Eurofighter Typhoon
1994 multi-role combat aircraft family by Eurofighter / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter.[3][4] The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter[5] and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, manages the project and is the prime customer.[6]
Eurofighter Typhoon | |
---|---|
An RAF Typhoon F2 flying through the Mach Loop | |
Role | Multirole fighter, air superiority fighter |
National origin | Multinational |
Manufacturer | Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH |
First flight | 27 March 1994[1] |
Introduction | 4 August 2003 |
Status | In service |
Primary users | Royal Air Force German Air Force Italian Air Force Spanish Air and Space Force See Operators below for others |
Produced | 1994–present |
Number built | 592 as of November 2023[2] |
Developed from | British Aerospace EAP |
Variants | Eurofighter Typhoon variants |
The aircraft's development effectively began in 1983 with the Future European Fighter Aircraft programme, a multinational collaboration among the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Previously, Germany, Italy and the UK had jointly developed and deployed the Panavia Tornado combat aircraft and desired to collaborate on a new project, with additional participating EU nations. However disagreements over design authority and operational requirements led France to leave the consortium to develop the Dassault Rafale independently. A technology demonstration aircraft, the British Aerospace EAP, first flew on 6 August 1986; a Eurofighter prototype made its maiden flight on 27 March 1994. The aircraft's name, Typhoon, was adopted in September 1998 and the first production contracts were also signed that year.
The sudden end of the Cold War reduced European demand for fighter aircraft and led to debate over the aircraft's cost and work share and protracted the Typhoon's development: the Typhoon entered operational service in 2003 and is now in service with the air forces of Austria, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Kuwait and Qatar have also ordered the aircraft, bringing the procurement total to 623 aircraft as of 2019[update].
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly agile aircraft, designed to be an effective dogfighter in combat.[7] Later production aircraft have been increasingly better equipped to undertake air-to-surface strike missions and to be compatible with an increasing number of different armaments and equipment, including Storm Shadow, Brimstone and Marte ER missiles. The Typhoon had its combat debut during the 2011 military intervention in Libya with the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Italian Air Force, performing aerial reconnaissance and ground-strike missions. The type has also taken primary responsibility for air-defence duties for the majority of customer nations.
Origins
In the UK, as early as 1971, work commenced on the development of a manoeuvrable, tactical aircraft to replace the SEPECAT Jaguar (that was then about to enter service with the RAF). This work soon expanded to include an air superiority capability. A specification titled Air Staff Target 403 (AST 403), in 1972, led to the Hawker P.96, an unbuilt design with a relatively conventional planform, including a separate tail structure, in the late 1970s.
Simultaneously, in West Germany, the requirement for a new fighter had resulted in competition between Dornier, VFW-Fokker and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) for a future Luftwaffe contract known as Taktisches Kampfflugzeug 90 ("Tactical Combat Aircraft 90"; TKF-90).[8] Dornier collaborated with Northrop in the US on an acclaimed, but unsuccessful design, known as the Northrop-Dornier ND-102 [de]. MBB was successful, with a design including a cranked delta wing, close-coupled-canard controls, and artificial stability.
In 1979, MBB and British Aerospace (BAe) presented a formal proposal to their respective governments for a collaboration, to be known as the European Collaborative Fighter,[9] or European Combat Fighter (ECF). In October 1979, French firm Dassault joined the ECF project.[9] It was at this stage of development the Eurofighter name was first attached to the aircraft.[10] However, the development of three separate prototypes continued: MBB continued to refine its TKF-90 concept, and Dassault produced a design known as the ACX.
In the meantime, while the P.96 would have met the original UK specification, it had been cancelled because it was considered to offer little potential for future upgrades and redevelopment. In addition, there was a feeling within the UK aircraft industry that the P.96 would have been too similar to the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, which was then known to be at an advanced stage of development. The P.96 would not have been available until long after the Hornet, which would therefore likely have met and closed off most potential export markets for the P.96.[11] BAe then produced two new proposals: the P.106B,[N 1] a single-engined lightweight fighter, superficially resembling the JAS 39 Gripen, and the twin-engine P.110. The RAF rejected the P.106 concept on the grounds it had "half the effectiveness of the two-engined aircraft at two-thirds of the cost".[11]
The ECF project collapsed in 1981 for several reasons, including differing requirements, Dassault's insistence on "design leadership" and the British preference for a new version of the RB199 to power the aircraft versus the French preference for the new Snecma M88.[10]
Consequently, the Panavia partners (MBB, BAe and Aeritalia) launched the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) programme in April 1982.[13] BAe designers agreed with the overall configuration of the proposed MBB TKF-90, although they rejected some of its more ambitious features such as engine vectoring nozzles and vented trailing edge controls – a form of boundary layer control.[11] The ACA, like the BAe P.110, had a cranked delta wing, canards and a twin tail. One major external difference was the replacement of the side-mounted engine intakes with a chin intake. The ACA was to be powered by a modified version of the RB199. The German and Italian governments withdrew funding, and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) agreed to fund 50% of the cost with the remaining 50% to be provided by industry. MBB and Aeritalia signed up and it was agreed that the aircraft would be produced at two sites: BAe Warton and a MBB factory in Germany. In May 1983, BAe announced a contract with the MoD for the development and production of an ACA demonstrator, the Experimental Aircraft Programme.[13][14]
In 1983, Italy, Germany, France, the UK and Spain launched the "Future European Fighter Aircraft" (FEFA) programme. The aircraft was to have short take off and landing (STOL) and beyond visual range (BVR) capabilities. In 1984, France reiterated its requirement for a carrier-capable version and demanded a leading role. Italy, West Germany and the UK opted out and established a new EFA programme. In Turin on 2 August 1985, West Germany, the UK and Italy agreed to go ahead with the Eurofighter; and confirmed France, along with Spain, had chosen not to proceed as a member of the project.[15] Despite pressure from France, Spain rejoined the Eurofighter project in early September 1985.[16] France officially withdrew from the project to pursue its own ACX project, which was to become the Dassault Rafale.
By 1986, the programme's cost had reached £180 million.[17] When the EAP programme had started, the cost was supposed to be equally shared by government and industry, but the West German and Italian governments wavered on the agreement and the British government and private finance had to provide £100 million to keep the programme from ending. In April 1986, the British Aerospace EAP was rolled out at BAe Warton. The EAP first flew on 6 August 1986.[18] The Eurofighter bears a strong resemblance to the EAP. Design work continued over the next five years using data from the EAP. Initial requirements were: UK: 250 aircraft, Germany: 250, Italy: 165 and Spain: 100.[19] The share of the production work was divided among the countries in proportion to their projected procurement – BAe (33%), DASA (33%), Aeritalia (21%), and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) (13%).
The Munich-based Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH was established in 1986 to manage development of the project[20] and EuroJet Turbo GmbH, the alliance of Rolls-Royce, MTU Aero Engines, FiatAvio (now Avio) and ITP for development of the EJ200. The aircraft was known as Eurofighter EFA from the late 1980s until it was renamed EF 2000 in 1992.[21]
By 1990, the selection of the aircraft's radar had become a major stumbling-block. The UK, Italy and Spain supported the Ferranti Defence Systems-led ECR-90, while Germany preferred the APG-65-based MSD2000 (a collaboration between Hughes, AEG and GEC-Marconi). An agreement was reached after UK Defence Secretary Tom King assured his West German counterpart Gerhard Stoltenberg that the British government would approve the project and allow the GEC subsidiary Marconi Electronic Systems to acquire Ferranti Defence Systems from its parent, the Ferranti Group, which was in financial and legal difficulties. GEC thus withdrew its support for the MSD2000.[22]
Delays
The financial burdens placed on Germany by reunification caused Helmut Kohl to make an election promise to cancel the Eurofighter. In early to mid-1991 German Defence Minister Volker Rühe sought to withdraw Germany from the project in favour of using Eurofighter technology in a cheaper, lighter plane. Because of the amount of money already spent on development, the number of jobs dependent on the project, and the binding commitments on each partner government, Kohl was unable to withdraw; "Rühe's predecessors had locked themselves into the project by a punitive penalty system of their own devising."[23]
In 1995 concerns over workshare appeared. Since the formation of Eurofighter the workshare split had been agreed at 33/33/21/13 (United Kingdom/Germany/Italy/Spain) based on the number of units being ordered by each contributing nation, all the nations then reduced their orders. The UK cut its orders from 250 to 232, Germany from 250 to 140, Italy from 165 to 121 and Spain from 100 to 87.[23] According to these order levels the workshare split should have been 39/24/22/15 UK/Germany/Italy/Spain, however Germany was unwilling to give up such a large amount of work.[23] In January 1996, after much negotiation between German and UK partners, a compromise was reached whereby Germany would purchase another 40 aircraft.[23] The workshare split was therefore UK 37.42%, Germany 29.03%, Italy 19.52% and Spain 14.03%.
At the 1996 Farnborough Airshow the UK announced funding for the construction phase of the project.[24] On 22 December 1997 the defence ministers of the four partner nations signed the contract for production of the Eurofighter.[25]
Testing
The maiden flight of the Eurofighter prototype took place in Bavaria on 27 March 1994, flown by DASA chief test pilot Peter Weger.[1] In December 2004, Eurofighter Typhoon IPA4 began three months of Cold Environmental Trials (CET) at the Vidsel Air Base in Sweden, the purpose of which was to verify the operational behaviour of the aircraft and its systems in temperatures between −25 and 31 °C.[26] The maiden flight of Instrumented Production Aircraft 7 (IPA7), the first fully equipped Tranche 2 aircraft, took place from EADS' Manching airfield on 16 January 2008.[27]
Procurement, production and costs
The first production contract was signed on 30 January 1998 between Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet and NETMA.[28] The procurement totals were as follows: the UK 232, Germany 180, Italy 121, and Spain 87. Production was again allotted according to procurement: BAe (37.42%), DASA (29.03%), Aeritalia (19.52%), and CASA (14.03%).
On 2 September 1998, a naming ceremony was held at Farnborough, United Kingdom. This saw the Typhoon name formally adopted, initially for export aircraft only. The name continues the storm theme started by the Panavia Tornado. This was reportedly resisted by Germany; the Hawker Typhoon was a fighter-bomber aircraft used by the RAF during the Second World War to attack German targets.[29] The name "Spitfire II" (after the famous British Second World War fighter, the Supermarine Spitfire) had also been considered and rejected for the same reason early in the development programme.[30] In September 1998, contracts were signed for production of 148 Tranche 1 aircraft and procurement of long lead-time items for Tranche 2 aircraft.[31] In March 2008, the final Tranche 1 aircraft was delivered to the German Air Force.[32] On 21 October 2008, the RAF's first two of 91 Tranche 2 aircraft, were delivered to RAF Coningsby.[33]
In July 2009, after almost 2 years of negotiations, the planned Tranche 3 purchase was split into 2 parts and the Tranche 3A contract was signed by the partner nations.[34] The "Tranche 3B" order did not go ahead.[35]
The Eurofighter Typhoon is unique in modern combat aircraft in that there are four separate assembly lines. Each partner company assembles its own national aircraft, but builds the same parts for all aircraft (including exports); Premium AEROTEC (main centre fuselage),[36] EADS CASA (right wing, leading edge slats), BAE Systems (BAE) (front fuselage (including foreplanes), canopy, dorsal spine, tail fin, inboard flaperons, rear fuselage section) and Leonardo (left wing, outboard flaperons, rear fuselage sections).
Production is divided into three tranches (see table below). Tranches are a production/funding distinction, and do not imply an incremental increase in capability with each tranche. Tranche 3 are based on late Tranche 2 aircraft with improvements added. Tranche 3 was split into A and B parts.[37] Tranches were further divided up into production standard/capability blocks and funding/procurement batches, though these did not coincide, and are not the same thing; e.g., the Eurofighter designated FGR4 by the RAF is a Tranche 1, block 5. Batch 1 covered block 1, but batch 2 covered blocks 2, 2B and 5. On 25 May 2011 the 100th production aircraft, ZK315, rolled off the production line at Warton.[38]
Tranche | Austria | Germany | Italy | Kuwait | Oman | Saudi Arabia | Spain | United Kingdom | Qatar | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tranche 1 | 15[N 2] | 33 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 53 | 0 | 148 |
Tranche 2[39] | 0 | 79 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 34 | 67[N 3] | 0 | 275 |
Tranche 3A[37] | 0 | 31 | 21 | 28 | 12 | 24 | 20 | 40 | 24 | 200 |
Tranche 4 | 0 | 38[41] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45[42][43] | 0 | 0 | 83 |
Total | 15 | 181 | 96 | 28 | 12 | 72 | 118 | 160 | 24 | 706 |
In 1985 the estimated cost of 250 UK aircraft was £7 billion. By 1997 the estimated cost was £17 billion; by 2003, £20 billion, and the in-service date (2003, defined as the date of delivery of the first aircraft to the RAF) was 54 months late.[44] After 2003, the MoD refused to release updated cost-estimates on the grounds of commercial sensitivity.[45] However, in 2011, the National Audit Office estimated the UK's "assessment, development, production and upgrade costs eventually hit £22.9 billion" and total programme costs would reach £37 billion.[46]
By 2007, Germany estimated the system cost (aircraft and training, plus spare parts) at €120 million[clarification needed] and said it was in perpetual increase.[47] On 17 June 2009, Germany ordered 31 aircraft of Tranche 3A for €2.8 billion, leading to a system cost of €90 million per aircraft.[48] The UK's Committee of Public Accounts reported that mismanagement of the project had helped increase the cost of each aircraft by seventy-five percent.[49] The Spanish MoD put the cost of their Typhoon project up to December 2010 at €11.718 billion, up from an original €9.255 billion and implying a system cost for their 73 aircraft of €160 million.[50]
On 31 March 2009, a Eurofighter Typhoon fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM whilst having its radar in passive mode for the first time; the necessary target data for the missile was acquired by the radar of a second Eurofighter Typhoon and transmitted using the Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS).[51] The entire Typhoon fleet passed the 500,000 flying hours milestone in 2018.[52] As of August 2019, a total of 623 orders had been received.[53]
In July 2016, the ten-year Typhoon Total Availability Enterprise (TyTAN) support deal between the RAF and industry partners BAE and Leonardo was announced that aims to reduce the Typhoon's per-hour operating cost by 30 to 40 percent.[54] This should equate to a saving of at least £550 million ($712 million), which "will be recycled into the programme" and, according to BAE, will result in the Typhoon having a per-hour operating cost "equivalent to a F-16".[55] By 2022 it was estimated that savings would be "over £500 million."[56]
Upgrades
In 2000, the UK selected the Meteor from MBDA as the long range air-to-air missile armament for its Typhoons with an in-service date (ISD) of December 2011.[57] In December 2002, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden joined the British in a $1.9bn contract for Meteor on Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale and the Saab Gripen.[57] The protracted contract negotiations pushed the ISD to August 2012,[57] and it was further put back by Eurofighter's failure to make trials aircraft available to the Meteor partners.[58] In 2014 the "second element of the Phase 1 Enhancements package known as 'P1Eb'" was announced, allowing "Typhoon to realise both its air-to-air and air-to-ground capability to full effect".[59]
In 2011 Flight International reported that budgetary pressures being encountered by the four original partner nations were limiting upgrades.[60] For example, the four original partner nations were reluctant at that stage to fund enhancements that extend the aircraft's air-to-ground capability, such as integration of the MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missile.[61]
Tranche 3 aircraft ESM/ECM enhancements have focused on improving radiating jamming power with antenna modifications, while EuroDASS is reported to offer a range of new capabilities, including the addition of a digital receiver, extending band coverage to low frequencies (VHF/UHF) and introducing an interferometric receiver with extremely precise geolocation functionalities. On the jamming side, EuroDASS is looking to low-band[62] (VHF/UHF) jamming, more capable antennae, new ECM techniques, while protection against missile is to be enhanced through a new passive MWS in addition to the active devices already on board the aircraft. The latest support for self-protection will however originate from the new AESA radar which is to replace the Captor system, providing in a spiralled programme with passive, active and cyberwarfare RF capabilities. Selex ES has developed a self-contained expendable Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) jammer for fast jet aircraft known as BriteCloud which is being studied for integration on the Typhoon.[63]
Eurojet is attempting to find funding to test thrust vectoring control (TVC) nozzles on a flight demonstrator.[64] In April 2014, BAE announced new wind tunnel tests to assess the aerodynamic characteristics of conformal fuel tanks (CFTs). The CFTs, which can be fitted to any Tranche 3 aircraft, could carry 1,500 litres each to increase the Typhoon's combat radius by a factor of 25% to 1,500 n miles (2,778 km).[65]
BAE has completed development of its Striker II Helmet-Mounted Display that builds on the capabilities of the original Striker Helmet-Mounted Display, which is already in service on the Typhoon.[66] Striker II features a new display with more colour and can transition between day and night seamlessly eliminating the need for separate night vision goggles. In addition, the helmet can monitor the pilot's exact head position so it always knows exactly what information to display.[67] The system is compatible with ANR, a 3-D audio threats system and 3-D communications; these are available as customer options.[68] In 2015, BAE was awarded a £1.7 million contract to study the feasibility of a common weapon launcher that could be capable of carrying multiple weapons and weapon types on a single pylon.[69]
Also in 2015, Airbus flight tested a package of aerodynamic upgrades for the Eurofighter known as the Aerodynamic Modification Kit (AMK) consisting of reshaped (delta) fuselage strakes, extended trailing-edge flaperons and leading-edge root extensions. This increases wing lift by 25% resulting in an increased turn rate, tighter turning radius, and improved nose-pointing ability at low speed with angle of attack values around 45% greater and roll rates up to 100% higher.[70][71][72] Eurofighter's Laurie Hilditch said these improvements should increase subsonic turn rate by 15% and give the Eurofighter the sort of "knife-fight in a phone box" turning capability enjoyed by rivals such as Boeing's F/A-18E/F or the Lockheed Martin F-16, without sacrificing the transonic and supersonic high-energy agility inherent to its delta wing-canard configuration.[73] Eurofighter Project Pilot Germany Raffaele Beltrame said: "The handling qualities appeared to be markedly improved, providing more manoeuvrability, agility and precision while performing tasks representative of in-service operations. And it is extremely interesting to consider the potential benefits in the air-to-surface configuration thanks to the increased variety and flexibility of stores that can be carried."[74]
In April 2016, Finmeccanica (now Leonardo) demonstrated the air-to-ground capabilities of its Mode 5 Reverse-Identification friend or foe (IFF) system which showed that it is possible to give pilots the ability to distinguish between friendly and enemy platforms in a simple fashion using the aircraft's existing transponder.[75] Finmeccanica said NATO is considering the system as a short- to mid-term solution for air-to-surface identification of friendly forces and thus avoid collateral damages due to friendly fire during close air support operations.[75]
UK Project Centurion upgrades
With the confirmed retirement date of March 2019 for RAF Tornado GR4s, in 2014 the UK commenced an upgrade programme that would eventually become the £425 million Project Centurion to ensure the Typhoon was able to assume the precision strike duties of the ageing Tornado. The upgrade was delivered under different phases:[63]
- Phase 0 – initial multirole upgrades.
- Phase 1/P2EA – MBDA Meteor integration and initial Storm Shadow Capability.
- Phase 2/P3EA – Full Storm Shadow capability as well as Brimstone integration.
Phase 1 standard aircraft were used operationally for the first time as part of Operation Shader over Iraq and Syria in 2018. On 18 December 2018 the RAF approved release to service for the full Project Centurion package.[63]
Proposed upgrade for German Tornado replacement
On 24 April 2018, Airbus announced its offer to replace Germany's Panavia Tornado fleet, proposing the integration of new weaponry, performance enhancements and additional capabilities to the Eurofighter Typhoon.[76] This is similar to that being performed as part of the UK's Project Centurion. Integration of air-to-ground weapons already has begun on German Typhoons as part of Project Odin. Among the weapons being offered are the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile for the anti-ship mission and the Taurus cruise missile.
The consortium is keen to make use of the engine's growth potential to boost thrust by around 15% as well as improve fuel efficiency and range. This will be combined with a new design and enlarged 1,800-litre fuel tank. The aircraft currently is fitted with 1,000-litre fuel tanks. Other modifications will include the Aerodynamic Modification Kit, test flown in 2014, to improve maneuverability and handling, particularly with heavy weapon loads. Eurofighter says it is comfortable with delivering integration of the U.S. B61 nuclear weapon onto the aircraft, a process that requires U.S. certification. Paltzo said he was confident the U.S. government would not use the certification requirements of the weapon as "leverage" to force Germany towards a U.S. platform.[citation needed] A next-generation electronic warfare suite has been planned by the four-country consortium.[77]
In November 2019, Airbus proposed a SEAD capability for the aircraft, a role which is currently performed by the Tornado ECR in German service. The Typhoon ECR would be configured with two Escort Jammer pods under the wings and two Emitter Location Systems at the wing tips. Armament configuration would include four MBDA Meteor, two IRIS-T and six SPEAR-EW in addition to three drop tanks.[78]
On 5 November 2020, the German government approved an order for 38 Tranche 4 with ground attack capabilities for the replacement of Tranche 1 units in German service.[79]
The Luftwaffe ordered 15 ECR electronic warfare aircraft for the Luftgestützte Wirkung im Elektromagnetischen Spektrum (luWES) requirement in March 2022.[80] The 15 ECR EW aircraft will be transformed from existing German Typhoons and will be equipped with AGM-88E AARGM Anti-radiation missiles. The aircraft are expected to be NATO-certified by 2030.[81][82]
Replacement
Germany is to replace the Eurofighter with the New Generation Fighter (NGF), co-developed with France and Spain.[83] The Global Combat Air Programme is a ‘6th Generation’ fighter envisioned as a replacement for the RAF and Italian Air Force (AM), part of the UK's wider Future Combat Air System.[83]