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2017-12-05

Eurofighter Typhoon: Excels in Round-the-Clock Operational Capability

Eurofighter Typhoon has provided a sneak preview of the ground-breaking advancements displayed by their new aircraft model.

Selected media were briefed at the Dubai Airshow on the new e-scan radar and various capability enhancements, such as P3E. Present at the Dubai event were the Royal Air Force, alongside Air Vice-Marshal Gerry Mayhew of the Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group and Raffael Klaschka, Typhoon Pilot and Head of Marketing of Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH.

The Eurofighter Typhoon has clocked up more swing-role combat hours than any other new generation fighter in service today. Throughout 2017, the Eurofighter Typhoon has been on round-the-clock operational demand. The new fighter has now logged more than 10,000 swing-role combat flying hours and has been carrying out 24/7 NATO air policing duties and QRA activities for Eurofighter national air forces.

The aircraft is now the most advanced swing-role fighter available on the world market. It has flown more than 900 combat missions alone for the Royal Air Force over Syria and Iraq. Moreover, as part of NATO Air Policing duties, Eurofighter Typhoon has also been deployed from the Baltics to the Black Sea. Other recent Royal Air Force, Luftwaffe and Italian Air Force deployments have included operations in Romania, Estonia and Bulgaria respectively.

Raffael Klaschka, Head of Marketing for Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, is confident that:

Whether it is providing Close Air Support or Air Superiority missions, Eurofighter Typhoon is a trusted and effective asset against any hostile — on the ground or in the air.

In addition, a series of live firings of the Brimstone precision strike missile from a Eurofighter Typhoon have recently been completed with much success, so adding enhanced capability to the Typhoon.

The trials, conducted from BAE Systems’ Military Air & Information at Warton, Lancashire, UK, form part of a programme of new enhancements that will be rolled out across the Royal Air Force (RAF). All these tests ensure that Typhoon remains at the cutting edge of combat capability.

Fully operational roll-out after Brimstone trials

Brimstone will provide Typhoon with a low collateral, pin-point accurate air-to-surface weapon, further enhancing the aircraft’s already combat-proven swing-role performance. Planning for the next stages of Brimstone development - including evaluation by the RAF in mid-2018 - is now underway in advance of its entry into service.

Brimstone is part of the Phase 3 Enhancement (P3E) package, which also includes mission system and sensor upgrades. P3E is the final part of Project Centurion as the programme built to ensure the smooth transition of Tornado GR4 capabilities to a fully operational Typhoon for the UK’s Royal Air Force.

A total of nine firings and nine jettison trials began in July and have now been completed. They enjoyed the support of the UK Ministry of Defence, MBDA, QinetiQ, Eurofighter GmbH and Eurofighter partner companies Airbus and Leonardo.

The aim of the trials was to provide weapons integration clearance for operational use. They have covered a range of specific release scenarios, involving testing at various heights, speeds and levels of G-force and in various positions on the aircraft wing and in the launcher.

The nine firings have also been used to perform data analysis and model weapon performance. Further flight trials will take place in early 2018, followed by operational evaluation by the RAF.

Operational evaluation of the Phase 2 Enhancement (P2E) package is continuing with the RAF’s 41(R) Squadron – the Test and Evaluation Squadron – at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK. These tests will include live firings ahead of roll-out to the UK fleet. The P2E package includes MBDA’s Meteor Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missile and the Storm Shadow deep strike stand-off air-to-surface missile.

Successful Meteor Programme Testing

A Eurofighter Typhoon recently completed a simultaneous firing of two MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles as part of a major programme to integrate the weapon. The test was conducted using Airbus Defence & Space Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA 4) with the support of BAE Systems, Eurofighter GmbH, MBDA and the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

The trial was used to test successful engagement of targets and simultaneous two-way data link between the Typhoon and two missiles. The data follows a series of six successful Meteor firings conducted from Eurofighter Typhoon in 2016. After loading activity at BAE Systems’ Military Air & Information site in Warton, UK, the trials took place over the UK’s Hebrides Range.

The Warton and Hebrides tests were but the latest successful flight trials conducted by the Eurofighter Partner Companies to add additional capability to the Eurofighter Typhoon.

In ensuring that the aircraft is ready to meet the threats of the future, Andy Flynn, Eurofighter Delivery Director for BAE Systems UK, emphasizes that: This is another major milestone on the Meteor programme and the first successful test of a dual firing. Meteor brings to Eurofighter Typhoon an unparalleled air-to-air engagement capability and this successful trialfollowing on from a series of firings last year is further evidence of how the Eurofighter Partner Companies are working together to deliver major enhancements to Typhoon’s multi-role capabilities.

Customer Operational Evaluation and Training with Meteor is due to take place with the UK Royal Air Force later this year, while eight customers have already ordered the Eurofighter Typhoon (Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait).

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