became all too visible some years later. later. Reality eventually hit home, when on March 29, 2001, the Greek Government postponed the purchase

 Above: The sixth prototype to fly was DA5/98+30,  Above: The the first single-seater to be powered by an EJ 200. Chief Test Pilot, Wolfgang Schirdewahn flew the aircraft for one hour from Manching, Germany, on February 24, 1997. Eurofighter GmbH  Below: On Below:  On March 14, 1997, 1997, Briti sh Aerospac e finally got their second prototype, DA4/ZH590, into the air. Flown by BAe Chief Test Pilot Derek Reeh, it was the last DA to fly and incorporated the ECR 90 radar. It was the only DA to make its maiden flight in primer. British Aerospace

Alenia

to beyond 2004, in order to finance the Olympic Games, which it was due to host that year. Other export campaigns in the early 2000s were being run in the Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea and Singapore, but Eurofighter failed to capture any of the markets, mainly because the jet was not mature enough at that time to be a real competitor. Even so, Major Frode Evenson, a test pilot from the Royal Norwegian Air Force Material Command, flew Eurofighter DA5 on three evaluation flights in December 1998 and was impressed. “Even for an F-16 pilot, the maximum power of the aircraft is absolutely impressive,” he enthused. Evenson was the 29th pilot from five nations to fly the aircraf t at that time. The RSAF failed to down-select the Eurofighter and in a statement issued on April 21, 2005, Singapore’s MINDEF noted ‘the Typhoon is a very capable aircraft but its proposed delivery schedule did not meet RSAF requirements’. The RSAF wanted wanted their Next F ighter Replacement Programme

EFBites DA4 spent mid-1998 caged at BAE Warton for lightning strike trials. Eurofighter ’s 1,000 1,000th th  DA5 notched the Eurofighter sortie on May 18, 1999. 

22 | EUROFIGHTER

Prototype

(15,240m) and completed initial engine certification testing. In June 2000 the jet was re-sprayed black overall for more test flights. They included a series of high Mach, high angle of attack and high G manoeuvres at low altitude to examine the effects on the aircraft’s carbon fibre materials. This saw 490 transducers attached to the starboard side with black suction cups; hence the need for a new colour scheme to improve the aircraft’s appearance. The first pressure plotting flight occurred on July 28, to validate vali date flight and ground test equipment as well as obtaining the first data, later used for comparison against wind tunnel tests. The jet deployed to RAF Leuchars, Fife, from flight development programme. September 28-October 12, 2000, for two Accompanied by a Tornado GR1 chase plane, weeks of trials over the North Sea as par t of its  John Turner (the EF-2000 project pilot, who supersonic handling programme. During the shouldered much of the planned intensive detachment it was flown by BAE flying) flew the jet for 1 hour 22 minutes. Systems Eurofighter test pilot, Keith Hartley Getting DA2 back in the air allowed the and Squadron Leader Graham Archer. DA2 Eurofighter finally to make an became the first to complete 500 test appearance at the Paris Air Show, flights, on January 12, 2003, with albeit in the static. Turner flew it Chief Test Pilot Paul Hopkins from BAE Warton to Paris on on board. The aircraft was its 18th flight on June 9 then “By mid-2000, finally retired on January flew it back to its base 29, 2007, after flying 615 on June 13 to resume DA5 had explored hours, the highest of any flight testing. It also around 90% of the Development Aircraft, It appeared, albeit briefly,  jet's envelop envelope e and is now displayed at the at the International Air RAF Museum in Hendon. Tattoo at RAF Fairford, achieved regular Gloucestershire, during supercruise without  July 1995. DA2 finally finally DA3 afterburner”  made its first official flying DA3/MMX602 made its first appearance, carrying two flight from the Alenia-Caselle ASRAAMs and four AMRAAMs, facility on June 4, 1995, with at Farnborough in September chief test pilot Napoleone 1996. BAe Chief Test Pilot Paul Hopkins Bragagnolo at the controls. DA3 became took DA2 to Mach 2.0 on December 23, 1997. the first to fly with wing mounted fuel tanks in On January 12, 1998, it flew a s eries of air-to January 1998. It complete completed d engine initial air refuelling trials with a VC-10, simultanecertification testing and flew supersonically ously completing its longest flight to date (see with 220-gallon (1,000 litre) tanks in 1999. page 24). During 1999 DA2 flew to 50,000ft Its last flight occurred on February 7, 2006, having flown 368 hours. It was initially placed in store at Caselle, where it is now being Below: The Below:  The two British Aerospace Eurofighter DA preserved. aircraft — DA2 and DA4. All photos, Eurofighter GmbH 

Review DA1 DA 1

DA1/98+29 first flew on March 27, 1994, but it was more than two years before its firs t official airshow appearance at ILA 96, held in Berlin from May 13-19, 1996. In doing so it made the type’s first public flying display. This aircraft was also used for arrestor hook trials and by the end of 1997 had its RB 199 engines replaced by the newer EJ 200 powerplant, plus a major cockpit modification, allowing it to rejoin later phases of the flight test programme. The prototype was formally retired following its last sortie on December 21, 2005, at Manching, having accumulated 498 flying hours. It is now on display at the Deutsches Museum, Oberschleissheim.

DA2 Ten days after the first flight of DA1, on April 6, 1994, the Warton-built DA2/ZH588 made its maiden flight with Chris Yeo, BAe’s Defence Director of Flight Operations, at the controls. The two aircraft had flown a combined 15 hours of test flying when, by early August 1994, both DA1 and DA2 were grounded for a planned flight control system and avionics upgrade that included cockpit displays, instrumentation and associated systems. DA2/ZH588 eventually got back into the air on May 17, 1995, with Chris Yeo in the hot seat to kick-start a second phase of the

EUROFIGHTER | 23

 Above: DA6  Above:  DA6 in action, though it was written off in a crash on November 21, 2002.

DA4

Two-seater DA4/ZH590 was the last of the seven prototypes to fly, on March 14, 1997, although it was actually rolled out on May 4, 1994! Incorporating I ncorporating the ECR 90 radar, the aircraft was flown by BAe Chief Test Pilot, Derek Reeh. It was the first British two-seater as a s well as the first British-built aircraft with the EJ200 powerplant. Used for two-seat handling, radar development and integration trials, the jet was retired on December 13, 2006, with 395 hours on the clock. Today it is preserved in the AirSpace hangar at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire. DA5

DA5/98+30 became the sixth example to get into the air when it made a one hour flight from Manching on February 24, 1997 , in the hands of Chief Test Pilot, Wolfgang Schirdewahn. DA5 was the first Eurofighter to incorporate the ECR 90 radar, in fact fa ct it was the

first single-seater with a full avionics f it and as such was the closest to the definitive operational aircraft. The new radar was operational during the first flight, undertaking initial target acquisition and tracking tests against two other aircraft. DA5 went to Rygge AB, Norway, in early-June 199 8 for a series of flight demonstrations as part of the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s search for 20 aircraft as an F-5, early F-16 replacement. As it is, the competition against the F-16 Block 50N was never concluded. By mid-2000, DA5 had explored around 90% of the jet’s envelope and achieved regular supercruise without afterburner, demonstrations of high-sortie rates, launching air-to-air missiles and proving aerodynamic agility. In May 2003 the jet began a refit that involved the installation of production standard avionics and it resumed test flying later in the year. As DA5 is a non-production standard airframe, some of the ‘black boxes’ had ha d to be

accommodated in place of the Mauser 27mm cannon magazine of the aircraft. On May 8 2007, the aircraft flew at EADS/ Manching with the new CAESAR (CAPTOR Active Electronically Scanning Array Radar) system. On October 30, 2007, it was withdrawn from use after 463 flying hours. It is now used as a travelling ground exhibit serialled ‘31+30’. DA6

Spanish Eurofighter dual-seat prototype DA6/ XCE.16-01 carried out its first test flight on August 31, 1996, from CASA’s Getafe facility. Piloting the aircraft was CASA’s Director of Flight Operations, Alfonso de Miguel, who flew the aircraft for 55 minutes with no snags. In March 2000 the jet completed environmental testing trials in the UK at DERA Boscombe Down, Wiltshire and also flew with a Flight Aircrew Liquidation System. The aircraft was written off in a crash on November 21, 2002, from which both pilots escaped (see panel, ‘DA-6 is Lost’ on Page 18). DA7 DA 7

 Above: DA7, the second Italian prototype, spent a considerable amount of time involved in weapons trials.  Above: DA7, It was the only DA to be fitted with a working PIRATE passive sensor system. Eurofighter GmbH 

DA7/MM-X603 made its first flight from A lenia-Caselle on January 27, 1997 and was the second prototype to be powered by the EJ200 engine. It was used to integrate the navigation and communications systems, and for weapons development. It appeared at the Paris Air Show, held on June 14-21, 199 7, alongside DA6/XCE.16-01, with the pair flying together during the latter part of the week. week. On December 15, 1997, the first ever missile was launched, from the aircraft. Flown by test pilot pilot Maurizio Chell, it fired an AIM-9L Sidewinder over the Decimomannu ranges in Sardinia and on December 17 the jet successfully fired an AMRAAM. The aircraft appeared at the Paris Show in 2003, carrying the code ‘345’. DA7 was retired having been flown 475 hours, and officially withdrawn from use at Cameri on September 10, 2007, where it is now preserved.

24 | EUROFIGHTER

BAe Chief Test Pilot Paul Hopkins took DA2 on a series of successful air-to-air refuelling trials over the Irish Sea, along with a VC-10 tanker on January 12, 1998.  MOD 

aircraft in serv ice by 2008 and were concerned Eurofighter would not be ready to fulfil the RSAF ’s full requirement by then.

On board systems As for systems, a rough division of labour made BAE Systems responsible for avionics, EADS Germany (formerly DASA) for flight controls, Alenia for utility controls and EADS Spain (formerly CASA) for structures. On a more detailed level, BAE Systems is responsible for avionics integration, displays and control, integrated monitoring and recording systems, defensive aids, aircrew equipment assembly, electrical and fuel systems, crew EFBites escape (Martin  DA6 was used for Baker Mk 16 ejector high temperature seat) and life trails at Morón, Spain support systems. in summer, 1998. Three production batches, known  DA7 was used as Tranches, were for weapons originally planned integration and was to be delivered as the first to f ire follows: Tranche AIM-9L Sidewinder, 1 – 148 aircraft AIM-120B AMRAAM (from 2000-2005), and AIM-13 A IM-132 2 Tranche 2 – 236 ASRAAM. (2005-2010) and

 Above left: left: This poor photo captures the first time a missile was ever launched from a Eurofighter. Flying  Alenia’s DA7, test pilot Maurizio Maurizio Chell, fired an AIM-9L Sidewinder Sidewinder air to air missile missile over the the Decimomannu Decimomannu ranges in Sardinia on December 15, 1997. Alenia  Above: Covered  Above:  Covered with test symbology, a 1,000 litre external fuel tank was dropped for the first time in December 1997, by DA7. Eurofighter GmbH   Above right: right: Thorn  Thorn EMI (now part of Thales) was playing a key role in developing the Infra-Red Search and Track IRST syetsm known as PIRATE PIRATE for the new Eurofighter 2000. The company was a leading member of the Eurofirst consortium comprising Italy’s FIAR (lead contractor), Thorn EMI ( system technical authority) and Tecnobit of Spain. Thorn EMI 

 Above: In March 2000, Spain’s DA6 deployed to DERA Boscombe Down for full environmental test trials,  Above: In which saw it use the blower tunnel and icing facility to simulate in-flight icing conditions. MOD 

EUROFIGHTER | 25 Tranche 3 – 236 (2010-2015). As we know now, delays meant the dates were never met, but the three tranches equate roughly to the three steps in the phased operational capability, which are dependent on software updates. Production Software Package (PSP) 1 related to the basic air defence and training missions from the time of the aircraft ’s initial operational capability. It features visual identification (visident) steer, energy cue, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogator and ability to fire off-boresight AIM-9L Sidewinders or Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ASR AAM). In late 2001, PSP-2 was expected to be in the air from the 3,000th flight onwards and related to the full air defence role, feat uring the Defensive Aids Sub-System (DASS), MultiFunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) and Direct Voice Input (DVI) to increase survivability, interoperability and enhanced man/machine interface (MMI). The Selex ES DASS is one of many Eurofighter showcase components on the jet. It features integrated jamming against most advanced threats, spherical field of vision, long range detection and identification, phased array technology and co-ordinated radio frequency jamming,

 Above: On January 30, 1998, the three major contractors involved in Eurofighter, Eurojet GmbH, NETMA  Above: On and Eurofighter finally signed a production production contract to build the aircraft. Left to right: Ken Greenall (Eurojet GmbH), Jack Gordon (NETMA) and Brian Phillipson (Eurofighter GmbH) after the deal had been done, behind the model of a Eurofighter 2000 as it was called then. PA

expendables such as chaff and flares, plus manoeuvre cues for the pilot to stay out of harm’s way. The system features a rear missile warner, nose mounted laser warner, flare and chaff dispensers, a front missile warner, towed decoy from the starboard wing tip counter-balanced by an ESM/ECM pod on the port.

 Above right: Several right:  Several export campaigns were being run in the early 2000s. Major Frede Evenson, a test pilot of the Royal Norwegian Air Force flew DA5 in August 2000.  Above left: Lt Gen Dick Berlijn (left) Commander in Chief Royal Netherlands Air Force, with Eduardo Cuadrado the EADS CASA test pilot and head of the Getafe Flight Unit, after his test flight in DA6.

Baseline munitions carried and trialled by IPA5 in the early day s included AIM-120C AMRAAM, ASRA AM, 1,000lb (454kg) (454kg) bombs, BL755 cluster bombs and basic ALARM. In Tranche 2, this was to be expa nded to include BVRAAM, precision guided munitions, Paveway II, a laser designator pod, Storm Shadow and Brimstone. The base-line air defence configuration back then was expected to be a pair of ASRAAMs (now four) and four AIM-120C AMRAAMs and now used for Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire; Leuchars, Fife and in the Falklands. The swing-role configuration was covered by PSP-3, which should cover Forward Looking Infra-Red/Infra-Red Search and Track (FLIR/IRST), Helmet Mounted Sighting System (HMSS), full DASS and sensor fusion to enhance survivability, improved situational awareness. Initially PSP-3 was due after 5,000 flights to allow the aircraft to gain its full operational capability, but  e  that was soon to change.

In June 2000, DA2/ZH588 was re-sprayed in an overall black paint scheme to hide the 490 pressure transducers on the aircraft as it was prepared for more test flights. The trials were needed to validate work carried out in the wind tunnel. MOD 

26 | EUROFIGHTER

IPAs Are Go As production aircraft came together from their assembly lines around Europe in the first decade of the 21st century, the Eurofighter project stepped up a gear, gear, as potential weapons systems and software suites began to be added to the mix

S

ERIAL PRODUCTIO N of the Eurofighter was in full swing as the new millennium kicked off, with a centre fuselage section for the first Instrumented Production Aircraf t (IPA) being delivered to DaimlerChry sler Aerospace at Augsburg, Germany. The section was fitted out at the DASA facility in Manching. After production was completed, on September 6, 2000, the centre-section was delivered to BAe Warton, where it was mated to the Alenia built rear fuselage. The Final Assembly Integrated Product Team (IPT) then set about marrying them to the front fuselage, prior to adding the EADS-Spain and Alenia built wings, along with various electrica l and mechanical systems , following which power was switched on dur ing December 2001. Production at the BAe Warton site was followed by work commencing at Alenia Aerospazio of Italy, EADS-Germany and

 Above: The impressive sight of IPA3/98+03 flying with what was then the heaviest ever Eurofighter load during February 2006. Underneath its wings are four AMRAAMs and two IRIS-T short range mis-  siles, three external fuel tanks and four Paveway IIs. Eurofighter-Geoff Lee

EADS-Spain. The first aircraft, IPA1 serialled ZJ699 (Build No PT001), was eventually used by BAE Systems for Defensive Aids SubSystem (DASS) integration work and is still flying today, mainly on Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVRA AM) and Data Air Computer (DAC) work. A hat-trick

The first of a trio of fir st flights in Spring 2002, was made by Alenia’s IPA2/MM. X61 X614, 4, at Turin-Caselle, Turin-Caselle, Ital y, on April 5, 2002. Flying the aircraft on its 25-minute flight was Alenia test-pilot Maurizio Cheli. Three days later, on April 8, the first German series production aircraft , dual-seater IPA3/98+ IPA3/98+ 03, made

its maiden flight from the EADS facilit y at Manching. Flying it was EADS test pilot Chris Worning, along with Lt Col Rober t Hierl of WTD61, Germany’s off icial flight test centre. After the flight, a happy Chris Worning enthused, “Our experience with EFBites IPA3 is an enormous  Prototype morale boost.” Eurofighter Then, during DA1/98+29, stored the evening of at Manching since April 16, 2002, being retired on the first British December 21, 2005, series production was finally moved Eurofighter, IPA1/ to a good home on ZJ699, achieved the March 15, 2007, third first flight of when it was the month when driven by road to the it took off from Deutsches Museum BAe Warton for 26 at Oberschleissheim minutes. It had for preservatio preservation. n. been expected to

EUROFIGHTER | 27

 Above: PT001, which went on to become ZJ699/IPA1, is seen on the final assembly line at BAE Warton on March 1, 2002, just six weeks before it made its first flight. Eurofighter-Geoff Lee

 Above: Tyhoon Project Pilot Keith Hartley and BAE Systems Chief Test Pilot Paul Hopkins flew the first pro-  duction aircraft, PT001 serialled ZJ699, which is IPA-1 on April 16, 2002. The aircraft was still in primer. primer. Eurofighter-Geoff Lee

fly in mid-2001 but met with delays. Project pilot Keith Hartley flew the aircraft, with BAE Systems chief test pilot Paul Hopkins in the rear seat. All three jets were joined by the last pair of IPAs, plus the first single-seat production aircraft , in 2004. With the seven Eurofighter Development Aircraft (DA), all 12 jets could complete flight-testing and certif certification. ication. Another significa nt milestone in the Eurofighter programme had been reached on April 9, 2002, when BAE Systems twin seat development aircraft, DA4, successfully carried out the first ever fully-guided firing of a live Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). Piloted by BAE Systems test pilot Craig Penrice, with WSO Stan Ralph in the rear seat, DA4 flew from BAE War ton to the QinetiQ range at Benbecula in the Hebrides, where it tracked and targeted an unmanned Mirach target before successfully firing

IPAs and ISPAs Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPAs) are built on the production line designed specifically for developing the Eurofighter, whereas the Development Aircraft (DA) were built in a cradle. There T here are also several Instrumented Series Production Aircraft (ISPA) that have emerged from the production line for use by one of the four Partner Companies which can then be transferred back into service with the partner nations. the AMRAAM. Describing the flight, Craig Penrice said, “The radar acquired the Mirach at a very long range [believed to be 19 miles (30km)] and continued to track the target all the way through until after the missile actually destroyed the target.” With the four partner nations unable to define a configuration st andard for Tranche Tranche 2 aircraft , a slowdown in Tranche Tranche 1 Eurofighter

deliveries was announced in July 2003. Consequently, Tranche 2 production would also be pushed back “between one and two years and the manufacturing rate reduced” according to the then BAE Systems Chief Operating Officer, Steve Mogford. It soon became evident each nation was developing its own clearance process, tailored to its own requirements, and several more s teps had to be taken before the aircraft could officially be delivered to the custom er. Problems focused on which weapons would be integrated on to Tranche 2 aircraft , as they had to be balanced against against the desire to reduce costs. Nevertheless Nevertheless,, the contract was eventuall y signed by the General Manager of the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Mangement Mangement Agency (NET MA) on December 14, 2004, on behal f of the project’s co-ordinating industrial consortia, Eurofighter Jagdflug zeuge Gmbh and Eurojet Turbo GmbH.

28 | EUROFIGHTER

Despite delays by the four partner nations in signing off the contrac t for 236 Tranche 2  jets, BAE moved ahead with upgrade of early production RA F Tranche Tranche 1 aircraft ZJ804 (BT005),, which became ISPA1. (BT005) ISPA1. A third major milestone in the AMRAAM test-firing programme for the Eurofighter Typhoon took place on November 21, 2003, when Alenia’s DA7 aircraft made the first successful launch of an AMRAA M from its outboard under-wing station. Piloting the  jet, during a test-flight over the Air Weapons Weapons Range at Decimomannu, Sardinia, was Enrico Scarabotto, Scarabot to, one of the Alenia test pilots. Launch and separation occurred at 19,600 19,600ft ft (6,000m) (6,00 0m) at a speed of Mach 1.3, 1.3, with the aircraft pulling 3g. EADS-CASA assemble assembled d the first productio production n single-seat Typhoon (IPA4/PS0 01), leading to its first flight on February 27, 2004, as C.16-20. C.1 6-20. IPA4 incorporated the latest level of hardware/soft ware integration and standard EJ200 engine, which was being tested for the

firs t time in the air. first The aircraft joined  The 300th the development EurofighterTyphoon flight test was delivered on programme, with October 18, 2011, by particular emphasis Cassidian to the on verifying the new Ejercito del Aire communications (Spanish Air Force). functionalities with audio and MIDS, test-launching of air to surface weapons and environmental flight-testing in extreme temperatures. The communications enhancements on IPA4/C.16-20 included direct voice instrumentation (DVI), navigation and fuel systems oral informa tion (DVO) and a voice recorder system (VOS) which could be configured for use with several types of helmets and radio interoperable between Typhoon and other platforms. The fifth Eurofighter IPA, ZJ700 (IPA5/ PS002), was also the first UK single-seat

EFBites

production aircraf t and made its firs t flight on June 7, 2004, with Chief Test Pilot Mark Bowman in the cockpit. I t was joined by ZJ938 (IPA6/BS031) on November 1, 2007 and 98+07 (IPA7/GS029) on January 16, 2008 . Tranche 2 Production starts

Assembly of the first production standard Tranche 2 Typhoon got under way at BAE Salmesbury in Lancashire in November 2005. Following completion, the front fuselage of Typhoon F2 BS037 was delivered to the UK final assembly line at Warton in October 2006. A massive breakthrough for the programme came on December 21, 2005, when an ‘Understanding ‘Unders tanding Document’ was signed by the Saudi Arabian and British governments, paving the way for the purchase of the Eurofighter Typhoon and a contract for 72 Eurofighters to be signed in 2007. A further document of understan ding was agreed ‘aimed at developing the Saudi armed

Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA) as at Febru February ary 6, 2014 Test Ac/(Build No)

First Flt

Last Flt

Tranche

Company

Remarks

IPA1/ZJ699

15.4.2002

30.01.2014

T1

BAES/Warton, UK (PT001)

With latest Tr1 avionics, to support testing of UK Drops.

IPA2 A2//MM.X .X61 614 4

05.0 05 .04 4.2 .20 002

11.1 11 .12 2.2 .20 013

T1

Alen Al eniia/ a/T Turi rinn-C Cas ase ell lle e, It Ital alyy (P (PT T002)

Upg Up grad ade ed toTr2 wi witth la lattes estt P2 P2E Ea st stan and dar ard d. Tr2 Hy Hybr briid

IPA3/98+03

08.04.2002

15.05.2013

T1

Was ADS/Manching, Germany, now WTD 61 (PT003)

Late Tr1 standard.

IPA4/C.16-20

27.02.2004

31.01.2014

T1

ADS/Getafe, Spain (PS001)

Upgraded to Tr2 with latest P2Ea standard. Tr2 Hybrid

IPA5/ZJ700

07.06.2004

02.03.2012

T1 E-Scan

BAE/Warton, UK (PS002)

Upgraded for E-Scan radar, with Tr2 Hybrid avionics.

IPA6/ZJ938

23.01.2000

29.01.2014

T1

BAE/Warton, UK (BS031)

Upgraded to Tr2 with latest P2Ea standard. Tr2 Hybrid

IPA7/98+07

16.01.2008

04.02.2014

T1

ADS/Manching, Germany (GS029)

Only true Tr2 built to Block 8 standard

IPA8

Late 2014

T3 E-Scan

ADS/Manching, Germany (GT026)

Being assembled for E-Scan radar

EUROFIGHTER | 29

 Above: Spain’s IPA4 at Vidsel, Sweden in January 2005 where it was enduring three months of cold weather environmental trials from December 9, 2004. Eurofighter Left: While IPA2/MM.X614 was the second production aircraft, PT002 was the first IPA to fly. Alenia test pilot Maurizio Cheli was at the controls on April 5, 2002. Eurofighter-Geoff Lee

Flying Hours The first 5,000 flying hours were achieved in November 2005; 10,000 hours came in August 2006 and 20,000 in May 2007. By August 2008, the Eurofighter Typhoon fleet had surpassed 50,000 hours and 100,000 flying hours was reached in January 2011. In the course of these flying hours, Eurofighter has flown in many international deployments including Alaska, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, the USA and India. forces within the close defence relations binding the two countries in mid-2006. Finally, on September 17 17,, 2007, the Saudi MOD announced that a £4.43 billion firm contract had been signed for the purchas e of 72 Eurofighter Typhoons (for more on Saudi Typhoons see Page 88-89).

 Above: The Tranche 2 contract was finally signed on December 14, 2004, after several years of delay, which gave the go ahead for production of 236 aircraft – Germany (68), Italy (46), Spain (33) and UK (68). Eurofighter 

Working on air to ground needs From February 2006, six industry-operated aircraft in all four partner nations began working towards a suite of initial air-toground weapons clearances. This saw Eurofighter IPA3/98+03 carry the type’s heaviest external s tores load to date that month. Its standard fit, of four AMRAAM medium range and two IRIS-T short range missiles, was accompanied by three external fuel tanks and four Paveway II air to surface precision guided munitions (see lead photo). Take-off weight was an impressive 24 metric tons (24,385kg).

 Above: At one point  Above: At point it seemed seemed the German German IPA3/98+0 IPA3/98+03 3 would be be the first first to fly, fly, but delays delays meant it took off on April 8, 2002, three days after the Italian IPA2. EADS Test Pilot Chris Worning was flying the aircraft with Lt Col Robert Hierl from WTD 61 in the rear seat.  Eurofighter-Geoff Lee

30 | EUROFIGHTER

Instrumented Series Production Aircraft (ISPA) as at Feb 6, 2014 Test Ac/(Build No)

First Flt

Last Flt

Tranche

ISPA1/ZJ804

11.05.2004

08.06.2009

T1

BAE Warton, UK (BT005) DASS/Helmet/Litening LDP - Delivered to RAF

ISPA2 A2//MM72 723 35

09.0 .07 7.2 .200 004 4

21. 1.1 12.2 .20 004

T1

Ale leni nia/ a/T Turi rin n-C -Ca ase sellle le,, Ital Italyy (IS (IS0 001) Na Navig igat atio ion n/Mi Micr cro owave La Land ndiing Syst stem em - To To Ital Italia ian n Ai Air Fo Force

ISPA3/CE.16-10

28.06.2011

05.02.2014

T2

ADS/Getafe, Spain (ST010)

ISPA4/CS.X7305

06.05.2011

20.01.2014

T2

Alenia/Turin-Caselle, Italy INS/FLIR development (IS037)

ISPA5/ZK303 ‘AX’

22.03.2011

29.01.2014

T2

BAE Wa Warton,UK/UK MO MOD (B (BT017) Re Replaced IS ISPA1/ZJ804

100th German Eurofighter A FORMAL ceremony on February 28, 2013, at Cassidian’s Military Air Systems Centre at Manching saw the company officially hand over the 100th German Air Force Eurofighter, serial number 31+00. The aircraft later left

the base on its delivery flight to  Jagdbombergeschwader  Jagdbombergeschw ader 31 (Fighter(Fighter-Bomber Bomber Wing 31) ‘Boelke’ at Norvenich. Some real momentum was now being gained and IPA1/ZJ700 IPA1/ZJ700 flew its f irst sor tie in an air-to-ground weapons configuration, on April 4, 2006, representative of the proposed Tranche 2 configuration. Weapons fit included six Enhanced Paveway IIs on each of the three inner underwing stores stations,, two AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range stations air-to-air missiles outboard and a standard 264-gal 264gal (1,000li (1,000li tre) external fuel tank on the centreline station. The jet appeared in the same configuration at Farnborough in July 2006, and was put through its paces to thousands of onlookers, showing that Eurofighter was going to be more than an air defender. defender. The aircraft had also released the first UK Paveway II bomb a few weeks earlier, on June 29, 2006 and subsequently flew a series of weapons drops. A latest phase of carefree handling trials began in late July 2006 when DA2/ ZH588 was asymmetric ally loaded with a single 2,000lb 2,00 0lb (907kg) GBU-10 Paveway III laserguided bomb on the starbo ard wing centre pylon. Fitted with a spin recovery chute

100th RAF Eurofighter The 100th RAF Typhoon to be delivered, ZK329 ‘FH’, was handed over to 1(F) Sqn at RAF Leuchars, Fife, on January 29, 2013.

 Above: The first Block 5, ZJ939 'DXI' of 11 (F) Squadron, lands at RAF Coningsby in September 2009. The DXI code on the tail and the OC’s name under the canopy reveal it as a special aircraft. Key-Alan Warnes

gantry for the first two of a seven  IPA2/MM.X614 flight programme, was reconfigured to BAE Systems Tranche 2 Block 8 claimed the flights by Alenia and briefly were the most loaned to RSV. demanding test of the Typhoon’s flight control system yet undertaken. According to BAE Systems “the flight test programme would prove the Typhoon’s carefree handling capability in an extreme configuration, and demonstrate the aircraft ’s robustness in the air-to-ground role”. The latest plan at that time was for Tranche 1 Typhoons to carry combined weapons loads of 1,000lbs (453kg) and 2,000lbs (907kg) plus the Litening laser designator pod. By early October 20 06, IPA1/ IPA1/ ZJ699 was also being used for flight trials carr ying the 2000lb (907k g) GBU-10 Paveway III LGB, but unlike DA2 it did not have the added comfort for the aircrew on board of having a spin recovery chute. Meanwhile, on October 26, 2006, the first Tranche 2 standard Eurofighter began final

EFBites

assembly at Manching and Warton. Warton. IPA7 IPA7,, which became 98+07, was the 29th singleseater from the German production line and was used for testing Block 8 Typhoon capabilities, together with IPA6/ZJ938 (BS031). The latter was built as a Tranche 1 aircraft but upgraded to receive the Tranche 2 standard avionics and by October 200 6 was undergoing initial ground tests at Warton. On November 20, 2006, IPA3/98+03 f lew fitted with a Litening LDP for an environmental data-gathering sort ie, in which no problems were revealed. The final conf iguration for Tranche 1, the Block 5 standard, gained Type Acceptance from NETMA. Under a retrofit programme dubbed R2, all earlier production Tranche 1 aircraft were brought up to Block 5 standard, which gives the aircraf t full air-to-ground weapons capability with total carefree handling. The aircraft was also cleared for the 9g envelope, with additional features such as sensor fusion, full direct voice input (FDVI), enhanced GPS, DASS countermeasures including automatic chaff and flare dispensers, plus radar air-to-surface modes including general mapping and initial forward-looking infra-red capability. Regarding weapons, Block 5 aircraft are cleared for AIM-120 AMRAA M, AIM-132 ASRA AM, IRIS-T and AIM-9L Sidewinder airairto-air missiles, plus Paveway II and GBU-16 GBU-16 LGBs. E xternal fuel tanks are certif ied for supersonic flight and air-to-air refuelling is also cleared for all customer specified tanker types types.. The first

200,000 flying hours

 Above: EADS-CASA Test Pilot Alfonso de Castro flew the first single seat production aircraft IPA4/C.16-20, for its maiden flight on February 27, 2004. Eurofighter 

On September 9, 2013, the Eurofighter Typhoon had achieved more than 200,000 flying hours since the entry-into-service of its worldwide fleet, with 719 aircraft on contract, 571 aircraft ordered and 378 aircraft delivered.

EUROFIGHTER | Block 5 aircraft was Spanish Air Force singleseater C.16-30 (SS011), (SS011), which first f lew at Getafe on December 21, 2006. The next step planned for Typhoon at this time was the integration of a laser designation pod into Tranche 1 aircraft, of primary impor tance to the RAF in 2008. On July 13, 2006, the RAF signed a £56 million contract with Ultra Electronics for the supply of 20 Litening EF Generation III pods, equipped with a data-link and a streaming video capabilit y, with an initial 20-year support contract. The pods were assembled in the UK from components and sub-assemblies supplied from Israel, which led Ultra in the UK becoming a centre of expertise for Litening. In June 2007, ISPA1 ISPA1/ZJ80 /ZJ80 4 started star ted flying with Litening and Enhanced Paveway IIs and was passed on to 17 (R) Sqn for development activity, activ ity, leading to inert drops in the UK and USA by crews from 3(F) and XI Sqns. By now, it was agreed the Mauser 27mm cannon would become part of the Typhoon’s armoury, after operations in Afghanistan and Iraq underlined its usefulness, especially for a ‘show of force’, when a bomb would gi ve disproportionate effec t or an unacceptable unacceptable risk of collateral damage. By early July 2007, the Eurofighter test fleet of aircraft had flown some 5,000 hours. The first Bloc k 5 to come straight off the production line for the RAF was ZJ939 ‘DXI’ which was delivered to XI Squadron on August 6, 20 07.

Type acceptance for Block 8 After years of debate, which eventually led to the Tranche 2 contract being signed on December 14, 2004, some three years

 Above: Major Werner Kriebitz undertakes the first flight from Zeltweg by an Austrian Air Force pilot in Eu-  rofighter 7L-WA (AS001) on July 17, 2007. It came just five days after the aircraft arrived there following its delivery flight from the factory at Manching. Austrian MOD

 Above: Looking every bit like a bomb truck, Warton-based IPA1/ZJ699 is seen here in April 2006 on flight trials with six Paveway IIs, two ASRAAMs and a 1,000 litre external fuel tank. BAE–Chris Ryding Below: IPA5/ZJ700 is the first UK single-seat production aircraft and made its first flight on June 7, 2004, flown by BAE Chief Test Pilot Mark Bowman (inset). This image captures it flying low level on the south side of the Mach Loop near Dinas village on July 19, 2007. Chris Lofting 

31

32 | EUROFIGHTER

later than envisaged, the fir st Tranche 2 Eurofighter finally f lew, from Manching on  January 16, 2008. The German single seat IPA IPA7/98+07 IPA7/98+07 (GS029) which should have become 30+44 , was flown by test pilot Chris Worning on its PFAT for 64 minutes. Being the first of the type finished to the full Tranche 2 specification, its initial main task was gaining type acceptance for Block 8. Prior to IPA7’s IPA7’s flight, the final German Air Force Tranche 1 aircraft, 30+42 (GT015) had made its maiden flight on  January 8, 2008. Deliveries of Tranche 2 aircraft to the four partner nations began in late 2008: the RAF received its firs t one on October 10. Italy took its firs t Tranche Tranche 2, at Grosseto, on November 14, 2008, while Spain took delivery of its f irst three Tranche 2 jets on December 11, 11, 2008. Meanwhile, BAE Systems FGR4 IPA6/ZJ938 (BS 031) made its firstt flight at Warton on November 1, 2007, firs

20 operational units The global Eurofighter fleet comprises 20 operating units with locations in Europe, the South Atlantic and the Middle East.

Specifically there are: seven units in the UK (four at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire; two at RAF Leuchars, Fife and one at Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands); five in Italy (two ( two at Grosseto, two at Gioia del Colle and one at Trapani); three in Germany (one each at Laage, Neuburg and Nörvenich), as well as three in Spain (two at Morón and one at Albacete) and one each in Austria (Zeltweg) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Taif).

Top: IPA5/ZJ700 was put through its paces at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2011 at RAF Fairford, loaded with four Paveway IIs. The extras didn’t appear to have much effect on the aircraft’s performance. Eurofighter-Geoffrey Lee  Above: Typhoon T3 ZJ804 spent nearly five years with BAE Systems as ISPA1 from May 2004. During that time it played a significant part in developing the RAF’s air to ground capability while fitted with a Litening II pod. It returned to the RAF in Septem-  ber 2009 and now flies with 29 (R) Sqn. Chris Lofting 

with Mark Bowman, BAE Systems’ Typhoon test pilot, at the controls. While IPA6 is essentially a Tranche 1 standard aircraft, it uses the full Tranche 2 mission computer suite and avionics features. The first Tranche 2 EJ200 engine was flown on September 14, 2007, on IPA2/MM. X61 X614 4 in Italy. Operated by Alenia, IPA2 IPA2 took on the task of the evaluation and certif certification ication work for this new EJ200 version. The significant Tranche 2 features focused mainly on the new mission computers which would deliver the higher processing and memory capacit y required for the integration of future weapons such as Meteor, Storm Shadow a nd Taurus. Differences in the build standard to Tranche 1 were related to changes in production technology and obsolescence.

Tranche Tr anche 1 testing winds down When an AMRA AM fired by IPA2 during a test conducted on February 27, 2008, by Alenia slammed into its tar get at Decimomannu, it signalled the end of weapons testing for the main development contract. All required weapons for operations with Tranche 1 Typhoons were by now cleared including AIM-9L, ASR AAM,

AMRA AM, and IRIS-T for air-to-air air-to-air combat plus Paveway II, Enhanced Paveway II, GBU-10 and GBU-16 GBU-16 for air-to-ground t asks. Additionally, IPA3 operated by EADS at Manching, completed flight testing of Tranche 1 flight control system soft ware on February 28, 2008 . On March 3, ZJ804/ ISPA ISPA1, 1, based at Warton, concluded integration work on the laser designator pod for the so c alled ‘austere capability ’ for RAF Tranche Tranche 1 aircraft . Another step in Typhoon development came in early November 2008, when it was confirmed that flight refuelling tests with an Italian Air Force KC-130J KC-130J Hercules tanker and MM.X614/IPA2 had been successfully completed at Decimomannu, Sardinia. During these tests, EFBites which included  IPA3/98+03 was one at night, eight used for weapons ‘wet’ contacts integration trials were made – when and deployed to RAF fuel was actually Kinloss for AIM-120C transferred. Similar AMRAAM evaluation trials had started in on May 11, 2010. It Germany with the was accompanied by A310 MRTT. two German AF Flight testing Eurofighters. was now focusing

EUROFIGHTER | 33 on further improvements and Alenia had completed the first phase of flight test s for Phase 1 enhancements, involving IPA2 flying with Paveway IV GPS /laser guided bombs in various configurations for flutter trials in early 2009. Additional testing was undertaken by IPA1/ZJ699 IPA 1/ZJ699 and IPA4/C.16-20 IPA4/C.16-20 at EADS CASA with both 500lb (227k g) Paveway IV and the 1,000lb (454k g) dual mode precision guided EGBU-16 Enhanced Paveway II. IPA1 was flying from BAE Warton by late April, 200 9, with six Paveway IVs on underwing pylons along with Sidewinders, ASRAAMs ASR AAMs and a centre-line fuel tank: a realistic operational configuration. Paveway IV had become one of the RAF’s ‘weapons of choice’ in Afghanist an, where it was being used so effectively by Harr iers to reduce collateral damage and allow use close to friendly troops, that getting it operational on Typhoon was a priority. However, problems were to surface: it soon became evident the aircraft ’s computers could not interact with Raytheon’s Paveway IV satellite and laser guided bomb’s advanced electronics . The P1Ea P1Ea software soft ware which allowed the aircraft ’s cockpit to interface with the Paveway IV was not functioning properly and as a result prevented full exploitation of the new weapon by Typhoon. Eurofighter, Eurojet and NETMA finally signed a 9 billion Euro Tranche 3a production contract on J uly 31, 2009, for a further 112 Typhoons, plus 241 engines, for the four partner nations. This brought the total of aircraft on or der to 559, including 15 for Austria and 72 for Saudi Arabia. There were plans to sign a contract for Tranche 3B at the end of 2011, 2011, but this was postponed and is now unlikely to happen. Tranche 3a comprises 40 for the R AF, 31 for Germany, 21 for Italy and 20 for Spain. Of the RAF aircraf t, 24 will replace those ordered in 2004 but diverted to the Royal Saudi Air Force. T he contract covered the production of new aircraft and their engines (6.5Bn Euros) as well as 2.5Bn euros on previous Tranche aircraft “to

 Above: The last IPA is IPA7/98+07, based at Airbus Defence and Space (formerly EADS Cassidian) at Manching, Germany, where it was seen in February 2014 during Taurus flight trials. An eighth IPA (Build No GT026), a two seat aircraft, is expected to join the flight test programme later this year, when modifications have been completed. Key-Alan Warnes

Germans head for India With Eurofighter being considered by the Indian Air Force, which has a requirement for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) two German Air Force Typhoon twoseaters were sent to India in February 2010. Rafale was selected as the preferred option but at the time of going to press no contract has been signed. address obsolescence”. Eurof ighter GmbH CEO Enzo Casolini confirmed at the press conference the Unit Fly Away cost for Tranche 3a Typhoons will be between 58-59 million Euros (£50 -51 million). million). Trials aimed at extending in-flight refuelling (IFR) capability took place from October to December 2009. Having been cleared to refuel from t he RAF VC-10 and Tristar Tristar tankers, BAE Sys tems was keen to expand the Typhoon IFR capability to other N ATO tankers, in par ticular KC-135s KC-135s and KCKC-10s. 10s. Flight trials over the Irish Sea were f lown by both BAE and RAF Typhoon test pilots using ZJ699/‘ IPA IPA1’ 1’ and ZJ700/‘ IPA5’. Below: Five jets have been taken off the production line and used as Instrumented Series Production  Aircraft (ISPA). This basically sees the gun gun taken out and an avionics box put in its bay. Spanish ISPA3/CE.16-10 was at Getafe for Litening LDP trials during September 2013. Roberto Yanez 

P1E finalised

After an intensive test programme of a first batch of enhancements o n IPA4 and IPA7, the Eurofighter was confirmed as able to deliver a robust simultaneous multi-/swing-role capability to the nations’ air forces. Cassidian announced on October 18, 2013, it had successfully f inalized flight testing of the Eurofighter Typhoon Phase 1 Enhancements (P1E) programme. Work had taken place at Cassidian´ss Militar y Air Systems Centres in Cassidian´ Manching,Germany and Getafe,Spain, in co-operatio n with BAE Systems and Alenia Aermacchi. ”Phase 1 Enhancements provide a significant leap in Eurofighter’s operational capabilities. Deploying multiple weapons with attack constraints simultaneous ly in all weather has never been easier,” said Chris Worning, Cassidian's Eurofighter Project pilot. P1E implements full air-to-surface capabilit y on Eurofighter. T his includes the laser designator pod, full smart bomb integration, modern secure Identification Friend or Foe (Mode 5), improved radios and direct voice input, air-to-surface Helmet Mounted Sight System, improved air-to-air capabilities. It also adds updated MIDS (Multifunctional Information Distribution System) datalink functionalities for enhanced interoperability with Coalition Forces.

34 | EUROFIGHTER

Production

Perfection M

ANUFACTURE AND final put-together of each Eurofighter are complex, bringing together components from all over Europe to end up at four assem bly lines. These four lines are located at Warton, UK; Manching, Germany; Tu Turin-Caselle, rin-Caselle, Italy and Madrid-Getafe, Spain. This set up results in a fairer distribution of the workshare and while it costs more mo re than a single production line, it ensures each nation has the infrastructure for repairs and servicing for the life of the aircraft. All compon ents and sub-assemblies sub-ass emblies are single-sourced from the four nations, offset ting final build costs with efficiencies and cost effectiveness.

“It started getting faster when Tranche 2 got underway” 

In the UK

The BAE Systems assembly plant at Salmesbury builds the canards, fin, Stage1 aft fuselage, inboard flaperons and the forward fuselage including the cockpit. It supplies all four assembly lines. Final build in the UK is undert undertaken aken at BAE Systems’s Warton facility, where subassemblies are ‘married’ in an automated alignment facility, using numerically controlled  jacks inte integrate grated d with laser laser-track -tracked ed meas measurin uring g equipment. The German-built centre fuselage, port wing from Italy and starboard wing from Spain are all delivered to Warton in what is termed by Eurofighter GmbH as the ‘just in time’ (JIT) (J IT) method of scheduling scheduling components. Dave McCrudden, Head of Typhoon Final Assembly in Hangar 302 since early January Januar y 2014, explains

It takes 9,500 hours and 248 days to build one Eurofighter from start to finish, a process with four assembly lines in four countries. To achieve the required finished result, components and subassemblies criss-cross the continent in an efficient, repeating schedule. Names in the frame As a supplier, Eurofighter GmbH is responsible for delivering the Eurofighter Typhoon weapon system to the customers – the partner nation s’ air forces who are similarly represented by a quadrinational organisat ion, the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NET MA). Other elements of the programme have been managed by similar quadrinat ional bodies: with Eurojet Turbo GmbH looking after the four nation EJ200 engine programme, and with Euroradar, Eurodass and Eurofirst consor tia responsible for the radar, defensive aids sub-suby stem (DASS) and PIRATE infra-red search and track (IRST ) system.

EUROFIGHTER | 35

 Above: The front fuselage built by BAE Systems is attached to the centre fuselage built by ADS Germany  Above: The in the ‘Cigar’ at ADS Manching. Aircraft GS094 follows on from two-seater GT027 in front of it and GS093 on the production line. It takes 60 days to get it from here to being fully assembled. Left: Two Left:  Two British forward fuselages, BS126 and BS135 sit waiting for German centre-fuselages at BAE Warton. Behind these, Typhoons for the Royal Saudi Air Force and the RAF are in the later stages of production. All photos, Alan Warnes unless stated Below: Single-seat Below:  Single-seat German Strike (GS) Eurofighter, GS092 was almost completely assembled at the front of the ADS Manching production line in early February 2014 and was due to leave the hangar in 5 days.

how the product line works: “We have managed to cut the time of producing one aircraft from 46 weeks to 26 over the past six years. It started getting faster when Tranche 2 aircraft got underway. Smarter working and repetition are the main reasons.” Of those 26 weeks, six are spent marrying all the different parts, eight matching up all the systems and four weeks to put in the DASS and gun. After everyt hing is tested – generating its own systems rather than being attached to external power – it goes to the

Combat Air Hangar. The Combat Air aircrews (see Testing, Testing, p80) will then test f ly the  jet. There will be three tests over three weeks when the aircraft’s sy stems are all tested. Once complete, it takes about two weeks to paint the aircraft in the paint shop. The RAF or Royal Saudi Air Force will t hen want to see the aircraft with pylons and tank s on in a process taking about a week. In total it ta kes an impressive 40 weeks to go through the final assembly production to delivery. “Every aircraf t takes up to 9,500 man hours

to build,” Dave explains, “24 aircraft will be produced in 2014, split 50/50 between UK and Saudi. There are around six deliveries to Saudi a year, the last two were delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force in late February.” All the Saudi jets are Tranche 2 but the RAF versions are now Tranche 3. This split was caused by the delay in building the second batch as originally they were going to be built by Al Salam Aircraft in Sa udi Arabia. Once completed Eurofighter test-pilots then fly the Typhoons to Saudi Arabia.

 Above: Manching: The port wing built in Italy and starboard wing from Spain  Above: Manching: are ready to be fitted to the fuselage of GS094 when work in the ‘Cigar’ at ADS Manching is complete. Left: Centre-fuselages Left:  Centre-fuselages with their wiring almost complete sit in the gantry at  ADS Manching. Manching. GS099 is for Germany Germany and will wait until until the front front fuselage fuselage arrives from the UK before it is lifted over to the ‘Cigar’ area. Next to it, BS131 will eventually be transported to BAE Warton, where it will be mated with the forward fuselage.

36 | EUROFIGHTER

 Above: A Saudi Air Force trainer, Build No CT018 sits on the production line at BAE Warton. Under Project  Above: A Salam, Eurofighter are building 72 Typhoons for Saudi Arabia. Production for the 12 Royal Air Force of Oman Eurofighters will commence in 2016/17.

 Above: A Eurojet EJ 200 turbofan engine is set to  Above: A be pushed into a Eurofighter at the BAE Systems Warton facility. With a maximum thrust of 13,500 lbs dry (60kn) and 20,250 lbs (90kn) with reheat, the powerplant, specifically designed for Europe’s leading fighter, gives the jet a real edge over most contemporaries. BAE Systems Left: At Left:  At ADS Manching, technicians fit cabling into the centre-fuselage of IS071 destined for Italy. This will eventually go to Caselle to meet up with the forward fuselage built in the UK and the starboard wing from Spain, plus of course the port wing built in Italy.

“24 aircraft will be produced in 2014, split 50/50 between UK and Saudi.”  In Germany Some 1,000 miles (1,600kms) away from Warton, in Manching near Munich, Airbus Defence Systems (ADS) formerly Cassidian, is responsible for building the centre-fuselage. Most of the fuselage barrel is manufactured in Augsburg, with the remaining part built at Bremen-Lemwerder. Once complete, the basic centre fuselage is delivered to Manching. As a visitor entering the main assembly hangar at ADS, it becomes clear t he production process is completely dif ferent to that of the other three EPCs. Assembling centre fuselages is ADS’ main production priorit y and your eyes are drawn to the long line of two-storey work stations . Technicians Technicians can work on the ground floor underneath them or on the gantry. Many of them are inserting cables before being despatched to the three other EPCs, where they will be assembled with parts and components from all over Europe. At the top of the hall are the centre-fuselages ready for dispatch. However, if they are centre-fuselages for the

Production and Systems Design BAE Systems (UK) ADS (Germany) ADS (Spain) Alenia (Italy)

Front fuselage, canards, windscreen and canopy, centre fuselage frames, dorsal spine, tail fin, inboard flaperons and stage 1 rear fuselage. Centre fuselage Starboard wing, leading edge slats Port wing, outboard flaperons, rear fuselage

Eurofighter workshare. Red = BAE Systems (UK); Blue = Airbus Defence Systems (Germany); Yellow =  Alenia Aeronautica Aeronautica (Italy); (Italy); Green Green = Airbus Airbus Defence Defence Systems (Spain)  (Spain) 

EUROFIGHTER | 37

Production Workshare UK Germany Italy Spain

37.5% 30% 19.5% 13%

sites) is added. The system is then tested. Every single cable on the aircraft is checked to ensure everything is connected and working okay. Then comes a fuel test, and afterwards after wards the aircraft is cleaned which takes ten days before it enters the spray shop for a week. After tha t the Martin Baker Mk 16 ejection seats are installed and the aircraft starts star ts up for the first time on its own power. Then there are two test flights – the firs t by an industry pilot a nd a second by the customer takes place. Once the customer takes delivery the whole assembly process will have taken 248 days. Ten aircraf t leave final assembly for the German Air Force every year, with production expected to finish in June 2017. 2017. All the EPCs are running final assembly lines, despatching their specialist pieces of work to the other companies and vice versa. It’s a practice that seems to works even if it is m ore expensive, but as Dave McCrudden, Head of Typhoon Final Assembly puts it, “If the workshare had not been worked out, there would have been no agreement and no Eurofighter! Eurofighter! ”  e  German Air Force they will remain. Head of Eurofighter Production at Manching is Nils Michael. “After the fuselage is assembled we equip it with all the cabling, some 40 miles (60 kms) of it! Replac ing a cable when it has a problem is not easy, because you have to open everything up again, so testing for faults is very important.” Before the centre-fuselage is mated with the front fuselage it goes through a Fully Automated Sequence Test (FAST) in the A Test facility, where cabling is checked to ensure its all working correctly. This allows the technicians to isolate any issues, should some problems arise later. The hydraulics are checked in the A-Test along with bladder fuel tanks that spreads throughout the wings and fuselage. Once testing is complete, the centre fuselage is moved to the area referred referr ed to as the ‘Cigar’’ to be joined up with the front fuselage ‘Cigar from BAE Systems. Systems . This is the beginning of the final assembly line, where production star ts to get into full swing. Next stage sta ge sees the port wing from Italy and the starboard wing from Spain attached. During the author’s visit there were three German Eurofighters morphing into aircraft, GT027, GT 027, GS093 with GS092 edging closer to the exit door. do or. “From the ‘Cigar’ area to leaving the hangar is 60 days,” adds Nils. “It “I t takes 20 days to build the cigar, another 20 to put the wings on, 20 days to put rudder and nose section on and then 20 more days are spent at a t the Fully Automated Cable Tester (FACT) where all the cabling is checked out. Once completed, the full Eurofighter is lifted by crane and placed next to the hangar door, where it is towed out ."  Leaving the hangar it goes to Station 4 and 7, where all the equipment such as the DAS S (one example of assembly common to multi-

 Above: The Automated Alignment Facility at BAE Warton is where lasers ensure the three main pieces of  Above: The the fuselage including the leading edge slats from Spain are aligned. This is a Saudi example, CS030. Below: Almost Below:  Almost complete and third on the ADS Manching final assembly line, is two-seater GT027.

38 | EUROFIGHTER

THE OF OFF FICE Take a tour of the cockpit to experience a taste of life as a Typhoon pilot. It is comfortable and spacious with a great field of view.

 4

 2

 4a

3a

3c 

3b

5

6 

Jamie Hunter 

D

ONNED WITH the full-coverage anti-G suit you only need to start the anti-g straining above 7gs.

You are wearing Helmet Equipment Assembly (HEA) /Helmet Mounted Sighting System (HMSS) and hooked up by hoses to the On Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS). The cockpit is configured so the systems c an be managed and information processed quickly and effectively. 1

Here are the sub-sy sub-systems stems and system keys where the pilot enters the targeting and navigation data or controls avionic system functions.  2

Three Multi Function Displays (MFDs) can be configured in any way the pilot wishes but a typical view is: 3a: The radar’s attac k format — intuitively displaying fused radar, IFF, data-link , IRST and DASS information; 3

3b:: Situational awareness display, with a 3b

map and tactic tactical al overlays from data-link, radar and IRST; 3c: Vertical profile radar display, las er targeting pod image or DASS info dependent on the mission. Additionally, the aircraft stores page, FLIR imagery, waypoint data, radio frequencies and dedicated systems pages for engine, hydraulics or fuel can be demanded by the press of a button or t wo words of DVI (eg “display fuel”) fuel”)..

EUROFIGHTER | 39

1

In front of you is an ex tra wide Head Up Display (HUD) where flight information, radar, data-link and weapons targeting information is displayed. 4a. Immediately below the HUD is the Head Up Panel (HUP) which displays data-link text messages,, missile target data and navigation messages data necessary to accurately release bombs; plus a headline summary of radio selections, fuel totals and engine figures. Being just below the HUD, its in easy view too.  4

The VTAS (Voice, Throt tle And Stick) is Typhoon’s innovative development of HOTAS (Hands On Throttle and Stick). The HOTAS alone ena bles 115 115 separate switch selections enabling intuitive control of many combat modes — air to air an d air to ground. By pressing a switch and talking, the pilot can control many other aircraft systems using Direct Voice Input (DVI), whic h helps to ease the workload. 5

On the right (and not se en in this picture) are controls to ensure the environment is to your liking – heating, lighting etc and a probe switch to ex tend the air to air refuelling probe when the tanks need a top-up. Further switches down the left and right hand consoles control power to the avionics sys tems — usually turned on via a joint ‘gang-bar’ as the pilot climbs into the cockpit, then not touched again until after  e  touchdown at the end of the sort ie. 6 

42 | EUROFIGHTER

Deutsche Eurofighters Dietmar Fenners provides

an overview of the Eurofighter at Airbus Defence and Space (formerly EADS-Deutschland) and in German Air For Force ce service

Below: A JG 73 Eurofighter taxies out at Laage for a night sortie. Eurofighter GmbH/Geoff Lee

E

UROFIGHTER PRODUCTION started in Germany with aircraft build number PT0003/‘IPA3’ (Instrument (Instrumented ed Production Aircraft-3), wearing serial 98+03, making its first flight at Manching on April 8, 2002 with EADS-Deutschland test-pilot Chris Worning in the cockpit. The jet flew three times that day. From then on, IPA 3 was used by EADS for flight testing until it was handed over during October 2008 to the German Armed Forces Test Centre (WTD 61) at Manching.  Just over a year year late later, r, the Luftwaffe’s first production Eurofighter, Eurofighter, GT0001 flew for the first time on February 13, 2003 and its second trip on February 17 17,, 2003, a ferryflight, saw it terminate at Kaufbeuren,

home to the German Air Force’s TSLw 1 (Technical School). Ground crews could then start training training before being being posted out to operational operational squadrons. squadrons. As the GAF Eurofighter programme started building a head of steam in September 2003, WTD W TD 61 pilots and Luftwaffe’s Service Instructor Pilot (SIPT) programme, which new air force pilots  joined,  join ed, comm commence enced d their their train training ing at Manc Manching hing with EADS-Deutschland. This culminated in the first training flight taking place on September 4, 2003 on aircraft GT0003, with pilot in command Oberstleutnant (OTL) Georg Pepperl and EADS-D Instructor Chris Worning from EADS. This was Chris’s 286th flight in a Eurofighter, which highlights the work put into the programme before GAF pilot training got underway. After nearly eight months of SIPT work, the first Eurofighter was delivered delivered to  Jagdgesch  Jagd geschwade waderr (Flying (Flying Wing) 73 “S“ at Laage Laage on April 30, 2004. When Germany contracted for a total acquisition of 180 aircraft from the Eurofighter consortium NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) on October 8, 1997, the order was divided into three tranches.

Tranche Tr anche 1 A contract for 44 aircraft was signed on September 21, 1998, although nine of these

EUROFIGHTER | 43

 Above: The first serial production Eurofighter, IPA3/98+03 (GT001) sits in the EADS Test Hangar during  Above: The May 2003. Behind it are two dual seaters still in primer, GT002 (left) which went onto become 98+32 and on the right is GT003 which was serialled 98+33 before both were delivered to the GAF’s JG 73 at Laage. They went on to become 30+02 and 30+03 respectively. Eurofighter Gmbh/Geoff Lee

 Above: The first two-seater Eurofighter 98+31 GT001 was flown to the GAF’s Technical School 1 (TSLw1)  Above: The at Kaufbeuren on February 17, 2003, after its one and only flight, to allow ground schooling to commence. The jet, with just one hour and 27 minutes flying hours, was returned returned to Manching on June 20, 2006 for an R2 upgrade and is expected to fly again in July 2014. Dietmar Fenners

Tranche 1 aircraft were subsequently diverted to Austria - six ex Luftwaffe aircraft and three direct from the production line. All the Tranche 1 Block 1 and 2 aircraft were brought up to the Block 5/SRP4 standard via via the R2 upgrade. The last Tranche 1 aircraft GT0015 was delivered to  JG 74 at Neu Neubur burg g on on Marc March h 26, 26, 200 2008. 8.

Tranche 2 68 aircraft were contracted on December 14, 2004 plus another nine originally bound for Austria but diverted from the production line to the Luft Luftwaffe waffe as described above. The first Tranche 2 Eurofighter , GS029/‘IPA7’ made its first flight, with Chris Worning in the

FgAusbZLw ( Flight Traning Centre Luftwaffe)

Disposition of Eurofighter by 2018 No.

Loca Lo cati tion on

Eurofighter Pilot training t raining will move, in 2017 at the earliest, from Laage to the FgAusbZLw at Holloman AFB, New Mexico; 24 Eurofighter Eurofighterss will be based there. With the move of pilot training from Laage to Holloman it may adopt the standards of TakLwG 73 “ Steinhoff“. Operation units will then all fly in the multi mission role, switching between betwe en air to air and air to ground, at Neuburg, Nörvenich and Wittmund.

31

Laage

31

Neuburg

31

Nörvenich

20

Wittmund

24

Holloman AFB

2-3

 TAusbZ  TAusb Z Süd Süd (Techn (Technical ical Tr Traini aining ng Centre Centre Sou South, th, ex ex  TSLw  TSL w 1). Now Kaufb Kaufbeur euren en but but by 201 2017 7 is expe expected cted to move to Lechfeld

3 IP IPAs As Ma Manc nchi hing ng 143

Total

Landing at Manching on October 22, 2004 is the first single-seater to be delivered to the Luftwaffe, 98+39 (GS002). The aircraft eventually traded in its pre-acceptance serial for 30+07. Dietmar Fenners

44 | EUROFIGHTER

TaktLwG 31 “Boelcke“ (fromer JaboG 31 “Boelcke”) The first f irst t wo Eurofig hters, 31+14 31+14 and 31+16 31+16 arrived at Nor venich, the home of JaboG 31 “Boelcke“ “Boe lcke“ on December 16, 16, 2009. Around 31 Eurofighter will be based at Nörvenich, Nörv enich, While th eir main role is air to air, TaktLw G 31 “B“, will in the future re-equip with Tranche 3a and later up -dated Tranche 2 SRP then upgrade to a multi-mission, air to air and air to ground role. In an interestin g move, on October 1, 2013 the third squadron of TaktLwG 31 “Boelcke“ was formed at Wittmund under newly renumbered renumber ed JG 71 “R “ traditions to become the Taktische Taktische Luftwaf fengruppe “Richthofen“, with around 20 Eurofighters under its control by 201 2018. 8. The unit w ill look after QRA for nort hern Germany. Oberst Andreas Hoppe has been Commander, TaktLwG 31 “Boelcke“ “Boe lcke“ since July 2010. 2010.

TaktLwG31 at Norvenich took delivery of its first pair of Typhoons in December 2009 although a few years passed until they started accepting more, due to a slowdown in deliveries. The unit will eventually take delivery of the first Tranche 3a aircraft and become the first multi-role Eurofighter wing. Dietmar Fenners

cockpit on January 16, 2008 and the Luftwaf fe received its first Tranche 2, AS0008 which was originally bound for Austria on January 8, 2009. It is planned to deliver the last Tranche 2 jet, GT0025 this summer. Tranche 2 aircraft are split in Block Bloc k 8, 9, 10, 11 and 15 with SRP5 software.

Tranche 3 Tranche 3 has been split into two - 3a and 3b, with 31 aircraft contracted as Tranche 3a on  June 17, 17, 2009. The first jet, GS089 is expected expected to make its first fight in summer 2014. One of the Tranche 3A jets, GT026 is destined to become the eighth Instrument Production Aircraft (IPA8) and set to become the second example, after BAE Systems’ IPA5 to house the Selex ES ‘E-Scan’ Captor-E radar. IPA 5 is currently going through a program to fit the ‘E-Scan’ radar. Tranche 3A is split between Block 20 & 25 in SRP10. The last Tranche 3A Eurofighter is expected to be delivered to the Luftwaffe in early 2018. In October 2011 Germany's Ministry of Defence announced that the Tranche 3B aircraft will be cancelled. Thus the Luftwaffe will have 140 on their inventory while another three IPAs work with EADS-Deutschland and the German Armed Forces Test Centre (WTD 61). 61 ). By early February, Februar y, 2014, 2014, 112 112 Eurofighters had been delivered to the Luftwaffe.

 Above: The 400th Eu rofighter, 31+06  Above: The 31+06 was handed over to t he German Air Force on Decembe r 4, 2013. 2013. It eventually left t he snowy Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) facility at Manching on February 6, 201 2014 4 bound for TaktLwG 31 (all Eurofighter units are now named Tactical Luftwaffe Groups) at Norvenich. Dietmar Fenners Below: Heading Below:  Heading to Alaska. Eight JG 74 Typhoons Typhoons deployed to Eielson AFB for Red Flag Alaska in June 2012,. For more on this see 'German Stars', p48-49. Eurofighter GmbH

 Above: All training was consolidated at Laage from March 1, 2010 for a year because of a lack of deliveries to the other two units at Neuburg and Norvenich, not  Above: All helped by Austrian pilots taking up trainin g slots. In July 2010, 17 GAF Eurofighters deployed to Deci to carry out High Value Combat Air Training Training (HVCAT) in the huge Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentatio n (ACMI) Range. For more on this detachment see 'Work Hard, Play Hard' p46-47. Key-Alan Warnes

EUROFIGHTER | 45

 Above: A JG 74 pilot runs to his aircraft, which is sitting on Quick Reaction Alert at Neuburg in April 2009.  Above: A Eurofighter GmbH/Geoff Lee

Eurofighter Disposition Location

Squadron

Type

Laage

TakLwG 73 ‘Steinhoff’

Eurofighter

Neub Ne ubur urg g

Tak akL LwG 71‘R ‘Ric icht htof ofen en’’

Eurrof Eu ofig ight hter er

Nor orv venich

TakLwG 31 31 ‘Boelcke’

Eurofighter

Holloman AFB, FgAusbZLw USA

Eurofighter (in Eurofighter 2017/18)

Manching

Eurofighter

WTD 61

Training Centralisation From March 2010, for a year or so, the Luftwaffe centralised their Eurofighter flying operations, which led to JG 74 and JaBoG 31 merging operations with JG 73 ‘S’ at Laage. Slower than expected deliveries meant that pilots were not being trained as quickly as hoped across the Eurofighter units. The problem came about for a number of reasons – the Austrians took nine, the retrofit of Block 1 and 2 aircraft to Block 5 was extended by six months and the delivery

of Block 8s from Tranche 2 were were delayed. It was a tricky situation. situation. The 19 Eurofighters Eurofighters based during the time at Laage were not enough for an efficient flying training syllabus, so centralising it was deemed the best way forward. All four bases have a Cockpit-Trainer (CT) and an Full-Mission-Simulator Full-Mission-Simulator (FMS). (FMS). Today pilots fly around 40 hours of their 180 NATOStandard hours a year in the simulator. Going forward, the release of Software P1E/SRP10 will coincide with delivery of the first Tranche 3a Eurofighter later this year (GS0089) and up-date Tranche 2 aircraft too. The IPAs at Manching-based Airbus Defence and Space start later this year with flight testing of the P2E software which will included integration of MBDA Meteor, MBDA Storm Shadow and the Taurus KEPD 350. In 2016 IPA 8, the first Tranche 3A aircraft should start operational flight testing with the ‘E-Scan’ Captor-E radar on board.  e 

 Above: Eurofighter 98+32 comes into land at Manching on April 7, 2004 during a SIPT sortie. Within days  Above: Eurofighter this aircraft was delivered to Laage. Dietmar Fenners

TakLwG 74 (former JG 74) at Neuburg The first four Eurofighters arrived at Neuburg’s JG 74 on July 25, 2006. The F-4Fs continued fly alongside the new jets until  June 12, 12, 2008 when they were retired. On June 3, 2008 the Eurofighter took over QRA (Quick Reaction Aler t) for southern Germany and since Januar y 2012, 2012, the unit has been part of the NATO Response Force (NRF). The first main deployment with the Eurofighter saw eight jets deploy to Eielson AFB, Alaska f rom May to late Jun e 2012 2012 for Exercise Distant Frontier and later Red Flag Alaska. The Eurofighter was refuelled by a Luftwaffe A.310MRTT and made one fuel s top at CFB Goose Bay, Labrador. All eight Alaska aircraft were Block 5 aircraft with latest R 2P Radar Software, Have Quick Radios and enhanced Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS). Both Squadrons Squa drons from the JG 74 at Neuburg have taken on the ‘Bavarian Tiger’ traditions, which were handed over on Monday, March 18, 2013 2013 by Lt.Col Jörg S chröder, former CO of the disbanded JaboG 32/ 321 Squadron, the Tiger GAF’s former home. On Friday J une 21, 2013, 2013, during th e NATO Tiger Meet at Orland, Norway the gathering of squadron commanders approved the probationary membership status of JG 74. TaktLw G 74's main task is air-to-air but when the Tranche 3a capability is proven and updated Tranche 2 SRP jets follow, the unit will move to multi-mission, including air to ground. Around 31 Eurofighter will eventually be based at Neuburg. Col. Frank Gräfe has been Commander of TaktLwG 74 since March 2013.

46 | EUROFIGHTER

Wor ork k Hard

Play Hard What happens when Eurofighters from two air forces get together for summer camp? One of the first regular German Air Force (GAF) Eurofighter deployments to Deci took place in 2010, when training was being consolidated at JG 73. Here’s a guide to what happened.

B

ACK IN June and early July 2010, GAF Eurofighters were seen blasting out of Decimommanu Air Base in Sardinia, Italy. The facility’s big long ramp with its metal mobile fuel bowsers hosted 17 German jets in addition to two Italian Typhoons. Witnesses were able to feast their eyes on the longest flight-line of Eurofighters yet seen. The previous year just eight German Eurofighters had deployed to the idy llic Mediterranean island but four months after the GAF had consolidated all its Eurofighter training at Laage, more pilots needed training.

Training Tra ining Blockage Blo ckage Urgent action was needed to boost the numbers qualifying to fly an aircraft that would

replace the F-4F Phantom and Tornado in Germany. Until then, Laage-based JG 73 along with JG 74 at Neuburg and JbG 31 at Norvenich were all transitioning to the Eurofighter, using their own assets. However, training Austrian Eurofighter pilots for 18 months meant the GAF’s training pipeline was blocked, and with large number of aircraft being sent to EADS (now Airbus ADS) for upgrade to Block 5, the situation was getting worse. In 2010, similarly to 2014, JG 73 was training Instructor Pilots, Transition (TX) pilots transferring from other GAF fighters or ‘rookie’ pilots coming straight from basic training with the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program at Sheppard AFB, Texas.

Training the Austrian pilots undoubtedly impacted the GAF. The Austrian Air Force received its first Eurofighters on July 12, 2007 which formally entered service in July 2008 with the last of 15 aircraft arriving on September 24, 2009. With every Austrian pilot trained over an 18 month period at Laage, it deprived the GAF of a training slot for one of its own pilots.

The Team The JG 73 detachment included over 300 personnel supporting one of the biggest GAF detachments in recent years. The Detachment Commander, Lt Col Gerd Estenderfer, was a former F-4F pilot who had flown around 420 hours in Eurofighters since converting to the type in June 2007. “We flew four 4-ship formations to Deci via Switzerland but during the second week two aircraft went back to Laage for scheduled maintenance which were replaced by three

GAF Training Course

Number of Mi Missions

Number Sim Missions

Number of Training Days

Solo

I- Course

45 Flying Missions

48 sim missions

50 training days

Solo after 7 flights

Austria Course

24 flying missions

29 sim mi missions

70 training days

Solo after 4 flights

 TX Course Course

24 flyin flying g mission missionss

29 sim sim mission missionss

70 train training ing day dayss

Solo afte afterr 4 fligh flights ts

B Course

45 flying missions

48 sim missions

130 training days

Solo after 7 flights

Top: The GAF Detachment Commander, Lt Col Gerd Estenderfer had flown around 420 hours on Eurofighters in the summer of 2010.  Above: The  Above:  The new medium range IRIS-T missile will replace the AIM-9L Sidewinder in Germany. Left: A Left:  A JG 73 Eurofighter fitted with an IRIS-T medium range missile departs the Deci runway for another clash with Italian Typhoons in the ACMI Range. All photos, Key-Alan Warnes

EUROFIGHTER | 47

 Above: One of the five two-seat Eurofighters taxies out. There were six students at Deci, four Tornado pilots, a former F-16 pilot and a newly qualified pilot.  Above: One DACT with the Italians also provided the more experienced pilots with a chance to brush up their air combat skills.

further examples,” he explained at the time. “We are here to carry out High Value Combat Air Training (HVCAT) in the huge Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation (ACMI) range along with the Italian Air Force. This will see us flying against their Typhoons to find out how they do things. “There are 19 pilots here in total, eight of them are Instructor Pilots, five qualified pilots (four from JG 74 at Neuburg) to help us out and six students. Four of the students are on the Transition Course (TX), one is an Instructor Pilot who has returned to Germany after flying F-16 in the USA as an exchange pilot and a B Course (ab-initio) student who came direct from Shepherd AFB, Texas - aged 22, he is now living the dream!”

Fighting the Italians As well as training, the Germans were in town to work with the Italians, to standardise work procedures and learn from each other. Every morning, the GAF ops team discussed plans for the day over the phone with 4˚ Stormo personnel at Grossetto. Eurofighters would depart their respective bases and head for the massive ACMI range in the Tyrrhenian Sea, situated between Sardinia and the Italian

German Air Force Eurofighter Training Laage has been used as the main trainin g hub for GAF Eurofighter Eurofig hter training since March 1, 2010. All operational GAF Eurofighters had been consolidated at Laage L aage on March 1, 2010 for a year. The only exceptions were f ive aircraft Southern Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) with JG 74 at and another two jets jet s with JbG 31. The Northern Norther n QRA was being manned by JG 71 F-4Fs at Wit tmund but that has now been taken over by aircraf t from TakLwG 31 at NorNorvenich. In 2010, JG 73 had trained one Instructor Instruc tor Pilot for JbG 31, as well as the Wing’s Commander while five pilots pilot s were in the training pipeline, with two of them at Deci. Right: A technician climbs out of Right: A of the air intake of his aircraft wearing a white anti-magnetic suit having checked the EJ 200 engine is not suffering from any issues.

mainland. In the restricted area, a variety of air-to-air encounters took place, including Beyond Visual Range (BVR), medium range, right up to close range when the Eurofighter’s 27mm Mauser cannon would come in handy! The large Range area measures some 100 miles (160 kms) long and 80 8 0 miles (130 kms) wide. As Germany does not offer such a large block of airspace to practise this kind of work, it was ideal for the team, and, stressed the DetCo, “not just for the flying but for great food, hospitality and weather!” After the Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) missions, both sides returned to Deci for a mission debrief and lunch, before organising another sortie culminating with the Italians heading home to Grossetto. For the first two weeks, 4˚ Stormo sent over four Typhoons but as it entered a night flying phase, the number was reduced to two. Although the GAF use the Diehl-BGT ACMI Range, their jets did not carry ACMI pods. This meant no one could watch the air war unfolding on a big screen back at base, as they do at the Spanish ACMI used by the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) at Albacete, near Valencia. Instead the GAF used a classified debrief system integrated into the Eurofighter’s

avionics. As a result, they do not have an ‘airwar’ scenario to assess how each side fared. The GAF recorded the air wars on a USB stick allowing each pilot to go through the battle on a computer. The GAF also train on the Eurofighter’s sophisticated Defensive Aids Subs System (DASS) on this range, so it’s likely that this is one of the reasons why the Germans didn’t want to use ACMI pods. They were also simulating the use of the IRIS-T medium range weapon, which was seen being carried under the wings of several aircraft at Deci. On the medium range IRIS-T missile, the DetCo said: “This missile has changed the way we can do our fighting. The seeker head is much better, has a better pick up range, a larger modem and has a longer range. Furthermore, the seeker can be slewed at 90˚ where as the AIM-9L Sidewinder [used on the Phantom] was only capable of 40˚. 40˚. That makes a big difference.” The Eurofighter detachment to Sardinia figures highly on the GAF’s agenda as a place where crews and aircraft are seldom affected by poor weather and where there is freedom to roam and fight within such a big area.  e  Plus the hospitality, of course!

48 | EUROFIGHTER

German Germ an Stars One of the biggest fillips achieved to date by the German Air Force Typhoon Force was its deployment to Red Flag Alaska 12-2 in June 2012.

I

T WAS a mammoth logistica l task to get the eight JG 74 ‘R’ Eurofighter s to Alaska in the first place. After departing Nor venich on May 15, the two flig hts of four jets, each accompanied by by a A330 MRT T flew on an eight-hour flight over the Atlantic to Goose Bay, Labrador where they night stopped

(Deutsche Eurofighters, Eurofighters, p44). The next day, all the Eurofighters f lew for an epic eight and a half hours to Eielson AFB, their home for nearly a month. Colonel Andreas Pfeif fer, the Wing Commander of JG 74 and Detachment Commander, would have a busy month ahead of him. “If you part icipate in such an exercise for the firs t time with a new jet, there are a lot of challenges, yo u have to cope with,” he explained before the start. “In terms of resources, training and personnel issue s, this will be a huge endeavour and we are excited about it.”

EFBites Prior to the exercise, the GAF upgraded their Air Combat Manoeuvr Manoeuvring ing Instrumentation Instru mentation (ACMI) pods to P5 status, to ensure compatibili ty on Alaska’s Cubic ACMI system. This was the first time German Eurofighters had contact with F-22 Raptors in the USA. 

Left: Colonel Andreas Pfeiffer discusses Red Left: Colonel Flag. Being the JG 74 74 Commander, based at Neubergin June 2012, he was also responsible for ensuring the wing was ready for its NATO Response Force responsibilities on November 1, 2012. All photos, Key-Alan Warnes unless stated Right: Oberstleutnant Marco ‘Turbo’ Gruene was the Co of 742 Sqn in June 2012.

Distant Frontier

Although the RFA 12-2 didn’t star t until June 11,, the Germans wanted to participate in 11 Exercise Distant Frontier over May 21-June 1. It allowed themselves and the Polish Air Force F-16s present to familiarise pilots with the ranges. At the same time they f lew some Mixed Fighter Force Operation (MFFO) sorties with other fighters present. These included JASDF F -1 -15s 5s and USAF F -22, F-16s and A-10s. While all this provided the pilots and the other personnel with some great experiences, the Germans were there

EUROFIGHTER | 49

Drops Initially only used by the UK, a Drop was originally a nationally cleared upgrade for Tranche 1 aircraft that is not given four nation clearance, only done in a single partner company and cleared on to that nation’s aircraft through a service engineer modification (SEM). A change to an aircraf t cleared by a single nation through national auspices can only be changed by that nation’s EPC. Although recent Drops have been done nationally changes are not now just by BAE Systems, but by national support centres in Germany, too.

 Above: One of the German Air Force Eurofighters  Above: One taxies past the Red Flag building at Eielson AFB while the rain lashes down. Below: Eurofighter Below:  Eurofighter 30+30 returned to Germany with 50 'kill markings' indicating the no of succes-  ful GAF sorties during the Red Flag detachment. 30+30 was dubbed the 'Sortie King (Sortie Konig) after completing 38 flights. Andreas Zeitler 

Andy Lumb, BAE’s Head of Typhoon architecture Engineering, explained in 2014, 201 4, “Drop 1 st arted in 2009, then came Drop 2 which went out to UK fleet but the Germans took the radar standard to Alaska; Drop 3 is a 24 month programme being rolled out to all four nations and should be released by end of the year and then th ere is Drop 4.” Some of the Drop 2 improvements on the German aircraft could not be tested until getting to Eielson AFB – another reason for pushing the aircraft into Distant Frontier Frontier..

to measure recent improvements to the Eurofighter’s tactical mission software. As Red Flag progessed it became increasingly clear they were working wonders, just as they had for the RAF Typhoons over Libya a f ew months earlier. Red Flag boasts some of the most complex air wars devised and with the world-beating F-22 Raptor participating, the Germans were keen to impress.  JG 74’s 742 Sqn Cdr, Oberst Oberstleutn leutnant ant Marco ‘Turbo’ Gruene was one of the Eurofighter pilots fighting in the air wars. “We wanted to take the German aircraft to a higher level, so we adjusted the systems in line with what the RAF had done. For example, we implemented new radar software (Version P2P) as well as new Have Quick radios, new chaff and flare systems and other secret stuff. We had to get it all optimised for combat so that if we went to war, purely in the air to air role, we could do the job. This upgrade has given us a big step in capabilities. It is clear the RAF concentrated their efforts on certain areas – which was down to usage, mentality, mission data and money. “We came to Red Flag wanting to see if the Eurofighter is capable of every thing we think it is – and it is! It is definitel y more capable.” He went on, “Today the PACAF Commander

Such was the rush to get the work done, the two seaterEurofighter had its software upgrade just two days into the exercise after gaining the necessary authority from German High Command just hours before. Four Drops 1. Small displays and controls, symbology colour etc 2. Integration 2.  Integration updates to radar 3. Tr1 Evolutionary Package 1 (Tr1EP1) (Tr1EP1) which goes rig ht across all core programmes 4. MIDS, attack and identification radar and Tranche 1 developments

stood up and commented that he didn’t realise we were so far ahead in capabilities. The truth is that we started to put a lot of focus, intensity and energy into setting the aircraft up and getting people into the right mindset.” All the improvements were soft software ware related, taken from one of the UK’s Dro p enhancements, primarily focussed on developing Tranche 1 capabilities. The older Tranche 1s are not governed by the new P1/ P2/P3 softwa re enhancements, because they have the older computer processing systems.. Instead they have been upgraded systems with discrete capabilities, referred to as ‘drops’ over the past six years, ensuring they don’t become obsolete.

De-brief  Colonel Andreas Pfeiffer, keen to expand on how well his pilots and the jets had per formed at RF-A, summed up the jet’s performance, “The F-22 Raptor has unbeatable qualities but if you can get it into the merge, there could be a different outcome!” Some leading GAF players at the exercise claimed two F-22 Raptors had been ‘killed in visual combat’ …that ’s how much the Typhoon had improved.  e  Below:  A German Eurofighter taxies back past two Below: A based KC-135Rs at Eielson AFB, while equipped with a Cubic ACMI pod under its wing.

50 | EUROFIGHTER

ForzaItalia Forza Italia Riccardo Niccoli looks at the evolution of the EF.2000 in the Italian Air Force

EUROFIGHTER | 51

T

WO SEATER MM55092/‘IT001’ was the first Eurofighter EF.2000 to be delivered to the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI – Italian Air Force), on February 19, 2004. It was the first of 28 Tranche Tranche 1 aircraft which initially remained at Alenia’s Turin Caselle facility for ground training. The Italian Tranche 1 contract included 18 single seaters (designated F-2000A by the Italian Mission Design Series terminology), plus ten twin-seaters, known as TF-2000A. Left: An Left:  An F-2000A from 4°Stormo over Iceland during Exercise Northern Viking 2011, 201 1, which was aimed at testing the island’s air defences. Troupe Azzura/AMI via author  Right: A Right:  A two-seat F-2000B Typhoons takes on fuel from an Italian Air Force C-130H tanker, while three single-seaters sit alongside on January 10, 2012. The aircraft were en-route to Nellis AFB, Nevada for a Red Flag exercise. Eurofighter GmbH 

All aircraft were included in different Blocks, 1 to 5, which in 2007 started to undergo the Retrofit 2 (R2) programme, intended to bring all to a common Block 5 configuration, designated Full Operational Capability (FOC). Work on all the R2 phase aircraft was completed by September 2012. Deliveries of all Tranche 1 aircraft to the AMI was completed on February 14, 2008. By this time, production was already switching to Tranche 2, comprising 47 aircraft in this specification – 45 F-2000A and a pair of TF-2000As. The first of this batch (a Block 8 aircraft, MM7287/‘IS-019’), was delivered in November 2008, while the last, MM7331/‘IS063’, (in Block 15 standard), was due for delivery in early May 2014. With

six F-35A JSF s serialled MM7332-7337, the first Tranche 3a jet is MM7338/'IS064' (see Page 54). That gives the AMI a fleet of 75 Typhoons. None have been lost to date, although a single major accident was recorded, on March 1, 2013, when aircraft MM7308/‘422’) from 4° Stormo was forced to use its underwing tanks as a cushion after encountering an undercarriage problem while landing at Decimomannu, Sardinia. Fortunately the aircraft itself only incurred minor damage.

Structuring the AMI Italy’s Typhoon fleet is divided into five Gruppos (squadrons) in three Stormos (wings). The first to be re-equipped was Grosseto-based 4° Stormo, which was still flying the venerable F-104 Starfighter. According to the AMI maintenance system, the aircraft are no longer assigned to flying squadrons, but to the GEA (Gruppo Efficienza Aeromobili – maintenance

52 | EUROFIGHTER Right: Three F-2000As from 4° Stormo with a Turkish Air Force F-16C in formation over Konya in June 2008, during Exercise Anatolian Eagle 2008-  2. 4° Stormo via author  Below: Two Below:  Two Italian Air Force Typhoon pioneers in July 2004. Colonel Alberto Rosso, Commander of 4° Stormo (left) and Lt Col Daniele Picco (right), Commander of 9° Gruppo, the first Typhoon Squad-  ron Commander.  Author 

squadron) of the wing. So jets are effectively pooled. The first squadron to convert formally onto the new type was 9° Gruppo, while 20° Gruppo continued with the Starfighter until its retirement. However, in practice, pilots assigned to the F-2000 were a mix from both squadrons. A second unit, 20° Gruppo, was the Operational Conversion Unit for the F-104 line, and continued that tradition to become

Operations/Exercises Operational commitments started in February 2006, when the F-2000s were called to provide CAP missions during Operation Jupiter, the air defence of Turin’s Winter Olympic Games followed by

Spring Flag 2006, the international exercise at Decimomannu . Since then, Typhoons have participated in all major exercises in Italy, as well as abroad, including the NATO

EFBites During firs t three years of Italian operations, until December 31, 2008, the QRA was manned by Grosseto F-200 0s and Cervia F-16s in the Nort h. Grosseto would have two F-2000s on 15 minutes alert (peacetime readiness), while Cervia kept t wo F-16s on stand-by stand -by (2 hours readiness) and vice-versa . On Januar y 1, 2009 4° Stormo took over. 

 Above: A 4° Stormo Typhoon touches down at Trapani, Sicily in March 2011 during Operation Unified Pro-   Above: A tector. Loaded with four AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM, four IRIS-T missiles and two 1,500lb underwing fuel tanks the aircraft was returning from another CAP over Libya. Troupe Azzurra/AMI via author  Below: Lifting Below:  Lifting off from Deci in July 2010, Typhoon MM7299/‘4-20’ sports special markings to celebrate 10,000 flying hours in the Italian Air Force, achieved in September 2009. Key-Alan Warnes

TLP, Anatolian Eagle in Turkey, the Typhoon Meet in Spain, Northern Viking in Iceland, Vega/Desert Dusk in Israel, Advanced Tactical Leadership Course (ATLC) in the UAE and several others.

the Typhoon OCU. The third unit to receive Typhoon was 12° Gruppo of 36° Stormo, at Gioia del Colle. It took delivery of its first four aircraft (re-assigned from the 4° Stormo) on July 1, 2007. 2007. No 10° Gruppo was the fourth squadron, which left Trapani-based 37° Stormo and its F -1 -16A/ADFs 6A/ADFs o n July 1, 2010, for 36° Stormo. According to the plan, this now completed the standing up of units to operate the Typhoon fleet, divided between four squadrons of two wings. However, the events of the war over Libya in 2011, 2011, Operation Unified Protector, changed things and the Italian government opted to maintain an air defence unit in Sicily: the heart of the Mediterranean and Europe’s southern gateway. As a result, the last F-16A/ADF were retired from 37° Stor mo in June 2012 and returned to the USAF, but instead of being disbanded as intended, the wing’s 18° Gruppo converted to the Typhoon. This led to 18° Gruppo receiving its first F-2000 on September 19, 2012, 2012, and in a few week s it had completely re-equipped. In theory, an Italian Typhoon squadron should have 16 aircraft (to be precise, the GEA of a two-squadrons wing should have 32 aircraft), but 18° Gruppo has a reduced number because, in order to save money

Eurofighter Units Base

Wing

Squadrons

Variants

Grosseto

4° Stormo

9° Gruppo

F-2000A

20° Gruppo (OCU)

 TF/F-2000  TF/F2000A A

Gio Gi oia del del Co Colle

 Trapan  Tr apanii

36° Sto Storrmo 10° Gru Grup ppo

F-2 -20 000A

12° Gru rup ppo

F-2 -20 000A

37° Stor Stormo mo 18° Grup Gruppo po

F-2000A F-20 00A

Pratica di Mare RSV

TF/F-2000A

EUROFIGHTER | 53 Two early Italian Air Force Eurofighters jink low level in Italy’s Alpine region in September 2006. Eurofighter GmbH 

54 | EUROFIGHTER The Future

Italy’s first Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon, MM7288/‘IS020’ taxies back to the parking area at Turin-  Caselle on November 14, 2008 when it was unveiled to the media. Eurofighter GmbH 

and allow a fifth squadron to operate, this Gruppo is dedicated mainly to providing 24-hour Quick Reaction Alert (QRA). Trapani is effectively a Forward Operating Base run by Gioia del Colle; and as 37° Stormo does not have its own GEA, secondary level maintenance is the responsibility of the Gioia del Colle GEA, or 1° Reparto Manutenzione Velivoli (1° RMV) at Cameri, the AMI depot for its main fighters. One other unit flying F-2000s is the Reparto Sperimentale Volo (RSV - test flying wing) which has always operated Typhoons on loan from the front line units, but since 2012 has its own aircraft assigned. Italian Typhoons have always operated in pure air defence and air superiority roles, and gained their initial operational capabilities very quickly. No 4° Stormo was the first EF.2000 units of the four partner nations to start QRA alert duties, from Grosseto airbase, as early as December 16, 2005. The main armament was formed by air-to-air missiles, AIM-120B AMRAAM, and AIM-9L; later the AIM-120C-5 and the IRIS-T missiles were introduced, which today are first choice, while units await entry into service of the Meteor missile later in the decade. Below: Typhoon MM7279/‘36-21’ of 36° Stormo Below: Typhoon was one of several from the unit that deployed to Trapani during Exercise Star Vega in May 2013. Eurofighter GmbH 

EFBites Serial number MM7283/‘ IS015’ was not used by the Italian Air Force, because the components were diverted to the Austrian Air Force, even though ‘IS 014’ was MM7282 MM7282 and ‘IS016’ was MM7284. 

In May 2014 Alenia Aermacchi is expected to deliver the first F-2000A of the Tranche 3a batch, aircraft MM7334/‘IS064’, in s tandard Block 20 configuration. Only Tranche 3a has so far been funded and signed (see ‘Lift Off’ p14), but it is likely Tranche 3b will never be approved. Rumours emanating from Rome have suggested there is interest in buying Tranche 3b aircraft, and slashing F-35 procurement for a second time. Tranche 3a for Italy includes 21 aircraft, 19 single-seaters and two two-seaters. The Tranche 3 aircraft will be, loaded with P1E software, followed by P2E, and by future enhancement software, allowing improvements in the air-to-air an d airto-ground missions. The E-Scan radar is expected to be available towards the end of the decade along with the Meteor missile and other new capabilities, although it will not have a provision for conformal fuel e  tanks, unlike the UK aircraft.

 Above: The only Typhoon believed to be operational with the RSV for Italian Air Force testing is this  Above: The MM7306/‘RS-21’. Author  Below: A Below:  A 37° Stormo Typhoon MM7307/‘37-01’ sits on the ramp in May 2013 at Trapani, where the aircraft is based. It is the latest unit to stand up with Typhoons and is seen wearing the unit’s traditional chequered markings on the tail. Author

56 | EUROFIGHTER

 Above: With airbrakes up, EF-2000 C.16-27/’11 /’11-07’ -07’ prepa res to touch down at Getafe during a pre-delivery flight in October 2007. 2007. The Tranche 1 aircraft was eventual ly delivered to Ala 11 11’s ’s 113 113 Escuadron at Morón. Author 

W

HEN THE Spanish Air Force, the Ejército del Aire (EA) officially received its first EF-2000 Tifón (‘Typhoon’ in Spanish) on October 9, 2003, it meant the pilots and mechanics could f inally start training at the manufacturer’s facilities in Getafe, Madrid. S ome eight months later, on 4 May 200 4 they moved into Morón de la Frontera Air Base near Seville along wit h their first two dual-seater aircraft destined for Grupo 11, which was based there. These two aircraft led the way for the fir st operational Spanish Eurofighter squadron, 111 Escuadrón. After nearly ten years of ser vice the C16 C16 Tifón (or CE16, the two seat version) has shown itself to be the best, most complex weapons system ever operated by EA combat units. It is exceeding all expectations and is set to become the back bone of the country’s air power for the next four or five

decades. Spain contracted  The home of a total acquisition Ala 11, Morón de la of 87 aircraft from Frontera was also Eurofighter Gmbh a reserve landing for an initial cost strip for the Space of 9,200 million Shuttle. Euros, dividing the purchase into three phases or ‘Tranches’: 20 aircraft mak ing up the first Tranche (T1), 33 the second (T2) and 34 more in the third and f inal batch (which was itself divided, 20 aircraft in Tranche T3a and the remaining 14 in T3b). The las t aircraft of the firs t Tranche (two seater ST008 [ST – Spain Trainer]) was handed over in August 2007 and subsequent deliveries of the T2 aircraft began on October 24, 2008, with the delivery of single seater SS012 [SS Single Seater]. As of January 2014, 41 aircraft have officially

EFBites

been delivered to the Spanish Air Force. Of these, 18 are in the T1 configuration comprising 10 single seaters and 8 two seaters, all having been brought up to date with the latest software configure of this Tranche (Block 5/SRP4). As well as these, a single seat Spanish Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA-4) is in use by Airbus Defence & Space (formerly EADS-CASA) for flight tests, while an additional single seater was delivered by Eurofighter Gmbh in T2 configuration, in place of a T1 example diverted from the Spanish production line for Austria. Another 23 aircraft in the T2 configuration (20 single seaters and 3 two seaters) have also been handed over. The last 10 aircraft to complete T2 have already been built and are ready for delivery, although this will not be for another year, as specified in the contract signed with Eurofighter in July, 2012.

 EUROFIGHTER | 57

on Tra rack  ck  Spain is a major player in the story of the Eurofighter Typhoon. Typhoon. Roberto Yáñez & Alex Rodríguez offer a detailed account of the Spanish Air Force’s For ce’s development and operations with the aircraft known as ‘Tifón’.

Due to Spanish government budget cuts, aircraft planned for delivery in 2012-2014 have been flown into store at Albacete Air Base, until 2015. In May 2013 Secretary of State for Defence Pedro Morenés stated that “Spain did not see a necessity in the undertaking of Tranche 3b”, in essence meaning that the last 14 aircraft initially contracted by the Spanish Government as part of the T3b would now be cancelled. However, this should not pose any problems to the operational capabilities of the EA, since with 72 aircraft remaining there was enough to equip four squadrons as initially planned. It is likely that the 14 aircraf t will still be built though, as the the total number is due under the work share contract. Airbus Defence & Space will therefore work hard to find a customer for 14 aircraft. At the time of going to press, Peru was reportedly a potential customer.

 Above: Eurofighter pilots spend more time in the cockpit trainer, at Albacete and Morón, than their com-   Above: Eurofighter patriots flying other aircraft. Like all Eurofighter nations, Aircrew Synthetic Training Training Aids (ASTA) are used for training in missions which don’t necessarily require live flying. Eurofighter-Geoffrey Lee

58 | EUROFIGHTER

Moron’s Ala 11 paves way The first of the two EA units to equip with the EF-2000 Tifón was Grupo 11 of Ala 11 (‘Ala’ = Wing) based at Morón de la Frontera, which until then was equipped with the F/A18A and CASA C-101. After preparing the necessary base infrastructures, Grupo 11 received its first aircraft during May 2004, allowing pilot training to start. At the same time the construction and service entry of the C16 Training Centre for pilots and mechanics got under way. Original plans called for the delivery of all aircraft to Morón Air Base in order to form two operational squadrons (111 and 112 Escuadrón) plus one more unit (113 Escuadrón) dedicated to training. 113 Escuadrón, the Operational Conversion Unit, was the first to activate on October 16, 2003. Currently equipped with 11 two seat aircraft, its mission is the conversion training of all EA pilots destined to fly the Tifón in Spain. This includes pilots recently graduated from the Fighter and Attack School in Talavera as well as pilots converting from other weapons systems, usually the Mirage F-1 and F-18. The EA decided to centralize all training at this squadron in order to optimize economic

 Above: Recovering to Albacete at the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) during early February 2014 is  Above: Recovering single seat EF 2000 C.16-46/’11-26’. Chris Lofting 

resources and available materials,  The last Tranche creating a modern 1 aircraft was new built training delivered in August centre at Morón 2007. It was also that houses the the first Block 5 ASTA system. This standard twin seat is made up of the aircraft delivered to CT/IPS (Cockpit the partner nations. Trainer/Interactive Pilot Station) simulator, FMS (Full Mission simulator) and GTA’s (Ground Training Aids) for maintenance personnel. To achieve the best returns on the large

EFBites

 Above: A second operational Spanish EF-2000 unit has now stood up at Albacete, from where C.16-   Above: A 41/’11-21’ departs in September 2013. All the Ala 14 aircraft continue to use Ala 11 codes. Author  Below: CC16-24/’11-04’ Below:  CC16-24/’11-04’ departs Torrejon during October 2012 to participate in a military parade over Madrid. Author 

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investment in the centre, the installations services are available to any other Eurofighter operator requesting it; in 2010 at least two Royal Saudi Air Force pilots undertook a specific six-to-ten month long training programme before handover of the first Saudi Typhoons built in the United Kingdom. Sadly, one of the pilots was killed in a fatal Tifón accident on August 24, 2010 when a dual seat aircraft, CE.16-08/ ‘11-77’ crashed on take off at Morón. Of the 11 aircraft in 113 Escuadrón, one is used for development testing by the manufacturer. This aircraft, designated ISPA 3, is an instrumented production standard aircraft, with serial number CE16-10. It forms part of the Eurofighter test fleet along with 7 IPAs and 4 ISPAs. ISPA 3 is built to a similar specification as the rest of the EA aircraft but also has special instrumentation and a data recording system used to develop and integrate future systems as well as post flight analysis. 111 Escuadrón is Grupo 11’s first combat squadron. Officially activated in October 2003, it began undertaking quick reaction alert (QRA) missions integrated into the Spanish air defence system and NATO's southern flank in  July 2008. 2008. This This squadron squadron is being being charged charged with developing the operational techniques and tactics for all EA units equipped with the new fighter, therefore it is the leader with regard to all aspects of the implementation and use of the new aircraft. Currently it is equipped

 EUROFIGHTER | 59 with around 20 single seaters that have undergone a retrofit programme designed to give aircraft from Tranches 1 and 2 the same capabilities. This maturity in Tifón operations was highlighted on March 28, 2012 when the first operations launch of a Paveway II air to ground weapon took place from one of its C16 deployed to Zaragoza during Exercise Tormenta. From then on, 111 Escuadrón was assigned a secondary air to ground mission capability and developed a training plan for its pilots. Meanwhile, 112 Escuadrón should have been activated before the service entry of the Tifón with Ala 14 in Albacete. However retirement of the Mirage F-1M during the middle of 2013 saw a reorganization in the deliveries of new aircraft, resulting in the new Tifóns delivered to Albacete before formation of a second squadron with Grupo 11.

Keeping Spanish Typhoons capable The Test and Armament Logistic Centre (Centro Logístico de Armamento y Experimentación CLAEX) based at Torrejón de Ardoz is the unit charged with providing support to new software and the integration of new weapons to the EA fighter aircraft. As happened with the Mirage F-1 and then the F-18, the CLAEX has worked in parallel and in collaboration with the aircraft manufacturers to achieve a level of self sufficiency in managing the Tifón’s systems. Since January 2011 the CLAEX has been working on Tifón Tranche 1 software integration. This allows the EA to write and maintain its own software code for 14 on-board avionics computers. Thanks to this capability the first successful development flights of the OFP-01E (Operational Flight Programme) took place in June 2012 – the first completely national OFP to incorporate software changes requested by the units operating the Tifón in Spain. With eyes focused on future capability, Tranches 2 and 3 are expected to arrive soon, so the development and integration of nationally developed software can continue to offer the aircraft new capabilities. During the middle of July 2013 the CLAEX officially received the EA’s first instrumented aircraft (ISPA 3), which is now being used to conduct test flights, checking the integration of armaments as well as evaluating, verifying and validating software developed by the CLAEX or the T2/T3 configurations. CLAEX personnel continue to qualify the software and development of the Tifón’s computers. At the same time the personnel of the Test Group are preparing to operate the aircraft, which is usually based at Getafe, from its facilities at Torrejón Air Base whenever required. Another milestone recently reached by the CLAEX has been the successful ground and air test of the first software modification totally designed by the Centre for the code to the MIU (MIDS Interface Unit) in the Tranche-1 configuration. These modifications had been solicited by pilots from the UK, Germany, and Spain as

Tifón: Pilot’s Plan of Instruction The process followed by the new pilots after they leave Talavera is similar to pilots coming from other EA weapons systems to the Tifón. First they are assigned to the operational conversion unit, 113 Escuadrón at Morón, where they follow a much more extensive Plan of Instruction (PoI) than a pilot converting from another type. The PoI consists of an initial theoretical phase where pilots attend classes to learn the various aircraft systems and emergency procedures. After completing this phase with an exam the pilots can begin the flying phase. The PoI is divided into two plans. P-1 is basic aircraft

handling while P-2 is more specific and is divided into P-2 air to air and P-2 air to ground. A recently graduated Lieutenant from the school at Talavera usually starts the course at Morón AB in September and takes around seven months (including P-1 and P-2). This is approximate, since the length of a course depends on the number of students attending; the average number of students is around six pilots. At the end of this phase of training they graduate with the Limited Combat Ready (LCR) qualification. Once qualified as LCR, the pilot is posted to their operation squadron, either 142 at Albacete or 111 at

Morón. Once at the unit the new pilot begins the Basic Training Plan (PAB). The PAB is divided into semesters and as each phase is accomplishe accomplished d the pilot achieves a higher qualification until they reach the highest at CR-3. Moving from one level of qualification to another implies higher levels of skill for a pilot. A LCR pilot has a series of missions assigned that are the basic role of the unit. In order to increase the level of qualification the pilot has to progress from being a two ship leader to four aircraft formation to mission commander, and progress through the qualifications for CR-1 to CR-3 during the process.

 Above: Two  Above:  Two Escuadron 113 pilots discuss their next sortie in the briefing room at Morón. Eurofighter-Geoffrey Lee Below: A Below:  A Spanish Air Force pilot of 111 Escuadron wearing the Helmet Mounted Sighting System (HMSS) in April 2013. The helmet has lots of imbedded sensors to provide the pilots with excellent situational awareness in the air and the ability to steer weapons onto the target. Author 

60 | EUROFIGHTER part of the international Drop 3 programme. This programme serves to implement software solutions to operational problems detected by users during the first years of Tranche 1s.

Albacete works up Ala 14, based at Albacete, is the most recent Tifón operator in Spain, the aircraft having taken over from the veteran Mirage F-1M. The first squadron to equip with the Tifón in Albacete is 142 Escuadrón, which received its first Tifóns from Morón on 30 April 2012. Its sister unit, 141 Escuadrón flew all the remaining Mirage F-1Ms until they were withdrawn from use in June 2013 and is not currently operational.  Just as at Morón, Morón, the the process process of of bringing bringing the Tifón to Albacete began with modernising the infrastructure, while ground crews and pilots underwent training at Morón in order to make the transition from the Mirage F-1M as fluid as possible. There was also a need to modify the engine test facility since the existing anchor points for the Snecma ATAR 9K-50 of the Mirage F-1M were also inadequate for the Tifón’s more powerful Eurojet EJ200s. Almost all pilots in 142 Escuadrón transferred from the Mirage F-1M, although it is also starting to receive new pilots from the Fighter and Attack School at Talavera la Real. Due to the level of development of the Tifón, training plans have to be constantly adapted and modified to keep up with the new capabilities added by the manufacturer. For this reason the major percentage of missions are air to air rather than air to ground, although the EA plans its Tifón units to be multi-role. This means the three operational EA Tifón squadrons will divide their missions 50/50 between air to air and air to ground. In the case of the Ala 14 and 142 Escuadrón this started during early 2013, going from purely air to air to a growing secondary air to ground mission.

Armaments As for air to air armament, the Spanish Tifones can launch most of the armament currently in the EA inventory, including the infrared guided Sidewinder and IRIS-T missiles or the radar guided AIM-120C AMRAAM. In the future there will be Meteor, currently in the integration phase. As for air to ground armament, apart from 150-500kg freefall bombs the Tifón can use the GBU-10 and GBU-16 Paveway II laser guided bombs. Integration of the EGBU-16 bomb as well as the capability to self designate via the use of the Litening pod is also under

Spanish Air Force EF 2000 Eurofighter Units Wing

Location Units

Ala Al a 11 Mor Morón ón

Status

111 Esc Escuad uadron ron Ope Opera ratio tional nal 112 Escua Escuadron dron Not yet yet Operati Operational onal 113 Escuadron

Ala Al a 14 Alb Albace acete te

Operational Conversion Unit

141 Esc Escuad uadron ron Not yet ope opera ratio tional nal 142Escuadr Escuadron on Ope Opera ratio tional nal

 Above: This Typhoon CE.16-08/’11-77’ was written off in a crash at Morón on August 24, 2010. The Span-   Above: This ish Air Force pilot survived the ejection, while the aircraft was taking off, but the Royal Saudi Air Force Lieutenant Colonel pilot on board was killed. The aircraft was being used by 113 Escuadron, the Spanish  Air Force’s Force’s Eurofighte Eurofighterr Operational Operational Conversion Conversion Unit. Roberto Yanez  Right: The sleek majestic lines of dual seater EF-2000B CE.16-02’11-91’ over southern Spain in 2004. Eurofighter-Geoffrey Eurofighter -Geoffrey Lee Below: This Below:  This Eurofighter EF-2000B is seen arriving at Albacete for storage in September 2013, wearing the serial as it will be worn in service. The new system applies to all aircraft purchased since August 2012. Roberto Yanez 

way, as is the future integration of the  The first six Taurus KEPD 350 Eurofighters for stand-off missile Ala 14 at Albacete currently in the arrived on April 30, inventory of the 2012, followed by EF-18Ms. two more on May To train personnel 14, 2012. 2012. They have in the use of the been borrowed cannon and air to from Ala 11 and still surface armament wear ’11-‘ codes. MACOM periodically puts together various gunnery campaigns at the Bardenas range in Zaragoza. For air to air training the El Arenosillo range in Huelva is used. At the end of 2013, 142 Escuadrón undertook its first air to air gunnery campaign there – called DARDO 2013 by the EA – against towed aerial targets, for which the unit operated from Morón AB, Seville together with F-18 Hornets and the local Tifón squadrons. Despite its short time with the Tifón, 142 Escuadrón has rapidly mastered the new aircraft. Proof of this came on February 1, 2012 when it entered into the normal rotation along with the Alas 11, 12 and 15 as part of the recently created Air Operations and Defence Command to provide QRA duty for the Iberian Peninsula, in accordance with NATO policies. To achieve this high level of readiness the squadron participates in large scale national exercise in which fighter aircraft took part, such as the SIRIO air defence exercise and the DACT dissimilar air combat training. Along with 111 Escuadrón, 142 Escuadrón has participated at international level in mini squadron exchanges of several days’ length

EFBites

with other European Typhoon operators as part of the EUROFIGHT programme. This programme, an initiative of European Air Group (EAG) has as its mission to promote the cooperation, coordination and standardization of the air defence forces of participating nations through air combat and air intercept training. Also as part of the international training programmes 142 Escuadrón participated in the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) last September for the first time. Two pilots and aircraft were part of the Blue Force. Also taking advantage of the presence of F-15Cs from the 48th FW/493rd FS at Albacete in January 2014, both Ala 11 and 14 Tifón squadrons trained in dissimilar manoeuvres together with other EA fighters. Tifón reached an important milestone on 11 April 2013 when after nearly a year of operations in Albacete, the Tifón reached its first 1,000 flight hours with Ala 14, during a DACT 2013 mission at Gando, Canary Islands. Nearly a year on, the unit has now surpassed 2,000 flight hours with Tifón. Currently Ala 14 is operating 14 airframes, with this number progressively increasing to the 18 required to make up the complete squadron as soon as deliveries of new aircraft resume and additional pilots are assigned to the unit. As stated earlier, since 2013 the last Tranche 2 aircraft have been stored at Albacete, as their official delivery to the Ejercito del Aire has been postponed until 2015 due to budgetary issues. During this period the aircraft will undergo specific maintenance to keep them up to date – there are seven single-seaters and three two e  seaters in this state at Albacete AB.

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THE RAF RAF 10 YEAR YEARS S OF

TYPHOON It's been an exciting first decade for the Eurofighter in RAF service, from the first selection of pilots for the Operational Evaluation Evaluation Unit to the move to Coningsby, the stand-up of squadrons, QRA, Libya, the London Olympics and the transition to true multi-role status

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HEN THE Typhoon, with its new and unfamiliar technologies, was introduced to the RAF’s Typhoon Operational Evaluation Unit (OEU), 17 (R) Squadron, in mid-2003, it represented a s tep into the unknown. The priority was to ensure aircrews destined to fly Eurofighter – drawn from those piloting the likes of Jaguar and Tornado – were well prepared. Case White

Pilots were selected for the OEU wit h a background of exchange tours on the F -1 -16 6 and F/A-18, F/A-18, with air defence and offensi ve support role experience. Thus the first six pilots , Wg Cdr David ‘Charlie’ Chan (Off icer Commading, OC) , Sqn Ldr Will Hockenhull, Sqn Ldr Rob Colligan, Flt Lt Nick Felgate, Flt Lt Matt Thornton and Flt Lt Matt Elliott (who went on to become 20 05 Typhoon Display Pilot) all had great pedigree. Four had experienced exchange postings, with the CO having flown US Marine Corps F/A-18 F/A-1 8 Hornets, w hile five of the six were Qualified Weapons Instructors (QWIs). No 17 (R) Squadron had stood up at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, but moved to BAE Warton in September 2002 where, with its Typhoons, it got stuck into ‘Case White’, the name given to the programme overseeing the Eurofighter’s introduction into RAF service. This was the joint effort between the RAF and BAE Systems designed to ‘bed down’ the aircraft. The RAF formally accepted its first Typhoon T1, serialled ZJ803/‘AA’ in full 17 (R) Squadron marks, at Warton on June 30, 2003. It marked the successful completion of the Typhoon’s type acceptance process. Two Typhoon Typhoon T1s, ZJ803/‘AA’ and ZJ802 /‘AB’, Left: No 1 (F) Sqn and 6 Sqn, based at Left: No RAF Leuchars, operate the newest Tranche 2 Typhoon FGR4s and both have been heavily involved in bringing the new P1Ea and P1Eb software into the Typhoon Force. This will allow the jets a true multiple capability allowing them to switch roles in the air. Geoff Lee

were formally delivered to 17 (R) Sqn on December 18, 2003 and the unit flew its first sortie the following day, with the OC and Archie Neill, BAE Systems’ Typhoon Entry into Service Manager and Lead Instruc tor, making history. With delays dogging the acceptance process, conversion training finally got under way in January 2004. The aircraft, all from the first produc tion batch, had a very limited ‘training only ’ clearance, with no operational capability. Training began, as did the many ‘fir sts’ sts’:: on February 11, 2004, the OC carried out the first solo flight by an RAF pilot, in ZJ803. A week later, on February 19, the first know n pairs departure took place when ZJ802/‘AB ’ and ZJ803/‘A A’ left Warton in close formation on a dry take off. Later that month the unit received its third jet, ZJ800/‘AC’ (Build No: BT001) on February 29, 2004 , followed by ZJ805/ ‘AD’ on March 12, 12, 2004. Speaking at the time, Archie Neill said, “My main responsibility as the ‘owner’ of ‘Case White’ is not to deliver an aircraft but to deliver trained aircrew, engineers and a support sys tem that’s bedded in. Right now [in March 200 4] we are contracted to achieve 1,300 flying hours under Case White, which is 1,040 sorties, but we are here to do as much flying as the customer wants , and we will continue to do it.” One of the first deployments saw No 17 (R) Squadron fly two Typhoon T1s, T1s, ZJ805/ ‘AD’ and ZJ807/‘BF ’ to Tengah, Singapore, in late June 2004, as par t of the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) evaluation process for 20 new fighters. Flying the jets were Gp Capt Mark Swann, Wg Cdr ‘Charlie’ Chan, Sqn Ldr Rob Colligan and Flt Lt Matt Elliot. Unfortunately the RSAF order never materialised because their preferred deadline could not be met. Delays also prevented Gp Capt Swann from seeing Typhoons at R AF Coningsby while Station Commander.

64 | EUROFIGHTER

Moving to RAF Coningsby In December 2004, Wg Cdr John Hitchcock, responsible for forming the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at BAe Warton, took over fro m Wg Cdr Chan as OC of 17 (R) Squadron, effectively combining the two roles. Six months earlier, earlier, on May 20, 2004,, the first Typhoon T1 for the RAF’s OCU, 2004 29 (R) Squadron, ZJ806/‘ BE’, had been seen sporting the unit markings with the Wg Cdr J J Hitchcock pennant under the cockpit. All eleven Typhoon T1s were delivered by March, 2005 but one, ZJ804, was loaned back to BAE Sys tems as the Tranche 2 development aircraft . In I n February 2005 the jet was being used by the RAF Fas t  Jet and Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit (FJ&WOEU) for their annual Exercise Highrider at NAWC China Lake, California. Wg Cdr Jon Hitchcock, along with the rest of 17 (R) Sqn, continued wit h the Typhoon operational test and evaluation a t Coningsby, where the unit stood up on May 19, 2005. Speaking at the time, Wg Cdr Hitchcock commented, “It was felt more appropr iate to wait until we were at home on ‘RAF ‘RA F soil’ so to speak, before we offic ially reformed and had the squadron standard presented.” Weapons carriage and firing clearances leading to the employment of AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile) and ASRA AM (Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile) was a priority. No 29 (R) Squadron worked up with ten Typhoon T1s under the Case White programme before the new CO, Wg Cdr A l Mackay, took the unit to RA F Coningsby on  July 1, 1, 2005. Their departure officially ended the Case White programme. The partnered programme between the RAF and BAE Systems, to ease the aircraft’s entry into ser vice, was declared a resounding

 Above: Case White saw the Typhoon OEU, 17 (R) Sqn, work up at BAE Warton for nearly two years,  Above: Case enabling the RAF to work out operational procedures alongside BAE Systems before the move to RAF Coningsby. By the end of 2003, 17 (R) Sqn was operating Typhoon T1s ZJ803/‘AA’ (BT004), ZJ802/ ‘AB’ (BT003) and ZJ800/‘AC’ (BT001). Eurofighter- Geoff Geoff Lee

 Above: Archie Neill, BAE Systems Typhoon Entry into Service Manager and Lead Instructor, checks out the  Above: Archie Typhoon cockpit during Case White. Eurofighter- Geoff Geoff Lee

 Above: One of the first overseas deployments was to Singapore in June 2004. Two jets,  Above: One ZJ805/‘AD’ 17 (R) Sqn and ZJ807/‘BF’ 29 Sqn were flown to Tengah for evaluation by the Republic of Singapore Air Force. En-route at Cyprus, left to right: RAF Coningsby Station Cdr, Gp Capt Mark Swann, Sqn Ldr Rob Colligan (17(R) Sqn), Wg Cdr David ‘Charlie’ Chan (OC 17 (R) Sqn) and Flr Lt Matt Elliott (17(R) Sqn). Eurofighter – Geoff Lee Right: While Wg Cdr John Hitchcock was responsible for forming the Typhoon OCU at BAE Warton in December 2003, he later took command of 17 (R) Sqn on December 1, 2004. Gary Parsons

success. It achieved the contracted 1,040 1,040 sorties and t raining of 16 pilots along with 166 ground crew during May 2005, eight weeks ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, over the coming years, the Lincolnshire base was set to transition fr om the Tornado F3 to the RAF Typhoon Force and become the RAF’s premier and most modern air facility. Modernisation at the RAF RAF’s ’s main operating bases was minimal as the aircraft was designed to make use of the infrastr ucture already in place. Operational conversion of RAF pilots was now into full swing. Deliveries of Tranche 1 jets, 37 F 2s and 18 T1s, was well underway a nd Tranche 2, 83 F2s and six T1As, was due to begin delivery in early 2008. Three more pilots joined the five instruc tor pilots (IPs) already qualified on Typhoon with 29 (R) Squadron in April 2005, and by the end of the year this number had swelled to 14. 14. When the unit officially stood up operationally, at RAF Coningsby on

EUROFIGHTER | 65

November 4, 2005, with seven IPs ass igned and another seven more in the final st ages of their training, all of whom were qualified to stage the next course in January 2006. This paved the way for the first class of pilots to star t their Typhoon conversion on February 1, 2006. The initial cadre came from front-line front-line fast jets, RAF staff of ficer appointments, or pilots returning from NATO exchange postings. Ab-initio pilots from RAF Valley would not come on line for a while. The operational conversion unit did not reach its full training capacit capacity y until June 2006. At first, personnel focussed on consolidating and growing the unit as well as the base.

First operational unit Several of the new Typhoon pilots were posted to No 3 (F) Squadron, including executives Sqn Ldr Jez Attridge (Executive Officer-XO Off icer-XO), ), Sqn Ldr Paul Godfrey and Sqn

 Above: The changing face of the RAF in June 2005.  Above: The  A Typhoon Typhoon F2, ZJ914/‘A ZJ914/‘AC’ C’ of 17 (R) (R) Sqn, now now with 41 (R) Sqn, flies alongside two Tornado GR4s of 13 Sqn, which is now operating Reapers, and two Tornado F3s from 11 Sqn, now flying Typhoons. Chris Lofting 

Ldr Paul Smith, commanded by Wg Cdr Lawrence ‘Lol’ Bennett. As part of 3 (F) Squadron’s build up, the first Typhoon F2, ZJ922/‘QOZJ922/ ‘QO- C’ was delivered to RAF Coningsby on February 2, 200 6 and was followed by ZJ918/‘QO- L’ the next day. T he codes were originally worn by Hawker Typhoon 1Bs of the squadron during World War Two between February 1943 and April 1944. No 3(F) Sqn transitioned from the Harrier GR7 to become the first operational Typhoon squadron on April 1, 2006. The day before, at RAF Cottesm ore, a Harrier GR7 in 3’s insignia sat next to a similarly marked Typhoon F2, ZJ918 ‘QO-L’, as a back drop in the No 3 (F)

Squadron Hand-Over Parade. The first Typhoon seen wearing XI (F) Sqn markings was F2, ZJ931/‘ DA’, when it flew from Warton to its new home a t Coningsby on October 9, 2006. The aircraft, carry ing the name of Sqn Ldr Jim Haskins, the designated XO for the new unit, unit, was piloted by the RAF Coningsby Station Commander, Gp Capt Bob Judson. Significantly ZJ931 was also the 100th Eurofighter to be delivered to the air forces of the four partner nations. On November 3, 2006, pilots from 3(F) Sqn, 17 (R) Sqn and 29 (R) Sqn undertook the fir st Diamond-Nine formation. Gp Capt Bob  Judson led the formation and explained, “We had never undertaken a Diamond-Nine formation with Typhoon and were looking for an opportunity to ratify standard operating procedures for formation flying for future flypasts.” Wg Cdr Toby Craig was by now OC of 17 (R) Sqn and returned t he unit to Coningsby in November 2006 af ter a 15 month deployment at NAWS China Lake, California, where two Typhoons ZJ913/‘AA’ and ZJ914/‘AC’, were used for trials work. The two Typhoons, along with 25 support personnel, had been involved in continuous testing activi ty since August 2005 at various airfields in the USA as part of Linear Lever, an RAF Air Warfare Centre exercise. During the final couple of months, 17 (R) Sqn carr ied out tests of the Typhoon’s Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS) flying compatibility and interoperability missions with US Navy F/A18E and F/A-18F F/A-18F Super Hornet s assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9 (VX-9) based at China Lake.

EFBites

 Above: Both 29 (R) Sqn and 17 (R) Sqn worked up at Warton with their Typhoon T1s in 2004.  Above: Both Geoff Lee

Eurofighter- 

The RAF’s 55 Tranche 1 aircraft comprise two Instrument Production Aircraft (IPA), ZJ699 and ZJ700, 11 Batch 1 two-seat Typhoon T1s (with original fuel system), while Batch 2 comprises six Typhoon T1As and 36 single-seat F2s.

66 | EUROFIGHTER

EFBites

QRA

With the Quick Readiness Alert (QRA) playing a big part of future Typhoon operations, two 17 (R) Sqn Typhoons ZJ927/‘AG’ and Force. ZJ928/‘AF’ carried out a groundbased QRA trial at R AF Coningsby in early December 2006. It was the firs firstt time the Typhoons had been seen equipped in a Q-Fit (a weapon load when the aircraft is standing alert) comprising four AIM-120 AIM-120 AMRA AM and four AIM-132 AIM-132 ASRA AM. Scrambles were practised from the QRA sheds and fast taxied to the runway where the pilots awaited departure clearance. N o aircraft launched. launched. The trial was undert aken in order to simulate the procedures used for live alerts and verify the suitability of the QRA sheds for Typhoon at Coningsby. Between Februar y 26 and March 2, 2007, 2007, 3(F) Sqn pilots successf ully launched four AIM-132 ASRA AMs in the Aberpor th weapons range at Cardigan Bay, Wales. These were the first ASR AAM launches made by the unit. unit. Missile designers and manufacturers MBDA confirmed the example launched on March 2, 2007, was the 100th ASRA AM fired. No XI (F) Sqn finally stood up on Marc h 29, 2007, under the command of Wg Cdr Gav Parker, to become the first multi-r ole Typhoon squadron, scheduled to become fully operational by July 1, 2008. Minutes before the stand-up parade took place, the XI Sqn OC confirmed the Typhoon F2 was expected to deploy to Afghanistan in 2008 , to replace the Harriers at Ka ndahar. However there was soon a realisation that it was too early for the Typhoon Force (TF). There would have been enough Block 5s for Afghanistan in July 200 8 – but only just. With the TF being so small it could have Tranche 2 involves 83 F2s and six T1s and deliveries started in 2009. 24 aircraft were diverted to the Royal Saudi Air 

 Above: Wg Cdr ‘Lol’ Bennett the OC (at front) of No 3 (F) Sqn took over the unit standards at  Above: Wg RAF Cottesmore on March 31, 2006 when 3 (F) Sqn converted from Harrier to Typhoon. Key -  -Alan   lan Warnes A

 Above: Typhoon F2 ZJ918/‘QO-L’ sits alongside Harrier GR9A ZD465/‘55A’ at the 3 (F) Sqn hand-over  Above: Typhoon parade. Key -  -Alan   lan Warnes A

been ‘broken’ by such an early deployment. Instead it opted to grow the force, especially pilot and ground crew manning and the Tornado took over from the Harrier instead. By mid-2007 XI (F) Sqn had received its firs t multi-role aircraft. A major milestone for the R AF Typhoon came on June 29, 2007, when No 3 (F) Sqn declared two aircraft on QRA at RAF Coningsby. It meant Typhoon was close to taking over completely the southern QRA commitment from the Tornado Tornado F3s at RAF Leeming and RAF Leuchars. The Typhoon Typhoon force shared the QRA commitment with the Tornado F3 on a month-on/month- off basis before standing alert full time. Reaching QRA declaration was accomplished by the entire

Typhoon Force based at Coningsby and pilots with all four squadrons , 3, XI, 17 and 29, manning the Typhoon Typhoon QRA . No 3 (F) Sqn OC Wg Cdr ‘Lol’ Bennett commented at the time, “We get airborne without the use of reheat, in a significantly shorter distance than the previous aircraft I have flown [ Tornado GR4, F/A18 Hornet] using full reheat. The Typhoon handles magnificently throughout the full flight envelope up to 55,000f t and the performance drop in the QRA fit is marginal.” It was not too long before the fir st live scramble took place, on August 17, 2007. 2007. Two Typhoon Typhoon F2s, ZJ932 /‘DB ’ of XI Sqn and ZJ936/‘ QO-S’ of 3 (F) Sqn, were launched to intercept an unidentified aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean. Their target turned out to be a Russian Tu-95 Bear, Bort No ‘Red 18’ ,which departed Russian air space wi th 14 other strategic bombers, as the Russians star ted probing NATO air defences. Earlier that day, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced that the Russian Air Force was resuming long range strategic bomber patrols after a 15 year year suspension. It was admitted later by NATO that the Bear was not flying provocati vely like those flown by the Soviets during the Cold War. War. Evidence suggests the event was a useful marketing opportunit y for the long overdue Typhoon... Typhoon... and it worked. The two aircraft were airborne for about two hours.

Striving for Air to Ground

 Above: Six weeks after standing up on QRA, this XI (F) Sqn Typhoon, believed to be piloted by its OC, Wg  Above: Six Cdr Gav Parker, intercepts a Russian Air Force Tu-95 Bear. Crown Copyright 

All 53 RA F Tranche 1 aircraft were by now being brought up to Block 5 standard (see IPAs are Go!) via the R1 and R 2 upgrades, thus providing the jet an austere air to ground capability. A notable feature of the Block 5 aircraft is the Passive Infra-Red Airborne Tracking Equipment (PIRATE) sensor on the

EUROFIGHTER | 67

These two Typhoon FGR4s of No 3 (F) Sqn based at RAF Coningsby illustrate the manoeuvrability of the jet even though they are both carrying 1,000 litre fuel tanks. The nearest is also armed with two  ASRAAMs, which which compliment compliment the AMRAAM AMRAAM during during air defence/QRA duties. Jamie Hunter 

68 | EUROFIGHTER forward fuselage just below the cockpit. The firstt Block 5, Typhoon firs Typhoon F2, ZJ930/‘A A’, was delivered to 17 (R) Sqn at RAF Coningsby on  June 8, 2007, 2007, after making its firs firstt Production Flight Acceptance Testing (PFAT) flight from BAE Warton on June 8, 2007. 2007. Nearly three months after arr iving at the Lincolnshire base to join No 17 (R) Sqn, ZJ930/‘A A’ flew a test sortie loaded with four inert Paveway II LGBs. LGBs. Three such missions were flown under a temporary clearance for the carriage of heavy weapons on Typhoons, prior to a full release. Positions of the six LGB test articles were alternated on each sor tie to measure stresses and vibrations throughout the aircraft ’s flight envelope in various flight profiles. The OEU conducted the trial in order to gather data, enabling the UK MOD to clear carriage of heavy weapons on Typhoon. During October and November 20 07, Litening III EF targeting pod integration trials were underway at Warton, where 17 (R) Sqn evaluated the system with Typhoon ZJ804/ ISPA1 ISPA 1 (BT005). Part of the trial included the firstt self-designated laser guided Paveway firs Paveway II release by an RAF Typhoon pilot, 17 (R) Sqn’s Flt Lt Dave Da ve Bowlzer, on October 17 17,, 2007, at Aberporth Range. The first product ion built Block 5, FGR4 ZJ939/‘ DXI’, had been delivered to XI Sqn at RAF Coningsby on August 6, 2007. 2007. BAE Systems reported the jet achieved 90% of the planned PFAT during its maiden flight on  June 29. Another major RAF Typhoon milestone was reached on November 14, 2007, after the RA F received a release-to-ser vice for laser guided bombs. XI Sqn, which led the multi-role work up and thus held most of the Block 5s, was deployed to RAF Kinloss at the time for a Combined Qualified Weapons Weapons Instruc tor (CQWI) course when the instruction was released.

 Above: Wg Cdr Toby Craig, OC of 17 (R) Sqn, sits inside the first Block 5 jet, ZJ930/‘AA’ after arriving  Above: Wg at RAF Waddington Air Show in June 2008 with six inert Enhanced Paveway II test weapons. Under a temporary clearance, the unit was evaluating heavy weapons carriage. Key-Alan Warnes

Squadron personnel fitted  Tranche 3a weapons pylons comprises 40 RAF on ZJ939/‘DXI’, aircraft with 24 and the armourers replacing those assembled and ordered in 2004 but loaded the bombs diverted to the Royal on November 15. Saudi Air Force. Then the Block 5 jet, loaded with two 1,000 lb (454kg) Paveway II LGBs and a centreline fuel tank, left RAF Kinloss for Aberporth Range in south Wales. Designating the target for the XI Sqn Typhoon was ZJ804/ISPA1 again. T he pilot of ZJ939/‘DXI ’ climbed to 39,000 ft (11,890m) (11,890m) and cruised to Aberporth at Mach 0.85 , well within the cleared flight envelope and

EFBites

 Above: A 3 (F) Sqn Typhoon shows off its Q-Fit – four short range ASRAAMs under the wings and four  Above: A  AMRAAMs on the side stations. stations. When When the Meteor Meteor BVRAAM is introduced introduced later later this decade, decade, the Typhoon Typhoon will pack an even more powerful punch. Eurofighter GmbH

aircraft configuration. Final preparations were undertaken during a 20 minute loiter period before releasing the bomb from 5,000 ft (1,525m) as part of a high-low-high attack prof ile, scoring a direct hit. A blow to the RAF’s attempt s to ramp up the Typhoon force to a multi-role capabilit y came on April 23, 2008, when ZJ943/‘ DK’, was involved in a landing accident at NAWS China Lake, California. The aircraft, now stored at RAF Coningsby, was one of four deployed by 17 (R) Sqn on March 31, 2008 , for Trial Daystar, which was designed to assess air-tosurface capabilit y and to certif y live weapons clearance. The crash came just two days af ter seven Typhoons left RAF Coningsby as part of Project Gordian, the RAF ’s plan to achieve Typhoon multi-role operational deployment by July 1, 2008. After leaving the UK on Apr il 21, the seven  jets stopped off at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona, for Torpedo Focus – the RAF’s annual three-week heavy weapons exercise. During XI (F) Sqn’s deployment, led by Wg Cdr Gav Parker, the unit dropped a mix ture of inert Paveway II, Enhanced Paveway II a nd 1,000lb (454k g) kinetic free fall bombs on the Barry M Goldwater Range. This led to eight eight experienced Typhoon pilots being cleared by the Air Warfare Centre to use the Litening III targeting pod during the manoeuvres, enabling them to designate their own LGBs and ‘spike’ for other pilots without the clearance. Pilots from No 3 (F) Sqn also worked alongside XI (F) Sqn during the detachment, which headed to Nellis AFB, Nevada, on May 19 to participate in Exercise Green Flag, a  joint live close air support exercise. It would provide the means of demonstrating a robust deployable capability to the RAF’s senior commanders. Over the North American deployment, Typhoon Force, led by XI (F) Squadron, dropped 151 151 weapons (76 by 3/X I Sqns and

EUROFIGHTER | 69

 Above: XI (F) Sqn was lead unit for the multi role  Above: XI work-up and deployed to the USA for a heavy weapons exercise from from April-June 2008. FGR4 ZJ935/‘DJ’ is seen over Nevada fitted with Litening LDP and six Enhanced Paveway IIs. Eurofighter GmbH 

75 by 17 (R) Sqn) Sqn) on Trial Trial Daystar at NAWS China Lake. These comprised 52 Paveway II, 16 Enhanced Paveway II and 83 1,000lb (454kg ) freefall bombs – with 65% scoring direct hits. The success of the inert weapons was sufficient for the RAF leadership to conclude enough work had been completed to meet the July 1, 2008, Multi Role – Operational Employment Date (MR-OED) declaration. Typhoon was combat ready. Tranche 3 cut

The RAF took deliver y of its first Tranche 2 aircraft , ZJ947 (BS040), on October 10, 2008, which, together with a second jet, ZJ946 (BS039), was delivered to RAF Coningsby on October 21. The primary difference between Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 is that the lat ter includes a new suite of computers with more processing power, enabling the introduction

 Above: The RAF took delivery of its first Tranche 2 Typhoons FGR4s in October 2008, and launched the  Above: The RAF into a new world of capabilities with its vastly improved computer system on board. Most early Tranche 2 jets are flown by 6 Sqn, which has been working up the air to ground role. Alan Warnes

of enhanced air-to-ground capabilities for the future. Until the introduction of P1Ea P1Ea software soft ware in March 2014, none of the four nations had Tranche 2 aircraft with air-toground capabilities. With Typhoon’s operational tempo now ratcheted up, on March 4, 2009, t he UK Government announced the award of a £450 million, five-year contrac t to BAE Systems Systems for maintenance and support of the RAF

 Above: Four Typhoon FGR4s were sent to the Falklands from RAF Coningsby on September 12, 2009.  Above: Four ZK301 is seen taxing out with three 1,000 litre fuel tanks for its long (and what turned out to be eventful) A trip south.  Key -  -Alan   lan Warnes

Typhoon fleet. There were some real issues on spares availability a t this time; highlighted a year later, in mid-March 2010, when the MOD confirmed six Typhoons had been cannibalised because of a lack of spares, although the MOD noted, “this is a rout ine measure to ensure the maximum number of aircraft is available for front-line duty.” In response to a Freedom of Informatio n Act 2000 reques t in early March 2010 it was confirmed six Typhoons had suffered this indignity. There were three Tranche 1s 1s - one (ZJ915) since November 2007; one between November 2007 and May 2009, and another from September 2007 to Januar y 2010 (believed to be ZJ940). The other three were all Tranche 2 Typhoons, one from April to J uly 2009, another since May 2009 and the third since September 2009 (believed to be ZJ945). It is unclear at the time of going to press if this policy of robbing spares is ongoing. A nine-billion Euro Tranche 3a production contract was signed by Eurof ighter, Eurojet and NETMA on July 31, 2009, for a further 112 11 2 Typhoons, plus 241 engines for the four partner nations. As part of Tranche Tranche 3a, the

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New designations Following the November 14, 2007, release-toservice for RAF Block 5 jets to carry carr y LGBs, the RAF Typhoons were given a new designation. On November 23, the RAF announced that all Typhoons built or upgraded to the multi-role Block 5 configurations or higher were now known as Typhoon T3 for the two-seat version and Typhoon FGR4s for the single-seat aircraft. Initial production aircraft, currently in service solely in the air defence role, were called T1 (two-seat) and Typhoon F2 (single seat) variants. RAF is set to receive 40 RAF aircraft, with 24 of these replacing those ordered in 2004 as part of Tranche 2, but since diverted to the Royal Saudi Air Force. The UK was originally going to take 88 of the 236 aircraf t in Tranche 3 at an estimated cost of £7 billion, clearly unaffor dable in the austere economic climate. The UK MoD looked at withdrawing from Tranche 3 and upgrading its existing Tranche 1 aircraft at an estimated cost of £5.9 billion (£2bn liabilities, £3bn for upgrade and £900 million loss of support savings). However, a compromise came when it was agreed to split Tranche 3 into two parts to meet affordability constraints. To support the seven squadron force originally planned, the RAF hoped to acquire 232 Typhoons to support a 137 aircraft forward fleet , with 15 15 aircraft per squadron, 24 for the Operational Conversion Unit, plus four each for the OEU and Falklands. According to the outgoing RA F Chief of the Air Staf f, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy (now Senior Advisor to BAE Sys tems) the current buy will support a forward f leet of 120-123 120-1 23 aircraf t, which could even allow the formation of a sixth frontline squadron, above and beyond the five squadrons currently expected.

 Above: To commemorate its 100th anniversary  Above: To in 2012, 3 (F) Sqn painted FGR4 ZJ936/'QO-C' in arguably the best markings worn by any RAF Typhoon. Alan Warnes Left: The Left:  The first two pilots to arrive at RAF Mount Pleasant flying FGR4s ZJ944 and ZJ950 were Sqn Ldr Rich Wells (left) and Sqn Ldr James Bolton. Key -  -Dave   ave Allport  D

Increasing responsibilities With Tornado F3 edging closer to retirement, the RAF opted to send four new Typhoon FGR4s to the Falklands on September 12, 2009. This epic 8,000 mile (13,000k (13,000k m)  journey, undoubtedly the biggest tasking to face the Typhoon Force, saw five jets stopping in the Canaries and on Ascension Island before arriving at R AF Mount Pleasant.

 Above: A Typhoon sits on the ramp at RAF Mount Pleasant wearing 1435 Flt colours and the ‘F’ (for Faith)  Above: A tail code. Crown Copyright 

The aircraft st ayed for a couple of days at Gando in the Canaries , along with a VCVC-10, 10, before flying around 3,500 miles (5,600km) south to Ascension Island. A n RAF Nimrod provided SAR coverage. On September 16, four days after leaving RAF Coningsby two aircraft, ZJ944 and ZJ950 flown respect ively by Sqn Ldr James Bolton and Sqn Ldr Rich Wells, finally touched dow n at RAF Mount Pleasant after an epic journey. The other two Typhoons, ZJ949 and ZK301, were still in the Ascension Islands then, although they made it to their destination on September 18. Meanwhile, the air spare, ZJ945, diverted into Santiago de Compostela-L avacolia Airport in north western Spain along with the Tristar on September 21. 21. The Typhoon had broken the tanker’s refuelling basket and it could not take any fuel on board. It never rains but it pours – it then transpired that there were difficulties finding an auxiliary power unit to start the engines! Eventually the air spare arrived back at RAF Coningsby on September 22 after ten days o n the road. The Typhoon took over the Falklands QRA duties on September 23, 2009, wit h the aircraft all wearing 1435 Flt insignia and codes – ZJ944/‘Faith’, ZJ949/‘Hope’, ZJ950/‘Charity’ (named after the Gladiators that fought over Malt a in World War Two) and ZK301/‘Desperation’ (a typical RA F pun carrying carr ying on the F3 tradition). The unit is manned by a Squadron Leader and four Flight Lieutenants from each of the four operational squadrons. This provides the Sqn Ldr with a great opportunity to run the detachment without a Wing Commander or ‘Boss ’, as the OC is termed in the RAF, looking over him. As operational capabilities mounted, No 6 Squadron re-formed under the command of Wg Cdr Roddy Dennis at RAF Leuchars , Fife, on September 6, 2010. Typhoons had star ted to appear with the unit’s tail codes at RAF Coningsby, where the unit started working up, as far back as January 25, 2010. The first pair, ZK304/‘EB’ and ZK305/‘EC’ had been delivered to the Lincolnshire base on

EUROFIGHTER | November 21 and December 1 respectivel y, but neither wore unit unit insignia. Having worked up an almost full complement of aircraft , the unit left for RAF Leuchars in early September 2010. Typhoon operations dur ing 2011 concentrated primarily on Operation Ellamy over Libya. Six aircraft were deployed to Gioia del Colle, Italy for some six months f rom March 20, 2011. 2011. Four of these aircraft, it was announced on April 6 , 2011, 2011, moved from air defence to the air-to-ground role, leading to the first Typhoon strike taking place on April 12, 2011. 2011. Patrolling with a Tornado aircraft (buddy-lasing for it) over western Libya, the  jet was able to positively identify regime main battle tank s to the south of Misratah. The two aircraf t attacked and the Typhoon successfully engaged two tanks with Enhanced Paveway II precision guided bombs while the Tornado hit another tank with a Paveway IV bomb. bomb. The Typhoon squadrons clocked up over 3,000 fly ing hours during their detachment to southern Italy.

 Above: Three RAF Typhoons were painted in special markings during late 2010 to coincide with the 70th  Above: Three anniversary of the Battle of Britain. T3 ZJ805 of 29 (R) Sqn wore the 'S-RO' code along with the names of two World War Two pilots, Pilot Officer RA Rhodes and Sgt WJ Gregory. They were the aircrew who flew one of the unit’s Blenheim Mk1Fs with the same code (albeit 'RO-S') and shot down a Heinkel 111 on  August 18, 1940. Key- Alan Alan Warnes

London Olympics With airborne security paramount during the 2012 Olympics in London, four Typhoons were deployed to RAF Nor tholt, Middlesex, on July 9 of that year. year. The additional measures were built on the RAF’s existing

 Above: No 6 Sqn reformed with the Typhoon under the command of Wg Cdr Roderick Dennis at  Above: No RAF Leuchars on September 6, 2011. It came four years after the unit disbanded as a Jaguar squadron at RAF Coningsby on May 31, 2007. Crown Copyright Below: Typhoons Below:  Typhoons regularly deploy to Al Dhafra, UAE for the Advanced Tactical Leadership Course (ATLC) which provides all participants with a chance to test their tactical nous in the air. A 3(F) Sqn FGR4 flies over the desert in November 2009. Eurofighter-Katsu Katunaga

air security arrangements , with Typhoons available 24/7 to be scrambled from their bases at Coningsby and Leuchars to intercept unidentified aircraft. Squadron Leader Gordon Lovett led the detachment of four aircraft whilst at their temporary home at Northolt. Air Commodore Gary Waterfall, Deputy Commander for Olympics Air Security, said at the time, “This deployment to an airfield with an histor ic role in defending London is a reminder that our air security preparations build on the decades of Royal Air Force experience in controlling the air to protect the UK. There is no specific threat to the Games, but we have to be ready for all eventualities.” Typhoons are known to have scrambled at least twice during the games, on July 25 and August 3, when radio contact was lost wit h two civil aircraft , a Thomas Cook flight and a US Boeing 737 business jet, respectively. After making visual contact both aircraft were allowed to continue their journeys. It took the Typhoon on the second intercept

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| EUROFIGHTER Left: XI (F) Sqn Typhoon FGR4 ZJ932/ ‘DB’ touches Left: XI down at RAF Coningsby on November 23, 2012, marked with four QRA intercepts on the nose just behind the PIRATE sensor. The symbols depict two Tu-95 Bears and two Tu-160 Blackjacks. Chris Lofting  Right: Several Typhoons returned from Operation Ellamy operations with mission markings. The 3(F) Sqn jet, ZJ927/‘QO-M’ wore the largest number, depicting 56 Paveway II drops. The warfighting Tranche 1 jets had more air to ground capability than the Tranche 2 until March 2014. Alan Warnes

 Above: Four Typhoons deployed to RAF Northolt  Above: Four during the London Olympics in 2012 where they stood QRA, primarily focused against any possible airborne terrorist attack. Crown Copyright 

 just 3.5 seconds from departure to pulling alongside the Boeing 737! One of the main responsibilities of 6 Sqn, to develop the multi-role capability, came to fruition on April 10, 2013, when it dropped several inert Paveway II bombs for the first time from a Tranche 2 version. Pilots had embarked on a series of training sorties over the Cape Wrath Range in Scotland in late March to deliver this air to surface capability as part of ‘Combat Ready’ work up sorties. Off icer Commanding 6 Squadron, Wing Commander Mike Baulkwill said, “The successful deliver y of Paveway II from a Tranche 2 Typhoon Typhoon is another step for ward in the development of the platform’s multi-role combat capability.” Flight Lieutenant Oli Fleming, who as an ex-Tornado ex-T ornado GR4 pilot has operational air-toground experience, was the first 6 Squadron pilot to drop a Paveway II. After ten years of Typhoon operations, No 17 (Reserve) Test and Evaluation Squadron – the original Typhoon operational evaluation – flew its last Typhoon sor tie on April 5, 2013, with the outgoing OC, Wg Cdr Steve Williams, at the controls. A formal parade held at RAF R AF Coningsby on April 12, 2013, marked the formal end of 17 (R) Squadron’s association with the RAF’s RAF’ s premier fighter. The unit is now destined to become the UK’s Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II TES. No 17 (R) will re-form at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to bring the F-35B into RA F and Fleet Air Arm service. The Typhoon TES role was transferred to 41 (Reserve) Test and Evaluation Squadron, also based at RAF Coningsby,

RAF TYPHOON SQUADRON COMMANDERS 1 Sqn

Wg Cdr Mark Flewin

Aug 2012

 Above: An RAF Typhoon lifts off the Gioia del Colle  Above: An runway in southern Italy bound for Libya during Operation Ellamy. Although weighed down by four Enhanced Paveway II laser guided bombs, they would have had little impact on the aircraft’s performance. Crown Copyright 

3 Sqn

Wg Cdr Lol Bennett

Mar 2006

Wg Cdr Jez Milne DFC

Mar 2008

Wg Cdr Dicky Patouna Patounass

Sep 2010

Wg Cdr Ian Townsend

Sep 2012

6 Sqn

Wg Cdr Roddy Dennis

Sep 2010

Wg Cdr Mike Baulkwill

Nov 2012

11 (F) Sqn

Wg Cdr Gav Parker

Mar 2007

Wg Cdr Jez Attridge

Apr 2009

Wg Cdr Rich Wells

Aug 2011

Wg Cdr Chris Layden

Sep 13

29 Sqn

Wg Cdr John Hitchcock

Dec 2003

Sqn Ldr Ian Hargreav Hargreaves es

Nov 2004

Wg Cdr Al Mackay (Sqn stood up at CON in Jun 2005)

Apr 2005

Sqn Ldr Anthony Gregory

Jun 2007

Wg Cdr John Stringer

Sep 2007

Wg Cdr Al Seymour

Oct 2009

Wg Cdr Graeme Pemberton

Dec 2011

Wg Cdr James Heald DFC

Dec 2013

17 & 41 Sqn

Wg Cdr Charlie Chan

Feb 2003

Wg Cdr John Hitchcock (Sqn stood up at CON in May 2005)

Nov 2004

Wg Cdr Toby Craig

Jul 2006

Wg Cdr Mark Chappell

Aug 2008

Wg Cdr Stephen Williams

Feb 2011

41 Sqn

Wg Cdr Mark Rodden

Apr 2013

which was undertaking a similar mission for the Tornado. Tornado. The Typhoons flying with 17(R) Squadron were transferred to 41(R) Squadron and unveiled on April 22, 2013, at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, newly repainted in 41 (Reserve) Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) markings. The four were: ZJ914 ‘DS’ (still with its previous 11 Sqn code that had been retained when transferred to 17 (R) Sqn), ZJ930 Z J930 ‘EB-R ’ (ex ‘AA’ 17 (R) Sqn), ZJ947 ‘EB-L’ ‘EB -L’ (ex ‘AH’ 17 (R) Sqn) and ZK332 ‘EB- J’ (ex ‘AI’ 17 (R) Sqn). The squadron OC, Wing Commander Mark Rodden, saw the unit now responsible for testing and evaluating Tornado GR4s and Typhoon FGR4s, together with their equipment and operating practices for the RAF front-line squadrons equipped with these types types.. Skills for the future

During the summer of 2013, the Typhoon Force carried out its larges t ever training exercise. Exercise Android Preference concluded at RAF Coningsby on July 5, after two weeks of action. The exercise formed part of the Qualified Weapons Instructor (QWI) course, regarded as the pinnacle qualification for RAF aircrew, as RAF Coningsby Station Commander, Gp Capt Johnny Stringer, explained, “The QWI courses are where we fuse the physical, moral and conceptual components of air fighting power at the tactical level. We’re taking our brightest and best and making them the most capable and aware tactical operators they can be. What Android

EUROFIGHTER | 73 Preference allows us to do is not only to prepare them for the QWI operational phase, but also to expose them to some of the wider and higher-level considerations and consequences of their tactical appreciation, planning and subsequent execution.” By the end of the following month, six Typhoon FGR4s from 11 Squadron deployed to RAF Akrotir i, Cyprus, on August 29, 2013, as part of the UK response to the Syria crisis. The aircraft formed par t of 121 121 Expeditionar y Air Wing (EAW) (EAW),, which had been sent to the region as a contingency measure, purely to protect the two Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus, which are hom e to more than 6,000 British service personnel and their families. Also deployed were RAF Regiment Force Protection personnel and fighter controllers. The six jets comprised ZJ939 ‘DXI’, ZJ942 ‘DH’, ZJ926 ‘QO-Y’ (lo aned from 3 Squadron), Squadron), ZJ924 ‘DD’, ZJ913 ‘QO-M’ (loaned from 3 Squadron) and ZJ919 ‘DC’. The aircraft returned to RAF Coningsby on November 13, 2013. 2013. The Commanding Officer Off icer of 121 121 EAW, Wing Commander Blythe Crawford, said, “While our primary objective was to deter aggression and protect UK assets in the eastern Mediterranean, I cannot understate the value of this deploym ent at an operational and strategic level.” No 1 (F) Squadron , under the command of Wg Cdr Mark Flewin, was re-formed at RAF Leuchars with the stand-up parade taking place during the airshow there on September 7, 2013. The Air Off icer Scotland, Air Cdre Gavin

 Above: 41  Above:  41 (R) TES took over from 17 (R) TES as the RAF Typhoon OEU in April 2013. Key- Alan Alan Warnes

Parker, who commanded XI  The RAF’s 53 Squadron from Tranche 1 aircraft 2007-09, handed are due to retire the 1 (F) Squadron over the period standard to the 2015-18, which will RAF CA S, Air Chief leave 107 Typhoon Marshal Sir Stephen aircraft in RAF Dalton. The CAS service until 2030. commented at the parade, “Our Typhoon Force will continue to grow, ultimately to five squadrons, and when combined with the Tornado Force and, in due course, the Lightning II Force, the RAF will be well placed to face challenges of the future.” On December 13, 2013 the MOD announced that II (AC) Squadron was to re-equip with the Typhoon. As part of the RAF’s combat air capabilit y transformatio n, the battlebattle-proven proven Tornado Tornado GR4 will be replaced by t he Typhoon and

EFBites

 Above: No 1 (F) Sqn reformed at RAF Leuchars on September 15, 2012, to become the second Typhoon  Above: No unit there. This FGR4 was the 100th Typhoon to be delivered to the RAF when it was handed over in Janu-  ary 2013. Both squadrons will move to RAF Lossiemouth when RAF Leuchars closes. Eurofighter GmbH 

 Above: No 1 (F) and 6 Sqn deployed to Exercise Red Flag during late January 2014 where the HMSS was  Above: No evaluated in some of the toughest hostile environments acted out during a peace time exercise. Lifting off the Nellis runway is 6 Sqn FGR4 ZK314/‘EO’. Eurofighter – Geoff Lee

Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighters. Based at RAF Marham, Norfolk , No II (AC) Squadron celebrated its 100th 100th annivers ary in 2012 and after completing its tour in Afghanistan in 2014 the unit is now beginning preparations for the transition to Typhoon and transfer to RAF Lossiemouth, Moray. The change was part of a planned realignment of the RAF’s long-ser ving Tornado Force, according to the Armed Forces Minister, Mark Francois, under which all GR4s will leave the serv ice by 2019. Mr Francois said, “No II (AC) Sqn will formally disband as a Tornado Tornado squadron on March 31, 2015 2015 and re- equip to form a new Typhoon squadron based at RAF Lossiemout h the next day, on April 1, 2015.” It will be the fifth front line RAF Typhoon unit. As the year drew to a close, Typhoon FGR4 ZK355 (BS1 (BS116), 16), the firs t Tranche 3 aircraft , made its first flight on December 2, 2013. 2013. The enhanced aircraft will become a multirole fighter, capable of shift ing between air-to-air and air-to-ground air-to-ground att acks without having to stop to reconfigure its weapons. Visibility will eventually be enhanced with the new E-scan radar. The year 2014 has seen similar deployment patterns to previous years, with Leucharsbased 1 (F) and 6 Squadrons at Nellis AFB, Nevada, for Exercise Red Flag in late Januar y. Being a Tier 1 exercise, with US, UK and Australian participa tion, the exercise was one of the more difficult ones – with coms  jamming, radar jamming and double digit SAMs all playing their par t in ensuring it was an uncomfortable ride for the aviators. According to one source, it went ‘fairly well’ for the Typhoon pilots evaluating their new Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS). Around the same time, XI (F) Sqn had flown to Oman for Exercise Magic Carpet, an exercise primarily focussing on Close Air Support, where the jet’s 27mm Mauser was put to use for the first time in this role. RAF Coningsby s aw the last Tranche 2 jet arrive on March 27, 27, 2014, when ZK354 was delivered to the Typhoon Maintenace Facility before being passed to a squadron. The first 10 years have seen the Eurofighter Typhoon evolve from a training aircraf t to air defender to bomber. bomber. Ensuring it becomes truly multirole, rather than 'switch role' as Eurofighter's Laurie Hilditch calls it , is the RAF’s RAF ’s main priorit y. It I t means the next decade is sure to be as exciting as the last .  e 

74 | EUROFIGHTER

“It is an incredible aircraft!  Across a whole range of altitudes and speeds it's eye watering” 

EUROFIGHTER | 75

Flying  Typhoon OC 3 (F) Squadron, Wg Cdr ‘Cab’ Townsend gives an inside view of life as a Typhoon pilot 

T

O LIVE the dream and fl y Typhoon with the RAF, you don’t necessarily have to graduate through training school – legacy jet pilots can have a crack, too. One who has taken this route is Wg Cdr Ian ‘Cab’ Townsend, a former Harrier GR7 pilot and now the Officer Commanding (OC) 3 (F) Squadron based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Back in 2010, ‘Cab’ had jus t been designated the next OC of 1 (F ) Squadron when in October of that year, the British Government opted to ground the Harrier fleet. Naturally, this was not great news for ‘C ab’. However, if you flew Harriers , that meant you were a pilot honed in flying a single- seat fast jet in the air to ground scenario. So ‘Cab’ found himself a new jet – the Typhoon. Left: RAF Typhoon pilot Sqn Ldr Toby McMeeking, Left: RAF lives the dream. Key-Alan Warnes Below: Wg Below:  Wg Cdr Ian ‘Cab’ Townsend has been OC of 3 (F) Sqn since September 2012. RAF 

QRA Cab takes up the story. “I took over 3 (F) Squadron in Sept 2012, but prior to that did a four month operational conversion course with 29 (R) S quadron, the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), in April 2012. Everyone does the same length of t ime on OCU, even ab-initio pilots. The role of OCU is to get pilots to a productive Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) readiness , so they focus on skill sets required to be on Q [as QRA is ca lled]. “Then there is an introduction to some of the air-surface capabilities of the aircraft. Rightly so, but the focus is on trying to get the pilots qualified and able to f ly the Typhoon in a fairly curta iled role,” he adds. Typhoons look after the air defences of the UK. The air space is divided bet ween UK-North, which comes under the responsibility of RAF Leuchars , Fife where 1 (F) and 6 Sqn are based, and UK-South, under the watch of RAF Coningsby and 3 ( F), 11 (F)

‘Cab’ on Typhoon performance: “It is an incredible aircraft! The performan ce is the great take-away. Across a whole range of altitudes and speeds it’s eye watering. Not just the fact it c an pull 9G, but the acceleration and the performa nce of the [EJ 200] engines is simply astounding. The other thing that makes it unique is the carefree handling, the fact that the flight control system will protect you from yourself. It will only allow you to do what the aircraft is capable of doing at the time, while with other aircraft there will be limits in terms of alpha/g. You name it, t here will be limits you can adhere to. Typhoon doesn’t have that. It eith er lets you do it or doesn’t. The beauty of it is, she will let you do anything that you like, prett y much; that’s the unique selling point of Typhoon. The only thing I hav e to remember in the cockpit is the speed limits, because if you don’t she will go so fast so quickly that if you don’t honour them she will run away from you. “You can sit this aircraft at 10,000 feet and put in the afterburners and if you are not careful she will just accelerate and accelerate and as she does your turn circle gets bigger an d bigger and bigger. So power management ,or power modulati on as we refer to it in the cockpit, is really important and whilst the Harrier even with big engine was a capable beast it’s nothing like this. The obvious thing for me when transferring from Harrier Harri er to Typhoon was the air to air environment, environme nt, which I love. It is incredibly challenging. challenging. No two scenarios are the same.”

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and 29 (R) Squadrons. The jets are usually sitting on high readiness, armed with four AMRAAMs and four A SRAAMS, not forgetting the 27mm Mauser gun, too. Each of the front line squadrons at RAF Coningsby takes QRA responsibility for about six weeks at a time. T he OCs ensure there are enough serviceable aircraft with the right weapons fits to deliver the mission. The three squadrons at RAF Coningsby jointly supply the pilots on a day to day basis, s o pilots from one squadron will sit in the QR A ‘shed’ together with aircrew from another squadron. While pilot manning is shared, ground crew manning – providing serviceable aircraf t – is a single squadron’s burden for a six week period. For obvious security reasons, ‘Cab’ will not be drawn on the types of interceptions, but he does admit the concept has not changed: “QRA is our most importa nt mission; protection of the UK Mainland. We are ready to be called upon, whatever the situation that is presented to us.” One potential scenario might be a loss of radio contact due to a malfunction or an aircraft on the wrong frequency. On Januar y 27, 2014 2014 two Typhoons were s crambled from RAF Coningsby and headed south-west to intercept an aircraft routing from MadridBirmingham which was not talking to ATC. As the two Typhoons pulled up alongside, the pilots were surprised – and no doubt a little pertur bed – to see that the aircraft was camoufla ged! In fact, this was no foreign invader: it was a Bulgarian-registered Air Bright An-26 used in the ‘Expendables 2’ movie, and had suffered a radio failure. Intercepts happen on a regular basis but seldom is heard about the role the Typhoon plays in defending the UK’s skies. Most of the wider training for the pilots’ evolution, in teaching them to fly the aircraft across the whole range of missions, is left to squadron commanders. Pilots go through

 Above: Sqn Ldr Paul Smith taxies out his 3 (F) Sqn Typhoon from the Q-Shed at RAF Coningsby in June 2007,  Above: when Typhoon took over southern QRA. It is armed with four ASRAAMs and four AMRAAMs. Key-Alan Warnes

an OCU course which then allows s quadron commanders to employ them in the QRA. The OC then has the wider task of developing the rookie Typhoon pilot as his experience grows, because they don’t fly many hours in four months at the OCU.

Hawk T2s – lead in fighter training Training is definitely the name of the game. ‘Cab’ explains, “As exper ience grows he will get more confident with the Typhoon as a platform, as an operational platform and then I can then use him in different roles introducing him to different mission types. “Training never stops for any of us and the more experience you have the easier you will Below:  Introducing the newer digital Hawk T2 into Below: Introducing service at RAF Valley for advanced flying training has allowed ab-initio pilots a smoother transition to the Typhoon’s cockpit. Paul Heasman

"Training never never stops for any of us and the more experience  you have the easier you will  fnd dierent skills"

find different skills. But for ab-initio pilots coming through, my challenge is to give them extra bits of training in a staged and phased approach for them to become initially able to do a broader set of skills as an air defence pilot. But ultimately, it is really to be a multirole pilot, switching fr om air to air to air to surface seamlessly.” The first four ab-initio pilots graduated from advanced flying training on Hawk T2s destined for the Typhoon F orce in June 2013. No IV (R) Squadron at RAF Valley, Gwynedd has revolutionized UK fast jet pilot training with the new Hawk T2s. ‘Cab’ himself did some fly ing on the Hawk T2s before joining the Typhoon Force: “I wanted to try and get a little of the insight into the product (ab-initio pilots) I will eventually receive. It was fascinating. I think T2 is a great platform for guys and girls to train on

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 Above: After the Harrier was retired abruptly  Above: After from service in December 2010, many RAF pilots with the single-cockpit mindset migrated to the Typhoon. Flt Lt Steve Kenworthy, now a Sqn Ldr with 3 (F) Sqn, was one of them. Key-Alan Warnes

before they come to Typhoon. With its glas s cockpit it is much, much bet ter than the old Hawk T1. The guys on Hawk T 2 are trained in the tactica l procedures, which we fly in the Typhoon Force but the performance of the Typhoon is a step-change.” While the concepts may be the same, the ab-initio pilots w ill not have the conceptmatch for the aircraft or the weapons sys tem they will be using on Typhoon. There will however be familiarity with a HUD, glass cockpit, as well as a range of avionics sys tems expected in a modern fast jet. “It’s “It ’s a far cry from the Hawk T1s and their ‘map and stop-watch’ t ype of flying. It is a huge transition but in the past that was the transition for all pilots going on to modern fighters. The Tornado GR4/F3, Harrier and  Jaguar are a world away from the Typhoon, and the Typhoon is not a fift h generation fighter, but it is still a massive step forward from the legacy aircraf t of a previous generation,” explains the OC.

Multi role In the RAF, the Typhoon is a multirole aircraf t and by the end of 2014 it should b e able to switch from air to a ir role while in the air to air-ground and vice versa. It is set to be a game changer. As the squadron OC, ‘Cab’ doesn’t consider the new guys to be combat ready until they are multi role qualified because the aircraft has already contributed and been declared

"I have actively sought out ex Tornado Tornado pilots to join the unit, to have a good bedrock of air to air experience" a multi-role capabilit y. It is clear that the RAF focus is on Typhoon being multi-role; everyone talks from the same hymn-sheet. “It has proved its elf as a multi role fighter. OK, it doesn’ t have the range of weapons that other multi role fighter s may have but in terms of mind-set, and this is the important thing, the people have to have a multirole mind-set and not think of themselves as ‘air defenders’. We can’t af ford to sit in the air defence stovepipe.

 Above: Increasing number of Tornado pilots are moving across to the Typhoon because of their air to  Above: Increasing ground experience. With Tornado squadrons now declining there are also more available.  Key-Alan Warnes

“So I have actively so ught out ex Tornado Tornado pilots recently to join the unit – the reason being I have a good bedrock of air to air experience on the squadron and again,  just in terms of engendering this multirole mindset, the GR4 guys I have brought across have given that mindset instinctively. “The challenge is, we don’t want to focus solely on air to surface because then we  just go the other way; way; my challenge, and I think the challenge for the Typhoon Fo rce, is finding its feet in terms of set ting a tempo through its annual training programme that delivers both air-air and air-surface, to allow us to be competent in both skills sets.”

Physical demands There are huge physiological demands on a pilot, which means they have to keep fit. No 3 (F) Squadron regularly calls upon the services of a physiotherapist, and recently a flight lieutenant spent three and half months with the unit while deployed to the Middle Eas t in 2013. “The physiotherapis t puts us back together when we are broken, which is really easy to do in this aircraft. Trying to turn your neck at 9G is a fool’s game because you will hurt yourself. So an aircrew training programme has been put together. There is a sk ill to training that has been introduced to us…

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"I took a young squadron technician for a sortie. I told the lad 'I'm going to take you to 7G — and we are going to have a conversation'"

not to go on long runs but rather to undertake plenty of strength training or short burst s of high intensity exercise that replicates what we would be facing in the cockpit. “We have neck strength exercises, again because it’s a core par t of the body we don’t normally exercise – no one ever does. I think the way the RAF is approaching aircrew training and conditioning is a ‘cradle to grave approach’ whereas before it was ‘we would put them back together when they are bruised and broken’. Education with regards to the physiological effects of flying a high performance fighter is critical and is now a part of all flying training. “As we come to the merge, you are looking at the front of the window: that’s great , but as soon as you go beyond each other you have got to try and see the other g uy. There is only way to move your head easily at 9g – and

that’ s ‘back off, move your that’s head and pull again’. And they teach you that skill at OCU which is a different approach to aviation because the aircraft previously didn’t demand it.”

Pulling G G is the main issue while flying Typhoon in combat. If pilots are doing this regularly, even with anti-g kit, a certain level of fitness is needed. There are huge physiological demands so they must train in the right way to make sure they understand the kit and how it works. ‘Cab’ explains, “ Pulling 5-6g in an a legacy aircraf t like the Harrier you did an anti-g straining manoeuvre yourself. If you try doing that in Typhoon, you are fighting the kit and it won’t be so effec tive so you have to relax and let the suit do the work for you.

 Above: A dual seat Typhoon T3 of 3 (F) Sqn flies  Above: A low level in the Mach loop. The dual seaters are used to hone the skills of pilots with a more experienced colleague in the rear seat. Chris Lofting  Left: The Left:  The Typhoon’s modern anti-G suit allows the pilot to pull up to 9G without too much discomfort. However it doesn’t protect the neck, so pilots have to ensure there are no sudden head movements, particularly in air to air combat scenarios. Jamie Hunter 

“I recently took a young squadron technician for a sortie. I told the lad ‘I’m going to take you to 7G – and we are going to have a conversation’. That forced pressure into his lungs, which is all par t of beating the G forces – and he held at 7G sustained without any issues. He had never flo wn in a fast jet before and that’s the best test ament I can give to the aircraft’s anti-g system. “It’s “It ’s a whole-body sys tem, completely different from legacy aircraft. Its tailor made – we wear anti-g trousers, but with slightly different st yle. The life jacket is compressed into the chest in the sa me way the overpressurised air sys tem is geared to increasing pressure in your chest ensuring blood stays in your head. "We have anti-g booty socks, so we can have anti-g all way from big toe to your chest. They teac h you that at the OCU – a very good training approach to the high e  performance side of aircraft.”

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TESTING, TESTING 1, 2, 2, 3... 3...and 4 The testing and evaluation process is coordinated across all four partners, with a great team spirit.

T’ S AN easy and plausible mistake to T’S assume that the four Eurofighter Partner Companies (EPCs) only work on their own national programmes, that each EPC Flight Test Centre uses its development aircraft for national interests. In fact , all four work on both national and foreign national programmes. At the time of going to press (spring 2014), there are no national programmes as all parties are harnessing their effort s for one common cause. “It works ver y well and there is a great team spirit. Even if there are four f light test units we all work as o ne team. With my direct colleagues we can discuss how we get this work share so each of us has all our capabilities trained, so we need to tra in in all areas where the companies have no interest. It’s a constant process of cross fertilisation,” explains Thomas Grohs, Manager Eurofighter Testing, Manching. “That ’s not to say there is no competition between the teams,” he says smiling. “When a new product comes out (for the aircraft) everyone wants to get bids in, they a ll want to fly the aircraft firs t. Whoever leads on the

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 Above: Typhoon IPSA1/ZJ804 Build No BT 005 landing at Warton on October 4, 2007 during Litening  Above: Typhoon laser designator pod integration trials. As well as fuel tanks it is also fitted with an instrumentation pod and AIM-9 Sidewinders on the outer pylons. ZJ804 is now back serving 29 (R) Sqn. Neville Beckitt 

IPA1/ZJ699 at the end of the Warton runway on December 4, 2012 for MBDA Meteor trials. The two armourers are indicating that they have pulled the ‘remove before flight’ tags from the BVRAAM missiles and they are now live before the jet heads to Aberporth Range. Mark Saunders  Above: Alenia’s IPA2/MM.X614 carrying two Storm  Above: Alenia’s Shadow stand off weapons for ‘flutter trials’ which commenced in November 2013. Flying the aircraft is Enrico Scarabetto, Alenia Aermacchi’s Chief Test Pilot. Eurofighter - L Caliaro 

to record testing. In fact, the jets are invaded with the orange stuff which means in some areas they are not totally representable, particularl y when it comes to electro magnetic compatibility,” says Laurie Hilditch, Eurofighter Future Cabilit ies Manager.  “They are very c apable but sometimes for quite a lot of work we do they are too capable for the flying we want.”

work, everyo ne else will support them.” Colleagues from all four EPCs regularly visit each other’s facilities. For example, with ADS Spain leading on Direct Voice Input (DVI) testing, t wo test pilots from each EPC are going to Getafe to assist in the voice recognition trials. Meanwhile, ADS Germany assist whenever required to help out with the delivery of Typhoons to Saudi Arabia.

Instrumented Serial Production Aircraft

Instrumented Production Aircraft

There are seven IPAs, always destined to be test aircraft, allowing different types of equipment to be installed while built on the production line. All have real time data link telemetry sys tems on board for engineers on the ground to record. Miles of orange wiring all over the aircraft c an be hooked up to very comprehensive instrumentation while the aircraft is being put together. “It allows sensors, transducers – everything

 Above: ADS’ Chief Test Pilot Chris Worning (left)  Above: ADS’ and BAE Systems Chief Test Pilot, John Turner in their Eurofighter Typhoon flying suits at Farnborough 1998. They had just flown DA5, the first Eurofighter powered by EJ 200 engines in the flying display. Neville Beckitt 

When Eurofighter came out of the Main Development Contract (MDC) and into Phase 1 enhancements, there were detailed discussions about building more IPAs. It was soon recognised another type of test aircraft , known as the Instr umented Serial Production Aircraf t (ISPA) was the solution. This is a normal production aircraft fitted with a specially designed avionics tray (known as the Flight Test Instrumentation tray) to fit into the gun bay. The tray is ho oked up to the avionic buses that takes all the dat a. “This means the wiring is a lot less invasive. The ISPA is a simplified test aircraft

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focussing exclusively on the avionics trials and we can tell if it’s working from what is being recorded,” Laurie emphasises. All seven IPAs are owned by the NATO Eurofighter Management Organisation (NEFMO). As such they are ow ned equally by all four nations although they wear indiv idual national roundels and contribute to national and foreign national programmes. The ISPAs are only borrowed by industry, which modifies and then demodifies them; when the job is finished they are handed back to the Air Force. For example, Typhoon Typhoon T2 ZJ804/B T005 became ISPA1 and was used by BAE Systems for laser designator pod integration work for the air to surface role. I t was handed back to the RAF after f ive years as an ISPA in June 2009. This aircraf t has been replaced by T3 ZK303/B T017 which is unofficially known as ISPA5 and jointly owned by RAF and BAE Warton, but it will eventually be returned. Coded ‘AX’ it flies in marks of 41 (R) Sqn, the Typhoon OEU, acting as the development aircraft for P1E, providing Typhoon with a multi role capability. BAE is working closely with the R AF on the software’s operational evaluation.

 Above: After being laid up for 18 months, IPA5/   Above: After ZJ700 taxies out for its first flight on February 28, 2014. This aircraft will be used for E-Scan AESA radar trials and was emerging from the workshop after modification. It still wears the Steedman Sword emblem on its tail, after Nat Makepeace won the award for an outstanding display at RIAT in 2011. Neville Beckitt  Left: A Left:  A close up of IPA5’s new nose as it lifts off the Warton runway. Mark Saunders

The ISPAs have to be kept to the latest standard; while the IPAs continue to do a good job their airframe s tandard is older. IPA7/98+07 at Manching is the only Tranche 2 test aircraft airfram e, the others IPAs IPAs are Tranche 1s (see IPAs are Go, page 26). “In terms of avionics they are all hybrids – Tranche 1 aircraft with Tranche 2 avionics systems sys tems grafted in to them. This is a one off procedure because it takes a year to t ake the old stuf f out and put the new equipment in, which is too long. But in terms of EFBites avionics they are  IPAs have almost all hybrids,” adds reached the flying Laurie Hilditch, a hour levels of the former Tornado F3 DAs before they pilot. retired. A very late,

two seat Tranche 2 Eurofighter, Build No GT026 was taken off the production line at Manching a couple of years back to become IPA8. At the time of going to press, it is being wired up and modified as the E Sca n test aircraft and is expected to make its first flight towards the end of 2014. A second jet, IPA5/ZJ700 , one of the BAE Warton test aircraft has just completed modificat ion as the single seat E Scan test aircraft . As it was a Tranche 1 airframe it underwent a huge engineering job to prepare for its new role. It made its first flight for nearly two years in Februar y 2014. Lessons will have been learned from the process, in the possible but unlikely event that customers want to retrofit E Scan into a Tranche 1.

Storm Shadow cooperation

 Above: IPA6/ZJ938 holds at the end of the runway carrying four 500lb Paveway IV GPS/Laser Guided  Above: IPA6/ZJ938 Bombs on December 4, 2013 as part of P1E trials. Mark Saunders

ADS (formerly Cas sidian) at Manching is a European Partner Company (EPC), like the other three test teams working in co-ordination with Eurofighter GmbH. When new contracts are est ablished, the four EPCs discuss the necessary fl ying and individual EPCs flight test lead responsibilities. When a contract is awarded the work is often split to suit the best practices of the individual FPC Flight test centres. In early 2014, IPA7 was heavily involved in flying with two Taurus stand off weapon Aero Dynamic Gathering (ADG) vehicles. Ostensibly it ’s being used as a Storm Shadow lookalike to provide Eurofighter a more efficient effic ient flight test programme. “Both weapons have been in the wind tunnel, testing their similar aerodynamics and characteristics – weights identical, ‘boxy ’ in shape. So flutter is being done on

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EPC Flight Test Centres Airbus Defence and Space, Germany Space,  Germany at Manching, Germany Airbus Defence and Space, Spain Space,  Spain at Getafe, Spain Alenia Aermacchi, Caselle, Aermacchi,  Caselle, Italy BAE Systems, Warton, Systems, Warton, UK pure Storm Shadow in Italy on IPA2 but for aerodynamic data gathering we can equally use Taurus for its effect on the aircraft ,” explains Laurie Hilditch. To speed up the Storm Shadow testing and integration process – which is a Sa udi requirement – two aircraft are being used. Alenia’s IPA2 in Italy is taking on the flut ter trials before moving to environmental data gathering, checking vibration effects and temperature on aircraft. It f lew six times with Storm Shadow in 2013. Meanwhile IPA7 flies with Taurus, avoiding political sensitivit ies that may arise from Storm Shadow being used in Germany, a nation which will probably buy Taurus anyway. The bonus is that if (or when) Taurus is ordered by Germany, or another customer, much of the exploratory work will have been done. By Februar y 4, 2014 the Taurus Taurus had flown three of 18 ‘f ‘flutter lutter flights ’ planned for symmetric test s in Germany and 6-8 assymetric assymet ric flights at Getafe with their Spanish ADS colleagues on single seater IPA4. Taurus ADG flying was completed by end of March and the Spanish part by early April. After the firs t phase has been completed, a second, known as the Extended Weapon Integration Flexibility will commence with IPA2 in the second quar ter of 2014. Some 12 flights are expec ted in the second quarter of 2014 for air vehicle task ing, while 19 are planned for the avionics test ing by the end of 2014 when Storm Shadow weapons integration will be completed. BAE Systems are expected to carry out the actual weapons drop later this year. The Storm Shadow

 Above: Typhoon T3 IPSA5/ZK303/‘AX’, usually referred to by its Build No BT017, carrying a Thales  Above: Typhoon Damocles laser designator pod on its centre line during trials under the Salam (RSAF) contract on June 25, 2013. Neville Beckitt 

integration is a great example  IPA 1 and 3 are in of co-operation Tranche 1 standard between all four and are used for partner companies. testing for Tranche Data from the 1; IPA 2 and 4 have ADG tests will be been upgraded to fed into the P2E Tranche 2 avionics baseline design. standard software, The flight control P2/P1E. IPA5 is a law software suite hybrid Tranche for P2E Increment 1/2/3. 1 is expected to be flying in autumn this year. Early air vehicle testing for P2EA should be completed by end of 2015. BAE Systems Chief Test Pilot - Combat Air, Mark Bowman comments, “ We end up doing the weapons system testing. While the Germans and Italians will look a t the aerodynamic performance perspecti ve of Storm Shadow, when it comes to dropping the weapon BAE Systems will use its expertise. The trials are all integrated it ’s not  just a case of bolting the weapon on. “There is a fundamental difference between putting a new weapon on the Tornado or Harrier that are stable aircraf t and the

EFBites

Typhoon, which is aerodynamicall y unstable. As a result it is very sensitive to different masses and shapes being loaded, affecting the overall ability of the aircraft ’s flight control system to maintain stability.” After test ing with Taurus it is possible ADS Manching will receive a Storm Shadow for handling tests on the final flight control software. soft ware. There were hopes to use the Taurus ADG again but there is a limited lifetime on the test vehicle, which will probably expire before testing starts again. In the event of an issue with expor t licensing it will be done on a British Typhoon IPA/ISPA.

Strakes Other major projects ADS Manching is working on in 2014 include strake-testing. This has been done in Germany before but this time it is a more extended st rake. “We are planning to extend not just the apex strakes but also add two above the canards, to counter the pitching movement generated by the bigger surfaces; and the flaps will be extended as well, on IPA7,” IPA7,” Thomas Grohs explains. The main priority with st rakes is to test the maximum lift available in certain regions

 Above: BT017 lifts off the Warton runway during the P1Eb operational evaluation, which 41 (R) Sqn is running in co-ordination with BAE. Note both of the aircrew  Above: BT017 on board are wearing the new Helmet Mounted Sighting System (HMSS). Once completed this new standard of software will allow the RAF Typhoons a very impressive air to ground capability. Mark Saunders

84 | EUROFIGHTER of the flying envelopes for better turn performance. Strake mods could be rolled out so can be easily adapted/modified for a series production model. Certain export customers have certain requirements that can be more easily achieved with the use of strakes. For example, CFTs (conformal fuel tanks) can have quite a severe impact on the stability margins of the aircraft so stra kes are seen as an essential enabler. This work is being taken on by industr y because it is likely CFTs will be used on customer aircraft. Some observer s wonder why the Germans are keen to pursue the strakes option, because the aircraft’s IRS T and Helmet Mounted Sighting System eliminate the need for extra manoeuvrability. ADS’ Eurofighter Test Pilot Chris Worning disagrees: “Strakes are extremely important . We have to stay ‘up front ’, we have to increase the jet’s manoeuvrabilit y. Sometimes the aircraft is so success ful in its layout that it hurts itsel f! We need to keep growing the aircraft and there is a small short fall in our relatively conserva tive maximum angle of attack. With strakes we can rectify that. “Maybe we can explore the angle of attack beyond the maximum lift of the aircraft like the F/A-18’s F/A-18’s ‘point and shoot’ cap ability. Strakes will allow us to get there and increase manoeuvrabilit y within the envelope we already have because we can roll fas ter.” Meanwhile IPA7 will stay in its initial configuration until Taurus testing is completed, and there will be early testing with E Scan for dynamic landing loads. This has seen the fully instr umented landing gear on IPA3 being trans ferred to IPA7. It will check that the increased weight of the new E-Scan radar will have no detrimental effect on the landing gear, that everything is within the tolerances and that there is no need to alter the sink rates. Another Eurofighter, build No GT026 will become IPA8, and is currently being built with test equipment at Manching; it sho uld have its PFAT later this year. This differs from the other 7 IPAs as it is a Tranche 3 on a

IPA/IPSA Allocations ADS Germany, Manching, Germany IPA7/98+07 (single-seater) ADS Spain, Getafe, Spain IPA4/C.16-20 (single-seater), ISPA3/CE.16-10 (two seater) Alenia Aermacchi, Turin-Caselle, Italy IPA2/MM.X614 (two-seater), ISPA4/CS.X7305 (single seater) BAE Systems, Warton, Lancs, UK IPA1/ZJ699 (two-seater), IPA5/ZJ700 (singleseater), IPA6/ZJ938 (single-seater), ISPA5/ ZK303/’AX (single-seater known as BT017 in 41 (R) Sqn marks), plus single-se at FGR4s ZK315, ZK350, ZK351 on loan from RAF Note: ADS Note:  ADS Germany did until 2008 also fly IPA3/98+03 which is now operated by the co-located WTD 61, the German Air Force’s test unit although ADS can borrow when required.

 Above: The BAE Warton Flight Ops, Combat Aircraft Test Team  Above: The Team in mid March 2014. From left to right: Paul Stone, Nat Makepeace, Arnie Arnold, Andy Blythe, Steve Formoso, Mark Bowman (Chief Test Pilot). All are engaged in Combat Air products, primarily Hawk, Tornado and Typhoon. BAE 

national contract but it will be loaned  IPA3 is being to the E-Scan used by WTD 61 for foreign national Tranche 1 evolution programme. It will as well as the four work alongside BAE DROPs. Drop 4 Systems’ IPA5 which increment 1 is has had its front being done by BAE fuselage structure but ADS Germany beefed up for the hopes to have Drop E-Scan programme 4 Increment 2 in and P2E standard in autumn. particular, Tranche 2 Evolution Package 2 (T2EP2), which will take priority over strakes. The original flying trials will be done with an E-scan dummy set, fully representat ive of the real thing but with no functionality. When the radar becomes available it will be fitted. The first E Sca n radar is expected to arrive in Germany in January/Februar y 2015 and first live radar flights are expected to st art in June 2015. Both aircraft will have P1Eb standard SRP 12 software.

EFBites

The Test Pilots Test Pilot, Eurofighter Project Chris Worning, who leads the German Flight Test Department, made his fir st flight in DA1 on February 27, 1997 1997 and 17 years on is about to complete his 800th flight. That would make him the longest serving Eurofighter pilot and with over 1000 flying hours, one of the highest houred Eurofighter pilots too. Working alongside him is Geri Krahenbuhl, a Swiss national. While three pilots, Italian Raffaele Beltrame and ex German AF Tornado pilots Stephan Lauthner and Thomas Braun recently joined they should be operationally ready by midyear. Raffaele used to fly Italian Air Force Typhoons and Tornados. Danish born Chris Worning flew Royal Danish Air Force F-100s for some three

years before he went on to fly F -1 -16As. 6As. He He qualified as a test pilot at Empire Test School, Boscombe Down (ETPS) in preparation for working with t he F-16A MLU. He left the RDAF in 1991, after 15 years and  joined Deutsche Aerospace where he was involved in several programmes including the Do 328 in Oberpfaffenhofen, before leaving for Eurofighter GmbH in 1995. The following year he converted to the F-4F Phantom, and the Tornado before making his first f light in Eurofighter, DA1 DA1 on February 27, 1997. One of his memorable moments flying Eurofighter took place at Farnborough Air Show on July 23, 2002. “It was a lousy day and DA5 had to come from Jever Air B ase in northern Germany with three fuel tanks, two aircraf t (DA4 and IPA1) IPA1) came from Warton and one (DA2) which I flew, from Farnborough. We joined up over London, formated and headed to Farnborough for the first ever Eurofighter 4-ship flypast. DA5

"The BAE Test Pilots also deliver Typhoons to the Royal Saudi Air Force, along with  foreign pilots from other EPCs when required"  then went back to J ever. “There was terrif ic pressure with all the ministers from all the countr ies and leading military aircra ft on the ground waiting for us. So it had to happen. “ At Warton, Mark Bowman is BAE Systems Chief Test Pilot - Combat Air. Having served with both 1 (F) and 4 (AC) Sqn flying Harriers , Mark went to ETPS where he qualif ied as a test pilot in 1990. Quite uniquely, he was then posted back to operations a nd joined 3(F) Sqn, serving in the Balkans, Northern Iraq and elsewhere before leaving the RAF in 1995. He started fly ing Typhoon in 2002.

EUROFIGHTER | 85 In October 2010, he was the last pilot to re qualify on the Harrier before the aircraft was chopped from the R AF three days later. Mark has many firs firsts ts (see IPAs Are Go! page 26) but one of his most eventful sorties was when he took ZJ804/BT00 5 to China Lake for the Highrider I trial in 2005. With Sqn Ldr Nick Felgate in the dual seater with him, the aircraft had an eventful journey across the Atlantic Ocean which saw them staying plugged into the Tristar tanker most of the time due to a fuel valve issue. The BAE Test Pilots also deliver Typhoons to the Royal Saudi Air Force when required, with foreign pilots from other FPCs when required. This will last for another four years until the second batch of 48 is delivered. Other key aviators with Mark in the Flight Test Air Combat team are: Nat Makepeace, Typhoon Project Pilot; Steve Formosa, Typhoon Project Aircrew and Andy Blythe, Tornado Project Pilot but current on Typhoon. All liaise closely with t he Flight Test Manager, Typhoon, Typhoon, Andy Peg g at Warton and his team of 25 flight test engineer s working and reporting on flight trials allocated to UK aircraft.  “We have four trials aircraft , three are NEFMO owned aircraft and a fourth UK production aircraft ,” Andy Pegg explains. “IPA1/ZJ699 “IPA1 /ZJ699 w ill in 2014 continue with evolution of software packages and is currently fly ing Drop 3 and will move onto Drop 4 later in year (for more on Drops see page 49) , which include MIDS and HMSS improvements for Tranche 1 aircraft. The jet is also going to be used for continuation of Meteor BVRAAM firings. “IPA 5/ZJ700 has been laid up for some 18 months having having struc tural and systems modificat ions for E-Scan and had its firs t shake down flight in mid February. We are now waiting for the radar. There is ballast in the back of IPA5 to counter the additional weight in the nose where there have been alterations to accommodate extra cooling

 Above: The ADS Eurofighter, IPA7/98+07 has been  Above: The working on Taurus KEPD 350 flutter trial work at Manching. Essentially it is being used to speed up the Storm Shadow integration for 2015 although with the German Air Force having many Taurus stand off weapons in stock it’s likely they will eventually be flown on Eurofighter. Eurofighter   Above: A  Above:  A close up of the Taurus air vehicle on the port wing of IPA7. Alan Warnes

and power generation. The aircraft also went from Tranche 1 to Tranche 2 avionics too and we are now getting the aircraf t back up to a test standard.” “IPA 6/ZJ938 has a be en our main Tranche 2 workhorse. It has been very bus y over the last three years ta king the brunt of P1E development. So this year has been used for target support duties, for the prime aircraft in the other two main programmes. During second half of this year it will be upgraded with P2E and progress that programme. Details of the fourth jet, ZK303/ ’AX’ known as ‘BT017’ and an IP SA is covered covered on page 82 in this feature. BAE is working with three other Typhoon FGR4s. ZK315/’BS74’

 Above: IPA8 Build No GT0026 on the production line at Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) before being  Above: IPA8 moved out to have its new test equipment and orange wires inserted. It is to be used as a two seater to test the E-Scan radar in 2015. Eurofighter 

is a Tranche 2 jet used for Electro Magnetic (EMC) testing, primarily against failures and upgraded with P1Ea softwar e but has not flown for 18 months; ZK3 50/’B 50/’BS1 S111 11’’ is also being used for EMC testing and is regularly towed out to ‘Sunset Strip,’ a big conc rete strip close to the estuary. ZK351/’BS112’ ZK351/’BS11 2’ is undergoing tes ting for the characteris ation of the antennae and just before Christmas 2013 was strung up under a crane as if it were flying, allowing checks to get underway. “Each test centre has specific skills, at BAE we deal primarily in weapons system performance and DASS. Having the Spadeadam EW Range so close is a bonus for developing for the system,” Andy Pegg concludes. Alenia’s Chief Test Pilot is Enrico Scarabotto who works with seven experimental test pilots, one production test pilot and one experimental test navigator while Marco Venanzetti is Senior Vice President, Flight Operations and Training Systems. As well as T2EP2, Alenia is also involved in the Drop internationalisation: there have been four Drops which are additional/ enhanced functions developed by the nations for Tranche 1. There will be four flights on that and ten for new ra dar software soft ware development. Tranche 3 Common Common Obsolescence Removal Programme CORP is also being undertaken which will tes t Tranche 3 equipment loaded with newly developed soft ware like P1Ea and P1Eb. Clearly there is plenty of wor k to be done on developing the Typhoon over the next four to five years and everyo ne is playing their part to ensure its done in a timely, eff icient and professional manner.  e 

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 A 6 Sqn jet jet blasts off the the runway heading into into an air war, where 40 v 40 fights will break out all over the huge range Nellis ranges. At the same time the pilot will be trying to evade double-digit SAMs and varying kinds of electronic warfare tricks. All photos, Jamie Hunter 

Red Flag  Mixing with the heavies

The RAF Tranche 2s enjoyed great success at the first 2014 Nevada exercise, as some participants revealed to  Jamie Hunter

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OLLOWING LAST year’s budget-related grounding orders, exercise ‘Red Flag’ returned to a full schedule of events in 2014. The first of three slated ‘Red Flags’ at Nellis AFB, Nevada took place from January 27-February 14. As usual, the exercise attrac ted a wide range of participants, wi th the strong bond between British and America n combat air forces affording the RA F the ability to join this top-end exercise as the ultimate test for its Eurofighter Typhoons.

its Eurofighter Typhoons, which punch at the same weight as these American heavy weights. The appearance of RAF Eurofighters at this year’s firs t ‘Red Flag’ exercise in February may not have come as a noteworthy event for some observers . The coverage of the type’s debut at Nellis for t he March 2013 event drew huge coverage and universal praise. However, this year it was different. It mar ked

the first ‘bloo ding’ of the all-new Tranche 2 standard aircraft. Led by No 6 Squadron from RAF Leuchars, plus support from sister unit No 1(F) Squadron, Tranche 2 standard Typhoons played a major role in this exercise on the successful ‘Red Flag’ participation participa tion last year. This year the Tranche Tranche 2  jets pushed the bounda boundaries ries further further,, operatin operating g purely in the air-to-air role but as part of their proving ground and progress to becoming the RAF’s main ‘warfighting’ aircraft. Flt Lt Si Revell is the operations officer on No 1(F) Squadron, and was heavily involved in both the build-up and the execution of this year’s event. Flying two waves of six jets twice a day usually takes its toll on f ighter squadrons. For the RAF Eurofighters, it was an interesting story. “ We have done well with serv iceability,” Revell commented in week three. “As the exercise has gone on, serviceability has ac tually got better. In week

All-new Tranche 2s For a relative outsider to come to Nellis, to stand alongside the USAF’s undisputed ‘heavyweight ‘heav yweight champ’ the F-22 Raptor, not to mention B-2s, F-16CJs, EA-1 EA -18G 8G Prowlers and F-15E Strike Eagles, is a daunting prospect. prospec t. However, for the RAF, it is today a reality for

 Above: This pilot gives the thumb to the groundcrew as he prepares to taxi off the huge ramp. He is wear-   Above: This ing the HEA with its many sensors that provide aircrews with an increased situational awareness to make life easier in the cockpit.

EUROFIGHTER | 87 three of the exercise, we’ve not dropped a single sortie.” As is usual with an exercise of this magnitude, the aircraft aircraf t on the line each day are of the highest standard available. “The aircraft we brought out here feature the latest enhancementss to the DASS, the radar, the enhancement mission data, data , and they are Tranche Tranche 2 Drop 1 standard, which has effectively bought these aircraft up to the same broad standard as the current Tranche Tranche 1 jets. When we marry all of this up with P1E we will see the Tranche 2 Typhoons Typhoo ns becoming the RAF’s main warfighters.”

Tranche 2 Typhoon FGR4s from both 1 (F) Sqn and 6 Sqn sit on the ramp at Nellis AFB, Nevada for Exercise Red Flag. This marked the first venture of Tranche 2 jets to the busiest and most complex exercises in the world.

Talking About The Helmet Wg Cdr Mike Baulkwill, Of ficer Commanding No 6 Squadron, says, “I t’s been great for us exercising the Tranche 2 Typhoons for the firstt time on ‘Red Flag’. All aspects of the firs aircraft ; from secure radios to our L ink-1 ink-16 6 have been great — and we have been able to explore the full capabilities of the jet . Our HEA (Helmet Equipment Assembly, also known as HMSS (Helmet Mounted Sighting System) has made a massive difference. When you lock a target with t he radar and then need to find it visually you jus t look out of the cockpit and there it is — the HEA a llows you to get your eyes on it very quickl y. So you’re seeing aircraft at t wice the range you would normally. This really helps with the intercept, because you can set yourself up, put yourself in a bet ter position to complete the intercept. “All of our work here at ‘Red Flag’ will translate across to P1E. Most of the guys on the squadron are already multi-role combat ready, they’ve flown t he Tranche 1 jets jets and we’ve all dropped bombs. The big difference we will see with P1EA will be the introduction of the Paveway IV precision-guided bomb and slightly different modes for the targeting pod. Paveway IV allows us to do so much more with the weapon, and next year we will return here as a multi-role Tranche 2 st andard squadron, so this exercise has served us well as an important stepping stone towards that. “The force is beginning to exercise on

Right: Las Vegas keeps a watchful eye over Nellis AFB.

EFBites The commander of the RAF Detac hment, Group Captain Mark Jeffer y, was also the Vice Commander for the exercise, As well as the Typhoons, RAF participation at Red Flag 2014-1 included an E-3D Sentr y of 8 Sqn, based at RAF Waddingt on and Tornado Tornado GR4s from IX(B) Sqn, RAF Marham. 

‘Red Flag’, and will cont inue to do so, and thiis exactly what Typhoon needs,” he summarised. Squadron XO (Exec) Sqn Ldr Sam Cowan gave further details. “ We are becoming more practised at working with fif fifth-generation th-generation platforms , ensuring we are using these and our Typhoons to their strengths; the lessons will prove invaluable to the RAF as the fu ture F-35B comes online later this decade.” He continued: “I hadn’t used the HEA a w hole lot before this exercise and the benefit for SA (situational awareness) is fantastic. If you have a ‘Red Air’ aggressor at long range you can select it with the radar, and if it’s not in your HUD field-of-view, you can simply look at it and see a square or triangle where it is.”

40 x 40 Air A ir Battle The RAF has always been keen to expose its most junior fighter pilots to the rigours of exercises like ‘Red Flag’. Flt Lt Scott Holliday-Stevens is a 25-year old pilot on No 6 Squadron. “The first thing that struck me was the sheer scale of the thing. When you see 150 fast jets lined up on the huge piece of tarmac in Nevada it’s almost overwhelming. Then off the back of that you go into your first mission brief and realize there’s a 40 v. 40 air battle about to happen — with everyone ready to have a monumental scrap in this piece of airspace — that’s amazing. The level and realism of training you get out here is second to none. It is something I’ve never seen in terms of the intensity, with the aggressor threat in the air and on the ground, a full contested degraded environment to conduct operations in.” With the successes of ‘Red Flag’ behind it, Tranche 2 jets will progressively work up with the multi-role P1E upgrade, which broadly involves the addition of capability with the Litening III targeting pod and Paveway IV Precision-Guided Bomb. The wing will also relocate to RAF Lossiemouth during 2014. e 

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SIZZLING

SAUDIS Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoons Typhoons deployed to the UK in late August 2013 for Exercise Saudi-British Green Flag.

Below: For two weeks in September, Saudi Below: For Typhoons and Tornados flew with their RAF counterparts in Exercise Saudi-British Green Flag (SBGF). RAF/Geoff Lee

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N AUTUMN 2013 the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF ) spent three weeks on exercise at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Some 300 personnel accompanied the four Typhoons and four Tornados that flew some 3,000 miles (4825kms), swapping the dusty hot climate at Taif for flat Lincolnshire, which for the first week of manoeuvres was unseasonally warm. By the second week it had defaulted to the more usual autumnal clouds and rain, a world away from the hazy blue sk ies that the visiting pilots and crews were accustomed to. Preparations for what was to be a mas sive logistical operat ion had begun in late 2012, but did not start to unfold until August 23, 2013 when four RSA F C-130Hs C-130Hs touc hed down at RAF Coningsby. Wit hin a week they had been followed by a further 11 Hercules sorties to the UK. Down at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, home to the RAF RAF’s ’s tanker fleet, two RSAF A330 MRT Ts from 24 Squadron, which provided air-air tanker support, arrived on

EUROFIGHTER |

 Above: RAF Coningsby Station Commander, Group Captain Johnny Stringer (sixth from right) and, on his right, the RSAF Detachment Commander, Brigadier  Above: RAF General Al-Shahrani stand with other RAF and RSAF personnel on August 27, after six of the RSAF fighters had arrived. RAF

August 27. This was the first time the newl y delivered Saudi Airbus had tanked fighters on deployment overseas.

Arrivals Day Unfortunately, only six of the eight fighters touched down at RAF Coningsby during arrivals day on August 27. Two Tornados, 7512 751 2 and 8 312 dropped out the eight-ship formation over Italy due to technical issues. This left two Tornados, 7507 and 8306 to soldier on al ongside Typhoons 310, 312, 313 and two-seater 322. The missing pair of jets arrived two days later on August 29. What all the crews thought as they arrived when they saw masses of photographers and spotters at t he end of the Coningsby runway was anyone’s guess. However, with hundreds of people gathered outside the base mos t days, many on step ladders pointing their cameras at them, they s oon become familiar. Although the Typhoons were marked as 3 Squadron and the dual-seater 322 was even adorned with a 3 Squadron emblem on the tail, a RSAF Typhoon pilot confirmed they were 10 Squadron aircraft flow n by a mix of aircrew from both units at Taif. The Tornados were all flown by crews fr om 75 Squadron based at Dhahran.

 Above: A RSAF Typhoon and 3 (F) Sqn FGR4 line up on Runway 25 for an afternoon sortie as a RSAF  Above: A Tornado taxies by. All photos, Alan Warnes unless stated 

 Above: A three ship formation flies over the base  Above: A before breaking. The Saudi Typhoons always flew with three fuel tanks, a big disadvantage for any air-to-air combat, if any had taken place. Below: A Below:  A Saudi Typhoon turns off the end of Run-  way 25 after the end of a sortie on September 5.

The RSAF Deta chment Commander, Brigadier General Mohammed Al-Shahrani, one of the most experienced aviators ser ving the Arab state, hav ing flown Tornado, F-15 and now the Typhoon, told journalists at a media gathering on September 6: “My current job in the RSAF is Deputy Commander of the 2nd Flying Group at Taif and finishing my flying career on the Typhoon is a great way to go out.” Stressing the importance of Exercise SaudiBritish Green Flag he added, “I want to emphasise that the most important objective [of this exercise] is to ensure RSAF personnel, from aircrew, to engineers, to staf f, to fighter controllers all get the opportunity to work side by side with the RAF.” Forging closer relations with the RA F is paramount to the development of the Saudi Typhoon and Tornado force at a time of increasing international threats. “We need closer co-operation because we never know what the future may hold. Interoperability is key,” the BG added. The RSAF Det Co continued: “I think for us it is the firs t time we have deployed Typhoons outside our Kingdom for a long time. We are reaching out some 3,000 miles, so it is ver y important we test our logistical support capabilities.

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“It is also the f irst time we are using the Airbus MRT T (Multi Role Tanker Transport) Transport) on a trail from Saudi Arabia. These are two areas which are important and so far everything has gone well. “The Typhoons made one stop before arriving a t Coningsby. We refuelled [air to air] about three times and that was good enough for us to test the system and test the trail. All our logistic support was delivered by C-130s C-130s and we used the MRTT to tank and ferry our main party of pers onnel to the UK. That is a big test for the aircraft and is proving its worth.” Saudi aircrews of varying experiences flew during British Green Flag, with most clock ing up about seven missions. “For this fir st Typhoon deployment I picked high and medium experienced crews to make sure we get it right. For the Tornado Force, this was their second time in the UK so we brought a broad cross section of experience.

One of the main objectives is to make sure whatever knowledge we get we share it back in Saudi Arabia,” the Saudi Det Co explained. Hosting the Saudi deployment was the resident No 3 (F) Squadron which provided the intelligence scenario, created the missions and ensured the exercise met its objectives. E ven so, 11 11 (F) Squadron also participated as did the Typhoon Operational Evaluation Unit, 41 (R) Squadron — although

“I think for us it is the rst time we have deployed Typhoons outside our Kingdom  for a long long tim time. e. We are reaching reachin g out some 3,000 miles, so it is very important we test our logistical support capabilities" 

 Above: A Typhoon crew prepare for a mission. The pilot on the right was being supervised by the senior  Above: A Typhoon pilot on the left and the khaki uniformed officer in the middle is the aircraft’s engineering officer. officer.

their role was more from a technical perspective. perspecti ve. Several Tornados from 9 Squadron based at RAF Marham, Norfolk flew to RAF Coningsby on August 30 to ensure the briefings and debriefings brought everyone together throughout the exercise period. BG Mohammad again: “We are fly ing the Tornado in the same role the RAF does, in air-to-ground missions. The Typhoon, just like the RAF aircraft , was flying in the airto-air role. That way we are combining the two platfor ms to make sure they operate together. “We are using the ranges, like the Electronic Warfare one [at Spadeadam]. While the RAF aircraft and crews have the opportunity to test their skills in this environment all the time, we don’t have that capability yet, although we are planning something similar soon in Saudi Arabia.” Into Action

Flying over the first t wo days of the exercise (September 2/3) concentrated on familiarising all pilots with the ranges, routes and weather conditions. Quickly a pattern began to emerge of two sor ties a day, at 10am and 2pm. The first real tactic al mission got underway underway on September 4 and the crews were no doubt surprised to be flying in perfect conditions with blue skies and scorching temperatures all over the UK. Like Saudi but without the haze! With the RSAF no w beginning to find their feet, the pilot of Tornado 7507 opted for a spectacular departure. After his ‘lead’, Tornado GR4 ZD842 ‘105’ had gone, he blasted off the runway in full reheat, then kept low all the way to the perimeter fence before climbing away. It provided many of the photographers outside the base with some great footage.

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 Above: The two-seater Typhoon 322 taxies off the  Above: The flightline. This was the only RSAF aircraft carrying a squadron badge, that of No 3 Squadron. Left: All Left:  All Saudi fighters had the ‘God Bless You’ mes-  sage on the nose and the Arabic inscription above Far left: The left: The Saudi flight-line, a t RAF Coningsby, on a cloudy September 12. Below: A Below:  A Saudi Typhoon comes in to land after a sortie.

The pair headed to the Holbeach Range in Lincolnshire for a low-level bombing sortie, with blue prac tice bombs packed underneath their fuselages. They were followed by ZG705 ‘118’ and RSA F 7512, 7512, then Typhoon FGR 4 ZK328 ‘BS’ and RSAF 32 2 followed by a three ship Typhoon formation comprising RSAF 313, RSAF 312 and ZK309 ‘QO-P’ ‘QOP’ before the the last two Tornados Tornados ZA371 ZA3 71 ‘005’ and RSAF 8312 headed out. All three RSAF Tornados departed with the new Thales Damocles targeting pod, now integrated onto the RSAF Typhoons. Later during that afternoon of September 4, Cobham Falcon 20 G-FRAW, which was based throughout the exercise, departed to do its bit. The biz-jet’s role was to train Typhoon and Tornado crews on aspects of electronic warfare they would not have experienced with ground based systems at Spadeadam range. Cobham regularly works in this

specialist area overseas with the RSA F and many other foreign air forces. The Saudi aircraft flew a variety of mission profiles during their stay, which became more complex as the exercise went on. The flying eventuall y came to a halt on the morning of Friday, September 13.

Departure and lessons learned The RAF’s No 3 (F ) Squadron OC, Wg Cdr Cdr Ian ‘Cab’ Townsend was enthusiastic about Saudi-British Green Flag . “It was an incredible exercise," exercise," he enthused. "Going from someone’s idea of getting the Saudis here, to actually flying as wingman to a Saudi pilot was impressive. We had a few missions where there would be one of us each [flying in a two -ship formation], but more often than not it was as a four ship ship — two of them and two of us. “The Saudi pilots and crews were impressive because they use their aircraft in the same

way we use it — their tactic s, techniques and procedures are similar to ours. Their Tornado techniques were the same, too and as we do not train often with our own Tornados, getting everyone here for the f ull plan to de-brief cycle was brilliant.” All eight fighters departed RAF Coningsby on a bright but bluster y Monday, September 16 and were subsequently followed by mor e RSAF C-130 C-130 flights over the next three days, while the A330 MRTTs returned to RAF Brize Norton for the trail back. After nearly three weeks of intense flying, Saudi aircrews acknowledged they had worked with one of the most profess ional air forces in the world. The RSAF left British shores knowing their objectives were met and successfully concluded, with all the boxes ticked. Within a month, Saudi Arabia was on standby for a military strike against Syrian chemical weapons. Who knows whether RSAF Typhoons would have played any part but they were definitely on red aler t and ready if the call had come. Their lessons from their stay in the UK would have been put  e  to good use.

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Goiing Di Go Digi gital. tal.... The next-stage options for the aircraft include exciting ground-breaking developments in swingrole capability, weaponry, defensive aid systems and radar

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INCE COMING of age with ops over Libya in 2011, it is only now the f ull potential of the Eurofighter is star ting to be realized. By the end of this deca de, digital Typhoon – as it will sur ely be then – will have evolved into the combat aircraf t the pioneers of the 1980s could only dream about. It is set to become a phenomenal multi-ro le fighter, courtesy of the many

software upgrades and enhancements over the intervening years tha t allow for a new generation of systems and weapons. In the UK, R AF Typhoon Commander, Air Commodore Gary Waterfall has a Future Force 2020 requirement but an Interim Force 2015 need, in which the RAF Typhoon will be truly multi-role (see page 94) . Today Eurofighter GmbH and BAE Systems are working towards the 2015 goal by increasing the fighter’s air-to-surface role.

One Typhoon for Six Tornados After the Main Development Contract (MDC) was completed, Eurofighter GmbH pushed on with Phase 1 Enhancements (known as P1E) to bring the aircraft into the proper swing role, combining air-to-air and air-tosurface configurations. Laurie Hilditch, Eurofighter Future Capabilities Manager explains, “We knew the RAF wanted a proper swing role aircraft that could move between air-to-sur face and airto-air in seconds. “We knew the aircraft wanted its radar operating, where the target was and to fire  Above: MBDA’s Storm Shadow is expected to be  Above: integrated on the Eurofighter by the end of 2015. Saudi Arabia has a requirement under Project Salam that will lead to the stealthy stand off weapon aimed at striking high value targets being ordered by the RAF and Italian Air Force. Alan Warnes Below: Future Below:  Future Typhoon. While no customer has yet ordered Conformal Fuel Tanks, the RAF has provisions for them on Tranche 3 aircraft. The UAEAF would have ordered CFTs as part of its requirement but Eurofighter was dropped again from the competition in December 2013. This full scale replica was seen at the Dubai Air Show in November 2013. Alan Warnes

EUROFIGHTER | 93 missiles. On a bombing run, the Tranche Tranche 1 aircraft needed to detect with its electronic countermeasures (ECM) any possible fighter threats. However as soon as you detected the enemy aircraft , selected the AMRA AM to shoot, fired it and turned, then went back into the air-to-sur air-to-sur face mode the jet’s sy stem didn’t let you. Basically, once you switched out you couldn’t switch in, I call it ‘s witch role’. So for the guys who had flown Tranche 1 [in Libya] they wouldn’t have seen Typhoon doing a proper swing role.” Hilditch continues, “We couldn’t do that in a Tranche 1, but we could on the Tranche 2s because of their greater computing capacity. capacit y. Under the Phase 1 Enhancement (P1E) we had to make significant changes to the computer language. We adapted the aircraft ’s capability – one of the true benefits of a ‘software controlled aircraf t’. So we now have a proper swing role aircraft and it can flip between the two almost on a second by second basis.” The P1E integration is split into two. P1Ea, released in 2013, provides the first par t of weapons integration and first part par t of all laser laser designator pod functional enhancements. P1Ea gives a real swing role attack aircraft aircra ft with a genuine weapon capability; but not with all the weapon’s potential. The bombs being put on the Eurofighter under P1E, the 2,000lb EGBU 16 Paveway II and 500lb Paveway IVs are very clever because they can detect the target, angle of attack, elevation elevatio n of attack and change fuse-set tings on the aircraft. This is where P1Eb comes in.

 Above: The E-Scan is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that will operate almost  Above: The instantaneously in both air-to-air and air-to-ground modes. Trials on Typhoon are expected later this yea r.  Also known as Captor-E AESA radar (CAESAR), the radar will enhance the aircraft’s aircraft’s effective air-to-air missile range, enable faster and more accurate detection as well as track multiple aircraft. Selex ES 

“We couldn’t do all tha t in one go, so we phased it,” says Hilditch. “P1Ea gave the basic bomb capabilities and P1Eb gave all the exciting options.” He goes on. “For example, the customer might want six Paveway IVs to hit a bomb dump, air traffic control, hangars and vehicles in one pass and then, in the cockpit , the pilot will be given a ‘launch acceptable region’. “He can say ‘ I want to hit the bomb dump with a bomb straight dow n the chimney, I want to attack the control tower with a bomb at certain angle and I want to t ake that radar out with an air burst.’ This can be

programmed so the system work s out the LAR,, which gives the bomb enough energy to LAR come in from right, energ y from top and/or to do an air burst. Basically, what it wants to do. “We couldn’t do all tha t so we gave the beginnings of swing role aircraf t in P1Ea and then we gave all the really clever stuf f in P1Eb. In the Gulf War we needed si x Tornados to do that to an airf ield. With a Typhoon you can do it with one aircraft, one pilot and one pass. With an LDP the system automatica lly drop them in GPS or lases automatically as you pass through, knowing where the first bomb goes, laser moves, hits the next; laser moves, hits next; laser moves, hits the next! ”

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The RAF’s Typhoon will have a very impressive air-  to-ground capability when P2Eb is rolled out by the RAF later in 2014, allowing Paveway II or Paveway IVs to hit up to six targets on one run. Jamie Hunter 

Interview RAF TYPHOON FORCE COMMANDER arriva ls we learnt during Harrier and Tornado Tornado Air Commodore Gary Waterfa Waterfall ll ops, is our objective.” object ive.” explains how the RAF Typhoon Typhoon The aircrews and P1Eb aircraft will be Force is growing its versatility

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uring January and Febr uary 2014 the RAF ’s Typhoon Typhoon Force deployed to various regions in the world as it bid to ramp up it s operationa l readiness. No 11 Sqn visited Oman for Exercise Magic Carpet where the Typhoon carried out its f irst operational strafing sorties while 1 (F) and 6 Squadron deployed to Nellis AFB for Exercise Red Fla g. With the RAF Tornado in the twilight of it s impressive career, Typhoon Force is pushing on to reach reach a suitable multi-role capabili ty by 2020. Typhoon Force Commander, Air Cdre Gary Water fall – a man who has faced many difficult dif ficult sit uations in his recent career, career, as the last Joint Force Harrier Commander and UK Air Component Commander for Operation Ellamy over Libya – is up for the task . “The “Th e biggest challenge is getting getting the Typhoon and crews ready and prepared for a comparable multi-role capabilit y. We We have enormous shoes to fill from a Tornado perspec tive, which has been on operations since 1990 and will finish Operat ion Herrick within the nex t 12 months,” Air Cdre Waterfall says, speaking in his off ice at RAF Coningsby, Lincs, the RAF ’s premier fighter base. “When the Tornado goes out of service the Typhoon has to be in a position to replace it as a credible and comparable air-surface option, while at the same time cont ribute to the air-air scenario.” Development of the Phase 1 Enhancement b (P1Eb) soft software ware by BAE Systems will see the first Typhoon with this new configuration being delivered in mid-2014. Air Cdre Waterfa Waterfa ll elaborates, “ P1EB on Tranche 2 gives Typhoon the true multi-role capability, allowing Paveway IV to integrate with its Litening pod. Enabling us to drop at the moment of our choosing, on target s of our choosing with a multitude of fuse settings, impact angles and

prepared to conduct multi-role operations from April 1, 2015 with either 1 or 6 (F) Squadron at RAF R AF Lossiemouth, and then “incrementally “incrementally grow the aircraft’s capabilities, so we have the confidence confid ence to retire the Tornado.” Tornado.” Training Typhoon crews for this mission is being addressed, too. “I want to train in the right place, and training in the air might not be the right place for some of the disciplines,” he explains. Having Typhoon simulators is allowing the pilot s to spend more time on the ground. The former Harrier pilot says , “I’m “I ’m working daily to get the optimised livesynthetic synt hetic blend. For some events it might be 100 % flying in the air and ot hers it could be 100% synthetics.” With the first Tranche 3 now flying, the RAF will soon receive a fighter wit h newer capabili ties and Air Cdre Waterfall is keen to make optimal use of this asset. “These aircraf t will take ‘relevant ’ Typhoon to its out of service date (OSD), presently around 2030. It comes with provisions for everything we might need to take it there – such as E-Scan radar and conformal fuel tanks. “These “T hese might not be requirements now, but it is ‘fut ‘future-proofed ure-proofed ’. So although they might be coming off the product ion line, I’m in no rush to take delivery of t hem, as they are aircraf t I want to protect to reach OSD. Wit h Tranche 1s retired by end of the decade, i t makes sense to get as much use out of those airframes airf rames to save and harbour Tranche 3 because those aircraf t have a finite life and need to be protected. “We expec t to be flying Tranche 3s in mid2014 but there is no intent to stand up a dedicated Tranche 3 squadron. Whereas Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 are fundament ally different aircraft, with spare parts commonality, commonal ity, they have differing soft ware, contrasting standards of radar and disparity

clearances ie multi- role and air-air roles. Tranche 2 and Tranche Tranche 3 are effecti vely different dif ferent in build standard but in terms of software and commonality are transparent. So pilots will f ly either Tranche 2 or 3 on the same units.” While the Tranche 1 jet can spike Enhan ced Paveway IIs (GPS or Laser guidance) with its own Litening pod if needed , Tranche 2 Typhoons will require off board lasing until the advent of P1Eb. P1Eb. “That ’s simply because we have invested the tim e working on P1Eb so Tranche 2s can cross on to Paveway IVs” Air Cdre Waterfal Waterfal l explains. “Dropping air to surface ordnance is no longer new for Typhoon pilots; 6 Squadron with Tranche 2  jets released Paveway IIs last year for the firs firstt time and 11 Squadron deployed on  Januaryy 20 to Exercise Magic Carpet ,  Januar taking Pavewa y II and also, for the first time conducted air to surface gunnery.” The Typhoon Force Commander sums up: “Typhoon is a phenomenal aircraft and carries a big stick with significa nt reach, an abundance of thrust and every thing going for it to be a great and credible fighter right up to OSD. We just need to incrementally pack it with new sys tems and weapons to keep it relevant as we go through the decades.”

RAF Typhoon Force Commander, Air Commodore Gary Waterfall. RAF Coningsby 

EUROFIGHTER | 95 The Praetorian Defensive Aids Sub-System (DASS) installed on the Eurofighter Typhoon provides protection against air-to-air and surface-to-air threats, through monitoring and responding to t he operational environment. It contains Electronic Support Measures, missile warning, on-board electronic countermeasures and towed decoys to detect and evaluate threats at maximum range. It will be continuously updated through Drops and programme enhancements. Selex ES 

These are the fabulous capabilit ies of P1E on the Eurofighter. While none are using it yet, the RAF is carry ing out its operational evaluation with BAE at Warton on ISPA5, with roll out to the RAF expec ted in July 2014. 2014. The enhancement programme rolling forward will apply to the latter end of Tranche 2 and roll forward into Tranche 3a. Increased capabilities will be applied to Tranche 2 and eventually Tranche 3 airframes, t hrough P1E, P2E next and P3E in the future. Tranche 3 aircraft are exactly exactl y the same in terms of capability capabilit y except there are several physical differences, differenc es, with a provision in the nose for future E Scan radar and conformal fuel tanks attached either side of the fuselage. In terms of avionics, there will be a programme of common obsolescence removal programmes (CORPs) for some avionics av ionics boxes, whereby some will come out and new ones go in. New Teeth

Under Phase 2 Enhancement (P2E), the MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVRA AM) and Storm Shadow stand-off standoff weapon should be integrated by 2017.. P2Ea is the next in service deliver y 2017 point for 2015 and P2Eb in 2017. 2017. P3E should be contracted for delivery in the 2019/20 2019/20 time frame – the latter is in a s tate of flux as priorities change. The Meteor is the newer generation ‘big stick’ that the operators are desperate to have. With threats getting more powerful and more sophisticated, it was an urgent requirement. So far it has been ordered by six European nations – UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and Spain, which all have invested in the programme. Development is now complete but integration is ongoing with Saab Gripen,

Typhoon and Dassault Rafale. According to MBDA, which will not reveal its range, Meteor has a No Escape Zone three times grea ter than AMRA AM it is designed to replace, so is definitely a ‘big stick’. The missile accelerates to over Mach 1 a bove launch speed, so on Eurofighter it is not unreasonable to see it reach speeds of over Mach 2, when the rocket motor burns out. Once the rocket fuel is burnt, the missile's air-intakes open and ram air blows into the now empty chambers. The solid sustain fuel particles are pushed through a valve to meet the ram air creating an energetic burn, giving it acceleration. With its nex t generation seeker head, the missile makes its own decisions – how fast to f ly, how much fuel to burn depending upon its engagement point. The aircraft can tell the missile ‘that’s your target, fly ing at this speed, distance and angle’ while the missile can select how fast it wants to fly. Should the target manoeuvre, the launch platform will datalink the alteration in course. “As t he Meteor range capability is well outside the current AMRA AM systems deployed, there is no reason for ‘Red Air’ to suspect you have taken a shot. The launch platform will fire Meteor and fly benignly, but if the pilot wants to turn away there will be no loss of datalink, as there is with some missiles,” explains Harry

Thompson, MBDA’s UK Air borne, Technical Executive and a rocket scientist. “The missile flight geometry isn’t selected for a flight path simply to intercept somewhere it is now, but predict an intercept port somewhere between the target being well behaved and being very evasive. Levels of sophistication are amazing. Remember this is all happening at many times the speed of sound!” Harry adds. Meteor is an impressive BVRA AM set to make AMRA AM look pedestrian. Integra tion of the MBDA Storm Shadow stand-off weapon on Typhoon is being led by S audi Arabia under Salam, although MBDA were unable to confirm this. It is a requirement the RAF and Ital y are looking at while Germany and Spain are opting for Taurus. Taurus. Storm Shadow is renowned for its precision, lo w stealthy vulnerability and autonomous target recognition.  “The mission planning of this weapon is the key, allowing you to engage

Dual Mode Brimstone, worked from an Urgent Operational Requirement for  Afghanistan, while it won't won't make it on Typhoon, Typhoon, its successor, Brimstone II will under the Ministry of Defence’s Spear Capability 2 Block 1 programme. It is believed a decision on bringing Typhoon integration forward is imminent given the likelihood that Tornado will be retired before its official out of service date of 2021.  MBDA

96 | EUROFIGHTER  A test aircraft departs BAE Warton with two two Meteor BVRAAMs. Eurofighter-Bryan BVRAAMs.  Eurofighter-Bryan Walsh

targets, like high value SAM sites, airf ield bunkers and tunnels,” says Rob Thornley, MBDA Sales and Business Development Executive who has been in the weapons industry some 30 years. MBDA’s Brimstone 2 (also known as Spear Capability 2 Block 1) is expected to be integrated on Typhoon by 2019. However, with the likelihood of Tornado, the only RAF fighter to use the Dual Mode Brimstone (DMB), being withdrawn from use by the UK MOD’s bean-counters possibly as early as 2015 rather than 2021, a serious

short fall in capabilit y could arise. DMB is shortfall the RAF’s ‘ weapon of choice’ in Afghanistan but Brimstone 2 should be in service on the RAF RA F Tornado by November 2015 and Typhoon in 2019, 2019, the Tornado’s off icial out of service date (OSD). According to the UK National Audit Off ice (NAO) in its Major Projects Report , Brimstone 2 experienced reliability problems with its Roxel-developed rocket motor during testing in Januar y 2012; although MBDA stated recently that the programme has been back on track s ince May 2012. DMB has a dual seeker head –

millimetric wave (mmW) radar and semiactive laser (SAL) which was not on the legacy Brimstone. The combined mmW/SAL designator seeker is ideal for striking moving manoeuvring vehicles while the SAL mode can be used for targets with a limited radar cross section that can be lased by the Litening LDP and Damocles as well as Sniper in future development plans. The mmW radar enables the platform to fire salvos , with each weapon made up of a 90kg launcher and three 50kg missiles. The Typhoon, capable of carrying six missiles would have an impressive capability when atta cking large collections of military vehicles, where it was known there are no civilians in the vicinit y. The Armour

The mounts on the Tranche 3 aircraft ensure you will be able to identify them from Tranche 1 and 2s. Alan Warnes

Typhoon might be equipped with the best technologies and weapons in the world, but it is all a bit pointless without a good selfprotection system. Up against against adversaries in the air-to-air environment or from big ‘double-digit’ SA Ms on the ground, Typhoon is protected by the Praetorian Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS), to provide the pilot with confidence he can emerge from the battlefield unscathed. Back on March 13, 13, 1992, EuroDASS, a consortium made up of Selex ES in the UK and Elettronica of Italy signed a contract with Eurofighter to do just that. Spain's Indra and then Germany's Airbus Defence and Space joined in the 1990s. Selex ES is contracted by BAE Systems to work on all the Eurofighter's electronic warfare sys tems. DASS detects threats with a

EUROFIGHTER | 97  A Meteor BVRAAM will provide provide Typ Typhoon hoon with a much larger no-escape-zone than AMRAAM when combined with the E-Scan radar. MBDA

explains, “DASS detects the direction of any missile and manoeuvres from the flight control sys tem guiding the pilot with the right evasive action.” DASS is also programmable. Knowing what threat area you are going into and how and when you are likely to encounter something, you programme up a set of data that includes some form of receiver/search strategy which tells you how long to wait on each frequency to detect and jam it if necessary. In the UK personnel from the Air Warfare Centre work on RAF Typhoons building up a threat library while Selex ES with its Operational Ground Support Equipment (OGSE) work on the search strategy. strateg y. Detections can be identified to the pilot or system and offers pre-programmed countermeasures and evasive actions. DASS continuous be upgraded through different Typhoon Blocks, for export requirements or national programmes. New Radar

electronic support measures sys tem, much more sophisticated and providing more information than a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR). “Countermeasures include on-board  jamming, front and back, along with two towed decoys packed in the starboard wing mounted pod. There are two, so if the first is unsuccessful, a second can be called upon. The towed decoy is deployed far enough away to attract any incoming missiles from the Typhoon. There are jammers in the port Praetorian pod and it has missile warners in the front and aft, too,” Selex ES’s Phil Liddiard, Vice President, Praetorian

Eurofighter will eventually be equipped with a new generation generation Active Electronic ally Scanning Array (AES A) radar. The new CAESAR (CAPTOR Active Electronically Scanning Array Radar) is based on the current CAPTOR radar on Eurofighter. This new technology replaces mechanically steered antennas and high-power transmitterss with an electronically steered transmitter array. It is made up of more than 1,000 1,000 transmit/receive transmit/recei ve modules, providing the radar a much improved versatility and reliability. This enables new mission capabilities such as simultaneous radar functionalities, air surveillance, air-to-ground and weapon

control. With successful test flights of E-Scan radar on IPA5 and eventually on IPA8, new capabilities will become readily available. There are a number of export options. Andy Flynn, head of BAE Systems Typhoon Capability Delivery, says “The provision for CFTs, Meteor BVRAA M, Captor E E-Scan radar are being aimed at export markets, too. The UK wants a more advanced variant of E-Scan in a later time scale. “Having different LDPs provides greater customer flexibility: updating the electronic warfare system, geo-locations within weapons while long range recce options are being considered, with DB110 DB110 and AREOS two contenders. Definitely in the mix for export is DM Brimstone. A lot of customers and potential customers want littoral defence against small attack craft at tacking oil and gas rigs, which is where Brimstone excels as well as in its land moving target capability. " Deep water anti-ship weapons are also under consideration, Harpoon, Slam-ER or  Joint Stand Stand Off Weapon ( JSOW) being the options. Anti-radiation missiles could be another option, although there is now no European solution, with the Air Launched Anti Radiation Missile (ALARM) out of service, but SPEAR 3 does have potential of anti radiation as part of its development path. Undoubtedly the Eurofighter will migrate to a pure digital environment sometime in the future. Beyond that, there is likely to be a progressive transition with more and more capable sensors and infrastructure to support ever changing militar y threats.  e 

The RAF’s new Tranche 3 Typhoon made its first flight on December 2, 2013. Loaded with the new P1Eb software this will be the most capable Typhoon, with a provision for CFTs and E-Scan radar. Eurofighter

98 | EUROFIGHTER

Milestones August 2, 1985: Agreement signed between Italy, the UK and West Germany to go ahead with the Eurofighter programme. France and Spain have opted out of the project, al though Spain decides to rejoin a m onth later. August 6, 1986: Maiden flight of the British Aerospace Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) demonst rator, from which much of the technology goes on to be used in the Eurofighter.  June 1, 1986:  Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH established to manage the project, following which, on September 1, 1986, Eurojet Turbo GmbH is also formed for development of Eurofighter’s EJ200 engine. November 23, 1988:  Contracts signed for production of prototype demonstrator airframes and engines. March 27, 1994:  Maiden flight of Eurofighter protot ype, 98+29 (DA1), (DA1), from Manching, Germany, flown by DASA chief test pilot Peter Weger.  January 30, 1998:  First production contract finally signed between Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NET MA). Planned procurement totals are 232 for the UK, 180 for Germany, 121 for Italy and 87 for Spain. December 18, 1998: Contracts signed for production of 148 Tranche 1 aircraf t (Germany 44, Ital y 29, Spain 20 and UK 55 aircraft) and 363 EJ20 0 engines, plus procurement of long-lead items for Tranche 2. April 5, 2002:  The first Instrumented Production Aircraf t to fly, IPA2, IPA2, makes its maiden flight from Turin, Italy. February 13, 2003:  First series production aircraft , 98+31 (GT001, to be 30+01), makes its maiden flight from Manching, Germany. The first RAF Tranche 3a Typhoon FGR4 ZK355 flew on December 2, 2013. Eurofighter-Eleanor Silcock 

Dave Allport looks at dates that shaped the Eurofighter story.

Key military and civil players in the Eurofighter programme at the signing of the Tranche 3a contract on July 31, 20009. Eurofighter GmbH 

This is the firs t of 180 for the German Air Force.  July 1, 2003 :  Austria signs contrac t for the purchase of 18 Typhoons, having already reduced its planned purchase from 24, although this is later cut st ill further to 15 on  June 26, 2007. 2007. August 4, 2003: Entry into operational service, when Germany accepts the first series production Eurofighter, GT003. December 18, 2003:  First R AF production aircraft, twin-seater ZJ803 (BT004), officially accepted into service. December 14, 2004:  Tranche 2 production contract signed, tot al value £106 billion. May 19, 2005:  No 17 (Reserve) Squadron formed at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, as Typhoon Operational Evaluation Unit. October 3, 2006:  100th production aircraft delivered. October 16, 2006:  ZJ930 (BS021) becomes firstt RAF Typhoon to be inducted into R2 firs retrofit programme to bring aircraf t to Block 5 standard.  July 12, 12, 2007:  First Austrian Air Force

Typhoon, AS001, offic ially entered into service.  July 22, 2007:  ZJ930 (BS021) becomes first aircraft to be accepted under R2 upgrade programme, now designated Typhoon FGR4. September 17, 2007:  Saudi Arabia signs a contract with the UK Government worth £4.43 billion for 72 Typhoons.  January 16, 200 2008: 8:  Maiden flight of first Tranche 2 Typhoon. March 20, 2008:  Final Tranche 1 aircraft , two-seater two-s eater 30+42 (GT015) for the German Air Force, delivered. October 21, 2008:  First t wo of 91 Tranche 2 aircraft ordered delivered to RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire: ZJ946 (BS039) and ZJ940 (BS040). October 22, 2008:  First Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoon makes its maiden flight.  June 11, 11, 2009 : First Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoon officially handed over at Warton. First delivery f light follows on June 23, 2009. November 25, 2009:  200th Typhoon delivered. May 25, 2011:  100th UK-built production aircraft rolls of f the assembly line at Warton. October 18, 2011:  300th Typhoon delivered. Aircraft is a Spanish Air Force example, C.16-48 ‘ 11 11-28’, -28’, which joins A la 11 at Moron. September 9, 2013:  Worldwide Typhoon fleet reaches 200,000 flying hours. December 21, 2012:  Order for 12 Typhoons for the Royal Air Force of Oman officially announced. December 2, 2013:  Maiden flight of first Tranche 3 Typhoon, FGR4 ZK355 ( BS1 BS116) 16) at Warton. December 4, 2013:  400t  400th h Typhoon, 31+06 31+06 (GS082), off icially handed over in Manching. February 6, 2014:  400th Typhoon, 31+06 (GS082), delivered from Manching to join the German Air Force’s Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader Luft waffengeschwader 31 (TaktLwG 31 – Tactical Air Force Squadron 31) at Nörvenich. March 4, 2014: Eurofighter announces completion of the first Italian -built Tranche 3 aircraft, C.S.X7338 (IS064), the 64th  e  single-seater for the Italian Air Force.