Defence

PICTURES: Eurofighter delivers final Tranche 1 Typhoon

By Craig Hoyle

The four-nation Eurofighter consortium has delivered its last of 148 Typhoons from a Tranche 1 production order from Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

Handed over to the German air force on 20 March, two-seat aircraft GT015 was flown from EADS's Manching final assembly site near Munich to Neuberg air base.

© Dietmar Fenners/Eurofighter

Eurofighter says 144 Typhoons have been delivered to the partner air forces and launch export customer Austria since mid-2003, with Vienna having now received five of its 15 single-seat interceptors.

Deliveries of 236 Tranche 2 aircraft will commence in mid-2008, with 38 of these now in final assembly at four sites across the partner nations. Saudi Arabia will also receive its first of 72 Tranche 2 Typhoons next year under its Project Salam deal with the UK government.

© Dietmar Fenners/Eurofighter

"Later this year, the work based on the main development contract will be concluded, and the contract signature for Tranche 3 is envisaged between the nations and industry," says Eurofighter chief executive Aloysius Rauen.

The four launch countries have a combined commitment to buy 620 Typhoons, plus 90 options, although Italy and the UK are believed to be seeking to reduce their planned purchases from the final production standard.

© Luftwaffe/Recklebe

More than 34,000 flight hours have been logged by the multinational fleet to date, with over half of this total having been flown by the UK Royal Air Force - and the four core operators recently conducted their first joint exercise with the type (pictured above) at Spain's Morón air base near Seville.