With campaigns under way in Bangladesh, the Philippines and Poland, Eurofighter partner company Leonardo is optimistic of further boosting the Typhoon’s order backlog.
“All the campaigns are a different stage, in terms of discussion,” says Leonardo Aircraft senior vice-president marketing & sales Tommaso Pani.
The most advanced activity is with Bangladesh, which last December signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire Typhoon – its plan is believed to be for a one squadron-strength of potentially around 10 fighters.
“Now we are in discussions as part of the negotiation, and are starting preparing the offer and defining the scope of supply,” he says. “Bangladesh is moving fast, and they really want to close the deal as soon as possible. Now it is a matter of defining whether or not the offer meets their budget.”
Speaking to FlightGlobal at the World Defense Show near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Pani said Leonardo is in “a really tough competition” in the Philippines. The company is among several to have received a request for information from Manila.
“They want a huge number of aircraft, for deterrence,” he says. “We have an interesting proposal for them, in terms of industrial cooperation and financing packages.”
The opportunity in Poland is currently at a less advanced stage, he says.
Warsaw wants to obtain between 16 and 32 jets to satisfy an air superiority requirements, with the selected type to be operated along with its incoming fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35As.
Egypt, meanwhile, is another potential prospect for the Typhoon. Cairo is also discussing its potential combat aircraft needs with companies in China and the USA, and already operates the Dassault Aviation Rafale among its current inventory.
Meanwhile, Leonardo will this year deliver its last Typhoon from an existing export deal with Kuwait. The Gulf state signed a 28-aircraft acquisition contract in 2016, and late last year agreed a follow-on support deal with the Italian company.
The four-nation Eurofighter programme is currently enjoying a production revival, thanks to follow-on orders placed this decade by Germany, Italy and Spain, along with new customer Turkey. Pani says Leonardo is determined to add to that recent list of successes with new export deals, and states: “I am confident.”
Leonardo also is enjoying renewed success with its M-346 product, with Indonesia having recently signed an LOI covering a planned purchase of its FA-model light-attack aircraft in the in-development Block 20 standard.
Jakarta’s commitment follows the receipt of a formal contract late last year to deliver the M-346FA to the Austrian air force: the first to sign up for the enhanced Block 20 model.
“We are doing well with the -346. In 2025 we got the launch customer [for the Block 20], and we are satisfying the promises we made at Farnborough,” he says, referring to the new model’s official launch in July 2024.
Leonardo sees potential further opportunities for its advanced jet trainer and light-attack type in Australia, Canada, Japan and the UK, along with for the US Navy and possible takers in the Middle East.
Pani says that for the UK opportunity “it depends on the timing requirement of the RAF [Royal Air Force]”, and that the airframer is “in talks with other partners” related to the opportunity.
This follows the announcement late last year that its Eurofighter consortium partner BAE Systems had entered into a cooperation agreement with Boeing to offer the US company’s T-7A Red Hawk to the UK.
