Availability of targeting pod and precision-guided munitions to be accelerated
The industry consortium behind the Eurofighter Typhoon will provide Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK by mid-July with pricing information for an accelerated air-to-ground strike capability, says Eurofighter chief executive Aloysius Rauen. A key requirement of the partner nations before they signed a Tranche 2 production order last December, the development will see these aircraft – and final batch Tranche 1 examples – receive a targeting pod and precision-guided weapons. This combination will give the programme’s partner air forces the ability to conduct precision strikes from early 2008.
“It has been a quite difficult process,” says Rauen. “We needed to find a compromise and are very close to that.” A final proposal for the precision strike enhancement will be submitted later this year, with negotiations planned to conclude by year-end, he adds.
Eurofighter industry partners Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems and EADS have now delivered 46 Typhoons to the programme’s launch nations, with this fleet having logged over 3,100 flight hours. The UK Royal Air Force recently passed its first 1,000 sorties with the type and will declare an initial force of six for quick reaction alert duties from mid-2007, says Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge, commander-in-chief Strike Command. The RAF last month test-fired MBDA’s ASRAAM short-range air-to-air missile from the Typhoon.
Source: Flight International
