programme news and features issue 1 - 2007 eurofighter review

I Exporting Capability

I Programme Way Ahead

I ASTA goes Operational

At the forefront of single seat testing and development, Instrumented The pictures here show IPA4 during GBU-10 air-to-surface weapon Production Aircraft Four (IPA4) is pushed hard in striving towards certi- release trials in Morón, Spain. For more details on this and other test fication for the next generation of weapon system capabilities. campaigns, turn to page five.

Ramping up operations at Neuburg/Donau Mission-capable Preparations 11(F) Sqn stands up as Communications Department at Eurofighter GmbH at Eurofighter Communications Department Review,Eurofighter please contact the PR & If you would like to request additional copies of www.eurofighter.com ReviewEurofighter on the Internet www.esta-druck.de ESTA GmbH Druck Printed by www.iad-design.de Andreas Westphal images.art.design. Design & Production Patrick Hoeveler Lee, Planefocus, Geoffrey Companies, Partner GmbH, Eurofighter Eurofighter Photography Phillip Lee Editor VP PR & Communications Wolfdietrich Hoeveler Editorial representative Tel: +49 (0) 811-80 1587 17,Am Söldnermoos 85399 Hallbergmoos GmbH, PR & Communications Eurofighter ReviewEurofighter is published by 2 first multi-role first squadron 18 1 - 2007 review eurofighter training operational ASTA delivers 12 23 22 20 19 18 14 12 08 07 06 05 04 03 Contents Online re-design for eurofighter.com Latest Developments EJ200 Engine – Aiming for the Future Swing-Role Type Acceptance for Typhoon Eurofighter RAF unveils multi-role squadron first Ramping up operations at Neuburg/Donau The future of Training... Now! “Twice the availability at half the cost” New organisational structure for the Programme The campaign trail hits Bangalore Developing future capabilities for Typhoon Eurofighter TyphoonEurofighter moves closer to the Austrian Air Force Welcome note from Aloysius Rauen, Chief Executive Officer New-Look WebsiteNew-Look News Forward Thinking Technology Building Blocks Preparing for Deployment Mission-capable Preparations ASTA goes Operational Programme Direction - Formulating the way ahead Sleek and Efficient Aero India 2007 Delivering in Flight Test UnrivalledExporting Capability Editorial Preparations Mission-capable Ramping up operations at Neuburg/Donau I I I Operational ASTA goes Way Ahead Programme Capability Exporting - contents programme news and features issue 1 - 2007 review eurofighter Photograph: Patrick Hoeveler line at Neuburg/Donau the flight Typhoon from Fighter 74 Wing on Cover picture shows a Eurofighter Contracted Aircraft Enhancements Contracted Aircraft Green Light for New Typhoon Eurofighter Capabilities nator Pod (LDP) into of Tranche 2 aircraft alongside work to integrate a Laser Desig- Paveway Enhanced GBU-16 IV and the of new integration weaponsthe such as system unmatched capabilities.” with marketline the weapon leader position of the and under- aircraft ti-role/swing-role fighter forefront of mul- at the Typhoon Eurofighter improvements. position It will further capabilities and communication to-surface It will mainly focus on air- aircraft. Typhoon Enhancement for Tranche 2 Eurofighter contract covers so-called Phase 1 “The the Aloysius Eurofighter”, the Rauen commented: entitled “First Batch of Enhancements for Main Developmentthe Contract. Tranchealready delivered 1 based on with beyond Typhoon ties of Eurofighter those Rauen. This contract extends capabili- the GmbH Chief Executive Officer, Aloysius (NETMA) and Eurofighter ment Agency NATOthe and Tornado Eurofighter Manage- was signed between General Manager of the Air Forces four Partner of the requirements weapon system functionalities based on the of new integration roadmap for the the The Phase 1 Enhancement will include contract, officially Speaking about the contract forOn 29 March, clearing the Storm Shadow and Taurus. weaponsweapons standoff including the of new integration mainly focusing on the second half of 2007,tive proposal in the work plans to respec- start sortium on the con- Phase 2 Enhancement. The Eurofighter receive additional functionalities In the Nations.” Partner of the airmen to the performance tions and schedules to provide line first specifica- into required meeting the effort put every will therefore Industry Typhoon. of Eurofighter extend operational tasks the toAir Forces further enable them as they tionalities are welcomed by four Partner the Germany, with in service Italy and Spain. new IRIS-T of the gration air-to-air missile, separatelythe contracted inte- full digital objective. to this a substantial contribution System is Distribution (MIDS) performance and Multifunctional Information of the extension plex Further scenarios. air warfare pilot’sand minimising the workload in com- swing-role performance boosting the grades Machine (HMI) will receive Interface up- Nations.all four Partner The Human capabilities NETMA GM agree new aicraft GmbH CEO and the Eurofighter Eurofighter Typhoon of Tranche Typhoon 2 will Eurofighter Aloysius new func- Rauen added: “The enabler forThe new contract is also the - latest news - editorial -

editorial GmbH CEO Eurofighter Aloysius Rauen CEO Eurofighter GmbH CEO Eurofighter Aloysius Rauen Your sincerely, Enjoy the issue! have all the news!! As always, REVIEW will confirmed. Eurofighter ational capabilities of the weapon system are the headlines as oper- will also be grabbing to the Austria.aircraft The Partner Air Forces levels. to new operational taking Typhoon Eurofighter the objective as eight units across Europe are Forces’ needs. More availability at less cost is dedicated area to to the Air shape the support are fully consortium NETMA and the industrial event in Munich. The four Partner Nations, through 2007 successful follow-on with a very of the Neuburg workshop have been carried and the customer.industry The achievements constructive very after discussions between reached on the PC5, PC6 and CP196 documents of the Nations. of the ASTA with the full backing programme ture of the PC7 document for the realignment recognised by the Nations through the signa- was and this effort made considerable progress crew Synthetic Training Aids (ASTA) team has and training area. The Air- the logistic support obligations towards NATO. meet their national requirements and their in order topotential Typhoon of Eurofighter Forces to make the best use of the operational the new functionalities that will enable Air contract lays out the way forward in introducing This 1 which was signed at the end of March. for developing new capabilities beyond Tranche cal issues. The most was important the contract of some extremely criti- contractual agreement campaign in Spain. the conducting of a successful Meteor test bound for Austria, Typhoon Eurofighter and of the first the maiden flight hour mark, break the 5,000th flying witnessed the test fleet of SS011delivery to the Spanish Air Force. Acceptance of the Block 5 standard and the of 2006, the new year kicked with Type off at the end of a Block 5 aircraft flight the first Coming on the back of programme. Typhoon forishingly the Eurofighter successful period 2007 export of the first will see the delivery has been an agreement In logistics support, can be foundAn emerging success story in These events have been equalled by the three months of 2007The first have also quarter of 2007The first has been an aston- Typhoon, of Eurofighter Dear Friends 1 - 2007 review eurofighter 3 4 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - export - - flight test - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 5

Eurofighter Typhoon moves closer to the Austrian Air Force in the programme. This achievement is the Developing future capabilities for Eurofighter Typhoon result of a successful cooperation of all Part- ner companies and suppliers, and demon- Exporting Unrivalled strates the ability of this international part- Delivering in Flight Test nership to deliver to contract specification

in Export.” IPA4 at Morón, Spain, preparing for AS001 represents the last build standard GBU-10 release Capability of Tranche 1. As Austria is supported in the acceptance process by the German Ministry The first quarter of 2007 has seen both the of Defence, the Austrian aircraft are tem- industrial consortium and the customer porarily adorned with German national demonstrate the ever-increasing capabilities Since deliveries of Eurofighter Typhoon to The first Eurofighter Typhoon weapon markings and registration numbers over the of Eurofighter Typhoon. A week of trials the four Partner Nations began following system destined for an Export Nation took original Austrian Air Force designation running across February and March wit- Type Acceptance in June 2003, the core off for its first flight at EADS Military Air (98+40 instead of 7L+WA). nessed the Royal Air Force conduct a series programme has been steadily gathering System’s Manching facility, Germany. The second aircraft for Austria, AS002, of Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile pace. The milestone of 100 deliveries was AS001, the first of 18 aircraft to be deliv- was rolled out only a few days prior to AS001 (ASRAAM) firings aimed at bringing the achieved in October 2006, the Tranche 2 ered by the Eurofighter consortium to the getting airborne and is now undergoing aircraft closer to assuming Quick Reaction Supplement 3 contract was agreed at the Austrian Air Force, completed its approxi- final checks before engine runs and the Alert (QRA) responsibilities for the United end of 2004 and, in between, all manner of mately one hour maiden flight at the hands addition of Air Force colour schemes to the Kingdom, scheduled for mid-2007. The capability enhancements have been demon- of experienced EADS test pilot, Chris Worn- aircraft. ASRAAM firing was the first to be conducted strated by the test fleet. But, in the export ing. On landing, test pilot Worning com- by a front-line Royal Air Force Eurofighter arena, despite being hailed as “market mented: “The aircraft handled impeccably The training simulator has been in- Typhoon. leader” for the next five years by US ana- as expected. The industrial consortium stalled at Zeltweg, the Main Operating Base Four sorties, flown over the Aberporth lysts Forecast International based on a 638 weapons range in Cardigan Bay, Wales, saw aircraft order book plus the Government to a total of four ASRAAM missiles successfully Government collaboration on Eurofighter launched from 3(F) Squadron Eurofighter Typhoon for the Royal Saudi Arabian Air Typhoons. Operating out of RAF Coningsby, Force and growing worldwide interest, the aircraft tracked and fired against flare Carlos Esteban Pinilla, Eurofighter Typhoon The focus of these flights is to explore mis- tangible evidence of progress was scarce. packs being towed by Mirach target drones. test pilot at EADS CASA, took to the skies sile reactions to flutter and vibration. As of 21 March 2007, that has all changed. Wing Commander Lol Bennett, Officer over Morón to complete the 5,000th flight This second Meteor testing campaign is Commanding 3(F) Squadron, commented hour on behalf of the entire test fleet. The a risk reduction initiative for the projected that: “The first front-line firings of ASRAAM milestone-achieving flight saw IPA4 under- integration of Meteor onto Eurofighter represent a significant milestone in the take environmental data gathering with a Typhoon. After completion of these series of Typhoon force’s progress towards opera- Meteor air-to-air missile. tests, Meteor will have flown on all applicable tional deployment.” The integration of advanced weapons is stations having first flown on the aircraft in Over in Spain, the flight test team at set to become a major task as the focus of late 2005. Final production is ongoing for the AS001 in the paintshop prior to roll-out Austrian aircraft EADS CASA in mid-February reported a pro- the test fleet evolves. By the end of April The tasks of the test fleet will also look gramme-first release of a GBU-10 air-to-sur- 2007, work on a planned two evaluation to introduce new software to improve the behind this next generation aircraft have (MOB) of the Austrian Air Force Eurofighter face weapon. Piloted by Alfonso de Castro, campaigns will have been conducted with capability of sub-systems thus increasing already delivered unrivalled capability to Typhoons, and first flights in the simulator the new European Long Range Air-To-Air the Partner Air Forces, and now Austria will have been achieved. This training device is Missile, Meteor, following the release of begin to realise the force-multiplying bene- currently undergoing an upgrade to the funding from the customer. fits of this world-class weapon system.” software, allowing for a greater capability in The purpose of the two campaigns in During the flight, the aircraft was taken aircrew training. Spain and Italy is to gather environmental through a series of basic handling manoeu- data for the final design of the missile. Five vres before touching down just after midday Phillip Lee flights with IPA4 of EADS CASA began on at the test facility in Manching. 15 March in Morón, Spain, using the so-called Speaking about the event, Eurofighter Meteor Environmental Data Gathering Test GmbH CEO, Aloysius Rauen, commented: Vehicle and Ground Handling Training Mis- “The flight of AS001 as the first Austrian siles and ended on 20 March. The aim was

Eurofighter Typhoon and the first export IPA4 will carry out two Meteor campaigns to fly Meteor on the front and rear fuselage Eurofighter Typhoon, is a major milestone stations in order to collect data on how the the overall weapon system performance. First RAF ASRAAM two “cold” tests were carried out with In- missile responds in the vibration and load The work on the Main Development Contract release from strumented Production Aircraft Four (IPA4), environments. The final flight of the first may be ending this year, but the four Nation a frontline to allow for final checks of the release criteria, campaign was flown with four Paveway II team involved in test and evaluation are Eurofighter Typhoon before going for the “hot” run and store and two AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles in ad- striving to introduce into service the capa- Top: AS001 complets its maiden flight Above: Roll-out of the first Austrian Eurofighter Typhoon release from the right-hand centre-wing dition to the four Meteors. bilities that will maintain Eurofighter complete with Air Force markings pylon. No snags were reported by the The objective of the second campaign is Typhoon’s position as the most advanced onboard instrumentation. also environmental data gathering but, for swing-role aircraft available. IPA4 was again on hand to deliver a fur- the first time, Meteor will fly on the out- ther programme milestone when Captain board pylons of Eurofighter Typhoon. Phillip Lee Take-off for the first Export Eurofighter Typhoon 6 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - exhibitions - - programme - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 7

The campaign trail hits Bangalore New organisational structure for the Programme Aero India 2007 Sleek and Efficient

With the Indian authorities poised to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) for 126 stand of the EJ200 engine and the CAESAR For several years, the Partner Nations and Multi-Role Combat Aircraft, Aero India 2007 provided the Eurofighter consortium with e-scan radar models, on display alongside the industrial consortium behind the Eu- the unique opportunity to keep the focus of professional visitors on the outstanding the permanent fixture of the Eurofighter rofighter Typhoon programme have called capabilities of Eurofighter Typhoon. With a wealth of key decision-makers in atten- Cockpit Demonstrator. Each feature was for a re-alignment of both the management CEO dance, including influential figures from the India Air Force, the procurement organi- supported by technical and marketing structure and of the programme itself. At A. Rauen sations and from the national aerospace industry, the timing of the Eurofighter con- experts from the relevant partner of Eurojet the start of 2003, the Eurofighter shareholders sortium’s first showing at the Bangalore-based exhibition couldn’t have been better. and Selex. Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, EADS

The exhibition itself ran from 07–11 Feb- Germany and EADS CASA acted to strengthen Business Support Export Support ruary and, over the course of the five days, the role of Eurofighter GmbH as prime con- Indian Air Force Chief, Air Marshal Tyagi received Although no Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft the Eurofighter team received all the key tractor in a truly collaborative programme a detailed briefing were available due to preparations for NATO delegations. The Indian Minister of Defence, business. A basic element for this approach assignments and daily operations, the pro- Shri A. K. Antony and his Director of General was the initiative of the shareholders to COO CFO and COO Programmes Commercial Capabilities gramme presentation still featured plenty Acquisition, Shri S. Banerjee, got a close-up carefully transform the role of the Eurofight- B. Phillipson V. de la Vela M. de Mitri of attractions for the Indian hosts. The Eu- view of Eurofighter Typhoon’s capabilities er Partner Companies into one of major sub- rofighter business stand carried India-spe- on the Cockpit Demonstrator during their contractors, accountable to Eurofighter cific campaign messages with a clear focus guided visit. Air Force representation was GmbH on performance, schedule adherence on industrial partnership. This cooperative also in attendance, with Air Marshal S. P. and quality issues. This scheme was rolled spirit was emphasised across a variety of Tyagi, Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force out in May 2004 with a new management in platforms, not least with the strong showing and a member of the Indian customer com- Eurofighter GmbH with more responsibilities. from key people from the Eurofighter com- munity who has flown in Eurofighter Typhoon, The four Partner Nations welcomed the New top level organisational structure at Eurofighter GmbH munity including, from industry, Aloysius taking the opportunity to be briefed on air- move, but emphasised that this step, from Rauen, CEO Eurofighter GmbH, Mike Rouse, craft capabilities. their perspective, could only be the first of many in terms of progressing to an efficient management structure. Their intention was Right: Air Marshal Nagalia, Deputy Chief of Staff to speed up the work of the industrial Below: Indian Minister of Defence, Shri A. K. Antony, visits consortium, but also to reduce the cost of immediately, with first results to be visible From the beginning of May 2007, Eurofighter Typhoon in Bangalore in-service support while aligning the in-ser- beginning 2007. The industrial partners the new Board of Management (BoM) will vice philosophy with reality, as the original worked towards this goal, presenting a pro- consist of: concept had been conceived in the early posal for the new programme management 1990s. This was based on the fact that the structure and methods for further empower- • Aloysius Rauen, available budgets in the Nations were under ing Eurofighter GmbH on time. The Typhoon Chief Executive Officer (CEO) heavy scrutiny and, at the same time, Tiger Team accepted the proposal and • Brian Phillipson, Chief Operating Officer performance enhancements were on the confirmed the implementation of the new (COO) Programmes wish list of the Air Forces. The integration structure for 01 May 2007. • Maurizio de Mitri, Chief Operating Group Marketing Director BAE Systems, Rao Interjit Singh, Minister of State and Defence of a Laser Designator Pod in Block 5 aircraft The basic principle of how Eurofighter Officer (COO) Capabilities Johann Heitzmann, CEO EADS Military Air of the Royal Air Force was one outstanding GmbH, in its role as contract owner, will • Victor de la Vela ,Chief Financial Officer Systems, and Hartmut Tenter, Managing As the fighter replacement competition example. They therefore demanded the manage the programme business in future (CFO) also responsible for Commercial Director Eurojet GmbH. Representation moves into its final stages, the Eurofighter further empowerment of Eurofighter GmbH. is by paying the Eurofighter Partner Compa- from the Partner Nations was also evident, consortium will, over the coming months, The intention of the Partner Nations and nies based on delivery of performance The Board of Management will shrink with Alan Garwood, Head of the United seek to maintain the excellent contacts that the interests of the shareholder companies according to their sub-contract obligations. from ten to four members, while the Heads Kingdom’s Defence Export Services Organi- were established in Bangalore, through pre- culminated in the Future Protocols Document, As a fundamental prerequisite for this of the Business Support and Export Support sation (DESO) of the Ministry of Defence, sentations and attendance at key India con- signed by the so-called “Typhoon Tiger approach, a mechanism for risk-sharing departments will participate in Manage- General Klaus Peter Stieglitz, Chief of the ferences. The belief across the programme Team” in July 2006 at the Farnborough among the Shareholders has been agreed ment meetings, but will not hold full German Air Force, and Dr. Klaus von Sperber, community is that Eurofighter Typhoon is International airshow. This team was for all areas including Development, membership authority. Director General German Ministry of Defence, the ‘best fit’ in terms of complying with the formed by the National Armament Directors Production and In Service Support. With these changes, the route to more all throwing their full support behind the requirements and specifications of the Indian and the Chief Executive Officers of the The new company structure follows efficiency is laid before the programme, to campaign efforts in Bangalore. Additionally, Air Force. Furthermore, with the consortium shareholder companies. these objectives, and is based on three prin- the benefit of the customer and the product. they all joined forces for a press conference boasting concrete political support for India The message of the Typhoon Tiger Team ciple functions: contract acquisition, contract which attracted the prominent international and important historical connections with was very clear: Commence the work negotiation and contract delivery. Wolfdietrich Hoeveler and Indian media and lead to widespread the Indian customer, the campaign efforts media coverage. are firmly focussed on delivering unrivalled The group effort and team ethic was fur- value in India. Air Marshal Major takes in the Eurofighter Cockpit Demonstrator ther highlighted with the additions to the Phillip Lee 8 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - programme - - programme - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 9

Experience-Sharing amongst the Partner Air Forces is critical to understanding how best “Twice the availability at half the cost” to offer support Programme Direction - Formulating the way ahead

The Eurofighter programme. There are a number of pressing launched the current set of contracts, for ex- The Air Forces have increasingly taken them the understanding about how it all place it with another one and check for programme questions that we are in the process of an- ample in support, they were quite keen to direct ownership of the programme and it works. So what we have had to do is to fix themselves whether it was good or bad requires a rethink swering. How do we improve affordability of specify what they wanted and to specify it is for industry to agree with them how best that problem. We have not changed the con- without having to return the item to the on traditional the whole Eurofighter programme for our separately from what was going on in devel- to support it. Recently a workshop with the cept of the IWSSS, but have highlighted the Industry. In addition, within weeks we were practices. In an in- customers, which includes the operating opment and production. Inevitably, that Nations was held at Neuburg to define the need for the Air Forces to be more promi- also able to arrange international meetings terview with Brian and supporting of the in-service aircraft meant that the contracts started to en- way forward. What were the results of this nent and proactive in sharing their knowl- between Air Force first line engineering Phillipson, Chief whilst continuing key development and pro- counter difficulties in maintaining step with workshop? edge and experiences and their problems. staff to accelerate the process of learning Operating Officer duction activities? How do we successfully each other. We have contracts in the sup- From another extreme, we looked much from one another’s National Air Force (Programmes) at progress towards the authorisation of port area, for example, which require us to Neuburg was a very significant event for harder at fundamentals about how we experiences. Eurofighter GmbH, Tranche 3 and future export orders? These undertake activities which are no longer the Nations and Partner Companies, as well manage the integration of support and em- We also have much longer term activities he explains his are the big challenges ahead of us today. sensible given where the development pro- as for NETMA and Eurofighter. The reason bodiment with development. which may take 18 months or so to deliver vision on the way ahead, and how the pro- for choosing this location was that we need- benefits, but we’ve now got the core team in gramme is being reshaped to better cope So far, we have followed parallel processes ed to think and do things rather differently. What does Neuburg mean for how we will place who were at Neuburg, including sup- with current and future demands. in development, production and in-service Instead of meeting at NETMA or at Euro- contract and manage differently in the fu- port from Nations and Partner Companies support. As we look into future develop- fighter in Hallbergmoos, we actually went to ture? as well as NETMA and Eurofighter. This is a ment, what will be the changes after the a Luftwaffe base in Southern Germany and large ‘engine for change’ on the programme. With the new Eurofighter GmbH man- main development work ends? used their facilities to hold our meeting. It was quite significant that the work- One other significance about Neuburg is agement structure now ahead of us, what Being surrounded by Air Force personnel shop, backed at a very senior level by Gov- that there were a couple of themes that are the long term opportunities and per- There are a fundamental set of changes and the noise of aeroplanes was exactly the ernments and Industry, brought together were really basic for us throughout - afford- spectives that you envisage for the pro- that industry is now facing, but a couple of right environment to think about the issues representatives from the four Nations and ability and availability, and we coined a gramme management on both the industry comments first. The Main Development that we all needed to deal with. In the light NETMA, the four Partner Companies and phrase that said what we wanted was and the customer side? Contract (MDC) has, to a large extent, carried of an active in-service fleet, what we wanted Eurofighter GmbH. It was a community “Twice the Availability at Half the Cost”. much of the infrastructure we’ve needed on to do was to face up to some of the demands which was very heavily influenced by the That was the sort of target that we were From my point of view, programmes are the programme for the last 18 years or so. for change on the programme. need to think about support of the opera- going for and we have already made consid- living things and you always need to adjust One consequence was that when Nations Some of the issues were relatively sim- tional aeroplane, but with adequate repre- erable progress towards that. and evolve the organisation to match the wanted some new capability, it was pretty ple things. The Air Forces have been operat- sentation from the development and pro- At this stage in the programme, it is im- programme’s current status. Over the last easy to add it into an ongoing development ing the aeroplane now for more than three curement side. portant to look at what has been set up for year or two, the programme has been going programme. years. Some of them have 30 or more aero- Following on from the Neuburg three- through a huge change, and a lot of the con- In the next 12 months, work covered under planes in service and are flying them very day workshop is a series of programmes of tracted activities going on at present are that Development Contract will be coming hard, whereas others have smaller fleets work looking in more detail at how the very different from a few years ago. That to an end. Therefore, one of the issues we and are operating them very differently. All necessary changes can be defined and then means there is a need to adjust the organi- have to deal with, is to agree with the Na- are gaining slightly different experiences, implemented on the programme. We have Weapon System Support is a key future challenge sation to face up to current demand and tions on what basis they want to go forward and more could be done in terms of sharing already had some benefit out of these work new challenges. That’s why changes have in terms of engineering and support infra- those experiences. Whilst at Neuburg, the programmes that wouldn’t have been solved been made in Eurofighter’s organisation structure. What we are seeing now is a question was asked: how can we get better if Neuburg hadn’t taken place. For example, and management. More specifically, some period of much greater uncertainty in the gramme has now gone. Having to realign all at having each of the four Nations pool their one of the fastest things that we rectified of the objects of the changes are to better Nations’ requirements for changes to the those contracts at the moment is a bit of a knowledge, their issues and their problems, was to identify that when the Air Forces equip industry to be able to deal with the aeroplane. Whilst minor changes are likely problem for industry and for the Nations. so that we can better answer them? In the had a problem with a replaceable piece of complexity of the programme today and to be fairly frequent and may well be required For the future, better alignment across early days of the programme, mechanisms equipment on an aircraft, where it was tomorrow. at fairly short-notice covering changes in these issues is necessary. If the Nations were identified for doing that, but some of covered by the Industrial Exchange and Re- Contract realignment now means that the Air weapons, communications and system inte- would like to develop a particular new capa- those mechanisms haven’t been fully imple- pair Service, the Air Force didn’t have the Force ground crews have the ability to check Can you describe some of the key challenges gration, the chances are that we won’t see a bility, we also need to decide what that en- mented. Some of them maybe we didn’t means to simply fit a replacement equip- equipments on-base facing the programme? lot of changes in the aerodynamics or struc- tails, not just in line build, but in embodi- quite get right, so now industry and the ment. This simple change would have al- ture of the aeroplane. So as we come to the ment across the fleet of 150 or more aero- customer need to look at how it can be done lowed them to assess if the problem was development and to see how it can be ad- The key challenges are dealing with the end of the original Development Contract, planes and in support. In the past, the better. with the equipment or perhaps something justed for the in-service phase. The two ar- complexity of the programme and better Industry and the Nations have to take deci- Nations had wanted to specify all this sepa- different. Oddly, the terms in the contract eas of providing more availability to the Air balancing the various and evolving demands sions about what areas we need to maintain rately. Now, both parties agree that it must Are you referring to the International meant they couldn’t do that without declar- Force in-service fleets, and taking customer on us, as industry. In particular, we started to provide support for the longer term, and be specified in a more integrated and cost Weapon System Support System (IWSSS)? ing the removed item defective and sending programme cost out, in total terms, are ex- in the late 1980’s fundamentally as a devel- in what areas we can afford to reduce capa- effective fashion. Many of the current con- it back to industry, even though in many actly the things that need to be done and opment programme and have more recently bilities to save costs. tracts come to an end over the next 12 to 18 Exactly. The IWSSS is designed well and cases it was actually serviceable. I think it that’s the way we set the direction for moved into a manufacturing phase. However, Another set of changes, which is perhaps months which gives us a good opportunity is the right solution, but what has not hap- took about five days to solve this issue, Neuburg and beyond. I must emphasise today, In-Service issues are becoming in- more important, is improving the integra- to develop and introduce a new contractual pened thus far is properly energising the modify the contract and give the Air Forces here that this is not just about industry creasingly more dominant within the tion of the programme. When the Nations basis for the future of the programme. links through to the Air Forces and giving the means to pull the equipment out, re- costs, it is about the customers’ total cost of 10 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - programme - - programme - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 11

procuring and maintaining the in-service The Tranche 2 aeroplanes, which are not the in-service issues, driving the pro- control very difficult and industry and the causing disadvantages to some Nations Another example is the new European Be- capabilities that they require the Eurofight- currently entering Final Assembly and gramme. Nations will spend money many times over while meeting the legitimate needs of yond Visual Range Air Defence missile, the er programme to deliver, for many years which will start to be delivered next year, and that will actually slow the programme others. Working out the logistics of this was METEOR, which is currently still in develop- to come. generate a second standard because, be- With the Air Forces now operating their down. Let’s get the machinery of the pro- a new experience, or at least one that we ment. As that development completes, the tween Tranche 1 and Tranche 2, there have aircraft there are a lot more opportunities gramme responsive, effective, and focussed haven’t encountered on the programme for Nations will want us to clear it into service Are there more Neuburg-style workshops been a number of changes. So, there are for international cooperation, keeping the on delivering what the Air Forces want. If some time. on Eurofighter Typhoon. planned to measure what has been now two baseline standards which will be spirit of partnership alive in the pro- this can be achieved, and they can be Looking past the end of the Main Devel- We’re actually right in the middle of dis- discussed against a set structure? operated across the fleet. That’s really the gramme. Neuburg, you’ve mentioned, was coached on how to work the international opment Contract, the first phase of cussions with the Nations about what else right starting point for what we then need one example. Where could this lead to? programme effectively, then they won’t enhancements represent the Tranche 2 they might want in those timeframes and Although the original Neuburg event to do. The Air Forces would like to be able to need to do anything different. forward development programme for the what else they might want in Tranche 3. At was billed as a one-off, NETMA and our- have a consistent standard in-service. They That point is one of a number of issues next five to six years. I believe we have all the moment, the Nations seem very happy selves always knew that it was likely to be may have a Tranche 1 and a Tranche 2 which drove the work through Neuburg The aircraft will be in service for at least learned from the mistakes on launch of with the aeroplane and they are looking for the start of a process. As a result, we are standard, but they want to operate a whole and beyond. One of the things that we were 30 years, so we need to look rather strategi- Tranche 2, and everybody seems keen to relatively small changes and new weapons. now looking at three-monthly review confer- squadron or wing to a single standard, and sensing was that the Air Forces were cally at future capabilities. Tranche 3 avoid them on Tranche 3. The highest However, there are areas where I think ences where the international community is not go through bits and pieces of upgrading. developing some frustration with the inter- negotiations have started. Will they be a bit priority always was, and still is, to spend the Nations probably will sign up to for fur- national aspects of the programme. As a more efficient than Tranche 2? the money on the capability of our product ther changes over the next year or so. One national Air Force, you’re quite a long way and not on bureaucracy or, for example, example is the Radar. We actually have an away from the so called “bureaucracies” of 2004 and 2005 were a difficult couple of the inefficiencies which can result from incredibly capable radar on Eurofighter NETMA and Eurofighter. years in that there were some fairly big inconsistent build rates. Typhoon. We opted for mechanically- If an aircraft develops a problem, all you issues to be dealt with by the Nations. Au- scanned arrays because the early genera- care about is getting your problem fixed. It thorisation of Tranche 2 came later than The Nations are beginning to share their tions of electronically-scanned arrays really was quite difficult for the Air Forces to planned. The consequence was that we end- strategic views about where they want to couldn’t produce the power and flexibility work out how they could influence the pro- ed up spending money and were not getting take the aeroplanes over the next 20 years that we’ve got with our mechanically- gramme to deal with their problems. What back benefits, and we have to avoid that on or so. What do you foresee in terms of capa- scanned array. But that’s changing. We’re tended to happen is they developed working Tranche 3. We hope that the Tranche 3 bility enhancements during this period? now beginning to see second and third relationships with their own national contract will be agreed in the next couple of generation electronically-scanned arrays industries as it seemed to be a lot easier to years, and there’s a lot of activity now, with In the 2012 timeframe, we will see more which are at least as good as, and better ring up the national Partner Company and NETMA and the Nations, working towards capability on the aeroplane, more than we than, the mechanically-scanned array. say, “I’ve got this problem – fix it for me!” that goal. have currently contracted. For example, Euroradar is already flying the CAESAR, Sometimes, this led to them relying on only A second comment is that we’ve also had with the Future Capability Programme, we which is an electronically-scanned array. national procedures to try to solve their difficulties over the last couple of years on are matching the hardware changes that We expect these kinds of enhancements to problems, and it frequently meant they did sorting out what the next phase of develop- took place in Tranche 2 with the recent soft- be going onto the aeroplane in Tranche 3. Integration of new weapons, for example Meteor, is part of future enhancement packages not readily access the real centres of indus- ment activity on the aeroplane will be. ware upgrades and introducing a lot of new Whether we will also introduce other trial expertise or ensure that their experi- We’ve had lots of labels - EOC (enhanced capabilities at the same time. change proposals that we have been study- brought back together, but, in-between, Therefore, once new features for the aero- ences were being made available for the operational capability), FCP (future capabili- Come 2012, there’s a whole batch of ing in industry, such as conformal tanks, single working groups, made up of people plane become available, we’re now looking wider benefit of the programme. we have achieved contract signature on additional weapons which we still want to will be decided in talks with Nations over from the conference and supplemented by at how to package them up, so we can allow The reality is that that’s the wrong ap- the next development phase, officially enti- see cleared onto the aeroplane, and that’s the coming months. others, are working to deliver on the detail. the Air Forces to roll them out and embody proach, because all four Nations will proba- tled “First Batch of Enhancements for the really the next stage of contracting for Over the next 12 months, we plan to We and NETMA are currently meeting about them across their fleets in conjunction with bly end up with the same problem eventual- Eurofighter.” further development. In particular, in refer- agree with the Nations a longer-term once a month with the team leaders to routine maintenance, and typically on ly, and all four need it solving. If temporary During the last few months, in agreeing ence to the big stand-off weapons, Taurus strategic roadmap which, although not set maintain progress and momentum. something like a two-year upgrade cycle. fixes are inserted on a national basis, it the scope of the first batch of enhancements and Storm Shadow, which some of our in concrete, will be the planning basis If there’s something a customer wants to might solve your problem today, however, it we’ve got through the difficult debate over Nations currently operate from other air- against which we can then take detailed de- Fleet upgrade is a current hot topic. Obvi- deal with more urgently, perhaps due to could mean that the money is spent four or where we go next with the aeroplane. Those craft platforms. Eventually they will want cisions year-by-year. It will also characterise ously new standards and new capabilities new operational needs, we will also have to even eight times. The reason is that by the debates were difficult for a number of Eurofighter Typhoon to take on that role. any changes we make to the Tranche 3 have to be introduced. What is the way for- deal with that particular requirement more time national modifications have been intro- reasons. For one, they were the first really aeroplane. ward to an efficient and affordable upgrade? urgently. However, as more and more aero- duced, they then have to be re-engineered big developments that came after the Main Personally, I expect the Tranche 3 aero- planes enter service at an ever increasing and made internationally available, and the Development Contract, which raised ques- planes will look remarkably like Tranche 2. When production commenced, there was number of bases, the logistics management money could then have been spent twice tions about what infrastructure industry We seem to have got it pretty right in still a huge amount of development work of the standards of the aeroplane increases over in each Nation. needed to maintain and how it should be Tranche 2. going on, and progressively the results were in complexity. The Air Forces have to con- I think there is some recognition by the funded, given that the vehicle of the Main introduced into the build line in production trol it as it can’t be controlled by the indus- Air Forces that the only way forward is for Development Contract was coming to a Interview by Phillip Lee ‘blocks’. Therefore, the aeroplanes which try, but we have to help make it as simple them to intensify working relationships and conclusion. were initially delivered into service are at a and as manageable for them as possible. to try to identify what the strategic roadmap The second major issue has been how we number of different standards. One of the They also want to minimise downtime is for their aeroplanes. They can then use prioritise the varying needs of the Nations key fleet wide activities we are currently and aim to include all upgrades within the the international machinery to give them i.e. prioritising a national implementation undertaking is to bring them all up to one maintenance windows. What we’re moving rapid and cost effective responses. over a fleet-wide implementation and not common standard, under a programme to is an Air Force driven embodiment pro- The Nations do have different require- known as Retrofit R2. A number of aircraft gramme, which will typically be an upgrade ments, and that means, for example, they will be coming back out of the factories in approximately every two years. This strate- have different priorities on how they intro- the next few weeks having completed R2, gy will then be driven back into develop- duce capabilities into service. Inevitably, and this will be the start of the complete ment and support, so that Industry can we then have different demands from the Tranche 1 fleet being available at basically work towards the Air Force’s needs for Nations and we have to be able to deal with the same standard - a key requirement that when they embody changes to their aero- that through the international programme The Nations are beginning to share the greatly helps to drive effectiveness and planes. This is a major change from the last and give them solutions quickly. If we do strategic views on where to go with efficiencies into the fleet. few years where it was development, and not, poor solutions will make configuration Eurofighter Typhoon 12 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - training - - training - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 13

The ASTA cockpit trainer can be used for networked missions with other ASTA devices

To achieve the objective of a realistic The future of Training... Now! training mission, both aircraft systems and environment simulation must be taken into account. Therefore, the ASTA devices are designed as hybrid simulator systems with ASTA goes Operational very high-fidelity aircraft and sensor simu- lations, as well as original re-hosted aircraft software. A complex simulation of the nat- ural and tactical environment is implemented To be able to pilot the world’s most advanced swing-role weapon system requires an Left: Full pilot immersion is to ensure a similar behaviour of the ASTA unrivalled training capability. The Partner Air Forces of Germany, Italy, Spain and the offered by the ASTA Full Mission devices in comparison to the real world. Simulator United Kingdom are now plugged-in to an operational training programme that goes In order to cover training of the full way beyond all of its predecessors. The Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids (ASTA) pro- Below: The Eurofighter ASTA mission cycle, from preparation to debrief- software standard will form the basis for gramme is now online. Team following acceptance of ing, the pilot can prepare their simulator Eurofighter Typhoon pilot training across software load 1.0 mission parameters using the real aircraft’s Europe for the next 12 months, with the mission planning system and download crit- final ASTA Tranche 1 software load to be- ical mission data via the same portable data come available in 2008. Eurofighter GmbH, as Prime Contractor, is The Cockpit Trainer comprises a five “The Partner Nations expect ASTA to training in complex tactical scenarios in storage. The second Tranche of ASTA devices, responsible for both Programme Manage- channel visual system and, in comparison allow an off-take of up to 30% of flight hours fully networked environments. Multiple A dedicated team of personnel at each covering the production of devices for addi- ment and delivery of training and training to the Full Mission Simulator, a simple In- in the real aircraft by simulator sorties. In Cockpit Trainer and Full Mission Simulator airbase provide full time manning in order tional Main Operating Bases, is currently systems in support of the Eurofighter structor Station (IS). It is dedicated mainly order to realise this challenging objective, devices can be linked to allow the pilots to to give support to, and obtain the maximum being negotiated with contract award target- Typhoon weapon system. As such, a training to procedural and emergency training and special attention is given to achieving very train in multi-ship environments in both benefit from, the ASTA training devices. ed for October 2007. and simulation partnership consortium has preparation for flight in the Full Mission high fidelity simulations in avionics, sen- friend and foe mode. Additionally, comput- This team work to ensure optimum opera- been established based on the lead partner Simulator. Additionally, it can be utilised as sors and weapons, providing a new level of er-generated forces of various aircraft types tion and maintenance, database generation, For further enquiries please contact : companies of the Eurofighter programme, an Interactive Pilot Station (IPS) to partici- tactical training. ASTA has been designed to give definition to extremely complex tacti- scenario preparation and training continu- Andrew Leighton, Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, EADS pate in networked missions, either as a provide full pilot immersion into the simula- cal training scenarios including Multifunc- ity within ASTA. The operational experi- ASTA Project Leader – Eurofighter GmbH CASA and EADS in Germany. The fifth part- supporting Eurofighter Typhoon or as an tor sortie. In other words, the pilots feel as tional Information and Distribution System ence with respect to availability of the ner in the ASTA consortium is Eurofighter Alternate Aircraft (AAC). if at the controls of the real Eurofighter (MIDS) communications. The feature of devices so far is first-rate at above 95% with [email protected] Simulation Systems The Full Mission Simulator offers a 13 Typhoon. Under these conditions, training electronic warfare simulation complements over 1,400 hours of training performed by GmbH (ESS), who channel visual system plus the provision of goes beyond procedural skills, and falls in the other components and allows for realis- the German Air Force alone. itself draws on in- a six channel target projection system, the region of sound decision-making, based tic training in the deployment of counter- dustrial expertise in giving an unparalleled 360º visual field of on situational awareness, inherent to tacti- measures. This simulator fidelity also Now and the Future Current ASTA Locations simulation technolo- view in a fully immersive environment. It cal missions”. provides the ability to train combat-ready gy from its share- will also be equipped with a motion cueing Beyond the capabilities of lower order skills, including tactical leadership training The first ASTA devices have been in service holders CAE-D, system and the full-flight gear of the pilot simulators, the ASTA system will offer in complex scenarios and mission rehearsal. for over 12 months with successful training UK: Coningsby 2 FMS & 1 CT/IPS Galileo, Indra, RDE including the helmet-mounted displays of being delivered at the German Air Force GE: Laage 1 FMS & 1 CT/IPS and Thales. the Eurofighter Typhoon. Operational Conversion Unit in Laage since IT: Grosseto* 2 FMS & 1 CT/IPS Following the The current simulator functionalities are March 2006. SP: Moron 1 FMS & 1 CT/IPS delivery and accep- prioritised in order to deliver the Opera- Lieutenant Colonel Brandis, responsible AU: Zeltweg 1 FMS tance of the Early tional Conversion Unit (OCU) training for training pilots of Fighter Wing 73 “Stein- King Juan Cockpit Trainer (ECT) in March 2006 the syllabus. This includes Conversion to Type hoff” at Laage, stated that: *CT/IPS installed at Ronchi facility. Carlos ASTA programme has continued at pace and Air-to-Air Training with the aim of "The ASTA is being used successfully visited the ASTA facility with Full Mission Simulators (FMS) being providing a limited combat-ready qualifica- for training and the devices will form the at Manching delivered, installed and accepted by tion for the student. backbone of Eurofighter Typhoon pilot during his Nations. To date, eight ASTA simulators Specific areas of training include multi training for many years to come. The in- tour in January 2007 have been delivered and are in operation. device networked missions, Basic Aircraft crease in functionality and associated per- In May, a further training device will be Handling, Emergency Procedures, Instru- formance enhancements has enabled the handed over to the Austrian Air Force, the ment Flight Rules, Night Flying, Close For- German Air Force to expand the extent to first export customer, at their Eurofighter mation and Air-to-Air Refuelling. which the devices are utilised. Further Typhoon Main Operating Base at Zeltweg. For Air-to-Air mission training, the planned developments in functionality will Radar, employment of primary Air-to-Air provide the Air Forces with a training The Devices weapons (AMRAAM, ASRAAM, AIM-9L) in capability second to none". both Within Visual Range and Beyond On 15 March 2007, the first “flight" of The ASTA programme forms the core train- Visual Range scenarios are utilised. This is the Eurofighter Typhoon on the Full Mis- ing capability for all four Eurofighter against a variety of computer-generated sion Simulator loaded with an Austria-spe- Typhoon Partner Air Forces. The training interactive models. cific national database was performed. This package consists of two types of simulator: is considered a major achievement and a Cockpit Trainer / Interactive Pilot Station Training Capability pre-requisite to the formal acceptance of the (CT/IPS) and Full Mission Simulator (FMS). Austrian ASTA device planned for May 2007. These are supported by Database Genera- Jose-Antonio Gutierrez a Spanish pilot The delivery of software load 1.1 in April tion, Lesson Planner / Scenario Generator with 20 years experience of flying fast jets, 2007 enables the Operational Conversion and Debriefing Systems. Both device types now Head of the Operational Factors team Units of the four Partner Air Forces to exe- replicate cockpit layout and fidelity. within the integration facility, stated that: cute an extended training syllabus. This 14 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - in service - - in service - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 15

Ramping up operations at Neuburg/Donau in a few events during the year and, such are flying just two, with a maximum air- It is the direction that the German Armed From the classroom to the skies has been the success, we now have an unof- craft turnaround time of two hours. We are Forces want to take and we in the Air Force ficial fan club of aircraft enthusiasts who building up flight experience with the want to be at the forefront with Eurofighter Conversion to Type eagerly turn up to watch the comings and weapon system. From next year, Fighter Typhoon. I truly believe we are, but there’s Mission-capable goings of daily operations” said Lieutenant Wing 74 will go operational, and it’s impor- still work to be done.” Colonel May. tant for me that we go about the prepara- For future deployment operations, NATO For the pilots of Fighter Wing 74, converting At its peak, the regeneration of the base tions in the right manner, bringing the air- will be turning to Fighter Wing 74 for up to to the next-generation Eurofighter Typhoon will see as many as 35 separate construc- craft up to a combat-ready standard, with six aircraft to participate in ready-to-deploy from the early-generation F-4 “Phantom” is Preparations tion sites. Roughly 100 million Euro is to be the support of industry, so that we are able forces. “We are constantly working towards a quantum leap in terms of learning invested in the new infrastructure providing to achieve the 15-minute NATO requirement the goal of being able to dedicate forces to requirements. So much so, in fact, that once the aircrews and ground personnel with for Quick Reaction Alert.” NATO” explains Colonel Klein “but we will a pilot has successfully converted to Eu- state-of-the-art facilities. The Squadron Through the International Weapon Sys- not be ready to go into deployment in rofighter Typhoon, he is unauthorised to It has been nine months since the first four Eurofighter Typhoons touched down at building, scheduled for completion before tem Support System (IWSSS), industrial sup- 2008”. The timescale before a full deploy- switch back to flying the F-4 “Phantom”. Neuburg/Donau, home to Fighter Wing 74 of the German Air Force. Even before the the end of the year, will be the Centre of port is provided by the EADS Military Air ment from Neuburg/Donau can be realised Only Colonel Klein, as Station Commander aircraft arrived, major redevelopment work had begun at the base two years in Wing Operations and, as the F-4 “Phantom” Systems teams at Manching. Located just 25 is two to three years, time in which Colonel over the two types at Neuburg/Donau, is advance in order to boost the on-ground capabilities to match those of the new-gener- will only begin the phase-out procedure kilometres from Neuburg, Colonel Klein Klein and his crews will seek to harness the afforded such a privilege. On the topic of ation weapon system that will operate from there. With this regeneration work from January 2008, the operations of both calls the accessibility to industrial expertise current and emerging capabilities of the training, Major Berthold Eibisch and Major ongoing, and as more aircraft report to Neuburg/Donau for operational duties, Eu- the F-4 and Eurofighter Typhoon squadrons “a definite advantage”, while he is quick to weapon system. “Having the Defensive Aids Jürgen Schönhöfer cover the requirements. rofighter REVIEW paid a visit to Fighter Wing 74 for this special report: Welcome to will be directed from the same facility, the emphasise the importance of “keeping the Sub-System (DASS) and the MIDS running, All conversion training is conducted at “Eurofighter City”! first German Air Force base to employ this dialogue going” in order to solve the initial and the impending arrival of Block 5 air- Laage under the tutelage of Fighter Wing 73 way of working. The F-4 “Phantom” aircraft entry into service difficulties. craft are all extremely important for “Steinhoff”. The initial course runs for six and their crews are to be relocated to The German Air Force High Command Neuburg/Donau.” months. “We did academic training for Neuburg/Donau is the smallest NATO-oper- challenge. It’s a challenge to have a con- Wittmund, Northwest Germany, which will have stated that the Eurofighter Typhoon is Progress is being made. Visibly, the base approximately five weeks, followed by about ational airbase in Europe. Although said struction site on the smallest NATO base in be the only base still operating the type the only MIDS-capable aircraft in their is being reshaped to be able to meet the two weeks of simulator training” explained with tongue firmly in cheek, the comment Europe; it’s a challenge to continue operat- once the final F-4 leaves Neuburg. inventory. At Neuburg/Donau, work is being future demands that will be placed on it. Major Eibisch. “On the simulators, you are “wherever you stand you can see the fence” ing what is, in essence, a second-generation Other ongoing or planned building pro- done in order to gain experience in network- Operationally, Fighter Wing 74 are flying taken through the cockpit layout and the is not a million miles from the truth. The aircraft in the F-4 “Phantom” while simulta- jects include the modernisation of the centric operations. Several exercises with hard to ready Eurofighter Typhoon for its functionality of each of the switches and size, or lack of it, itself represents a major neously bringing Eurofighter Typhoon to a on-base emergency services and the con- multi-aircraft fleets have already been au- future defence and combat duties. “Eu- instruments. Ground handling makes up logistical challenge for the base planners state of combat-readiness; and the major struction of a new highly-sophisticated con- thorised by the senior figures in the Air rofighter City”, as it has become known on- the final stage before you’re given the first because, in order to upgrade the facilities, challenge is coordinating all this with the trol tower. However, the introduction of Force, with several more to follow and, ac- base, is taking shape. As Colonel Klein em- flight in the twin seat Eurofighter they first had to create space through demo- minimum disruption to operations as is Eurofighter Typhoon has resulted in work cording to Colonel Klein, the German mili- phasises: “We are all going forward togeth- Typhoon.” lition, all the while ensuring that the base possible.” that, until flying operations with the new tary is very much supportive of the promo- er. It’s working, and it’s going to be very As noted above, there is a world of differ- remained fully functional and capable of When the sheer scale of the required weapon system began, hadn’t been consid- tion of a network-centric way of thinking. good. Nothing happens overnight, it will ence between the mechanical machine of meeting NATO requirements on Quick Reac- redevelopment was realised, there were ered as necessary. For example, the height “The experience in the Air Force is, at the take a few more years, which is not uncom- the F-4 “Phantom” and the computer-guided tion Alert (QRA) duties. As explained by suggestions of relocating Quick Reaction of the mounds of protective earth surround- moment, not so high, but we are working mon for complex systems such as Eurofight- Eurofighter Typhoon. Commenting on this Station Commander, Colonel Uwe Klein, the Alert responsibilities out of Neuburg/Donau ing the “last chance position”, the section of hard to explore the datalink capabilities er Typhoon. We are only at the beginning.” issue, Major Eibisch simply replies: “The working conditions are tough. “It’s a triple until such time as the rebuilding work was the flight apron where the fully-armed that an elitist MIDS team can give us now. first flight in Eurofighter Typhoon was the complete. Thankfully, for the staff stationed aircraft undergo final checks before take-off there, the decision was made to continue clearance, had to be increased to cope with operations as normal while making the ex- the size difference between the F-4 “Phan- continued next page Eurofighter Typhoon will go on to QRA at tra effort to compensate for any distur- tom” and Eurofighter Typhoon, referring to Neuburg/Donau from January 2008 bances caused by the construction. Accord- the difference in height at which the ing to Lieutenant Colonel Pascal May, every- weapons are carried onboard the two air- one involved is pulling in the same craft. The “last chance position” is a stan- direction. “Operations at Neuburg/Donau dard Air Force requirement and the original work fine. Maintaining the operational state barriers offered the adjacent buildings no of the base, which comprises some 1,200 protection from potentially misfired force personnel and 400 civilians, with the weapons carried by Eurofighter Typhoon as introduction of Eurofighter Typhoon has they were initially installed to only contain had a tremendous impact on base itself and the threat posed by missiles onboard the also on the surrounding area. Everyone op- smaller F-4 “Phantom”. erates with the thought of ‘how can I work The evolving infrastructure, however, is harder to accommodate the arrival of only half of the overall picture. Neuburg/ Eurofighter Typhoon?’.” Some of the money Donau is still, as highlighted, a fully opera- poured into Neuburg/Donau naturally fil- tional military base with NATO responsibili- ters through to the local communities. The ties. The timetable for Eurofighter Typhoon At peak, 35 separate construction sites will be working to redevelop the Air Base Army base near the town closed in1999, but to assume Quick Reaction Alert duties from the morale around Neuburg was lifted once the F-4 “Phantom” begins in January 2008, it was known that Eurofighter Typhoon and all flying sorties are working towards would be coming and therefore ensuring adhering to this schedule. “The aim is to the continuation of the Squadron. “Where operate four flying periods per day” ex- possible, we try to include the community plains Colonel Klein. “At the moment, we 16 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - in service - - in service - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 17

Working with Eurofighter Typhoon is about gaining experiance for the Fighter Wing 74 maintenance crews

realisation of why I joined the Air Force! Weapon system maintenance at Neuburg/Donau The F-4 cockpit is very crowded, due to the addition of new equipment over the years, Engineering Solutions combined with a limited view. The Euro- fighter Typhoon cockpit is very ergonomi- cally built, from the Head-up Display (HUD) ship will be defending.” we can put each aircraft on their ‘parking to the outside view. For an F-4 flier, it’s The introduction of Eurofighter Typhoon in- spaces’, and it has worked out” claims Tech- the perfect cockpit environment.” to Fighter Wing 74 has also meant a radical nical Sergeant Schmauser. “Also, the im- With the Aircrew Synthetic Training procedural shake-up for the ground person- provements to the shelters have opened up Aids (ASTA) programme now online and nel charged with maintaining the aircraft to more possibilities to complete a lot of the consistently delivering hardware and soft- a mission-ready standard. Until the last F-4 work in there.” ware to the Partner Air Forces, the training “Phantom” departs for Wittmund, and with The new facility will signal the start of devices will play an important role in main- both aircraft types placing separate and dif- an exciting new phase for the maintenance taining weapon system knowledge during fering demands on the engineers, the teams crews, even if a sentimental value is at- the break between flying courses. “I’ve are under pressure to overcome this logisti- tached to the older working area. Technical worked on all the simulators at Laage” cal challenge. But overcoming it they are. Sergeant Schmauser reflects on this, saying: explains Major Jürgen Schönhöfer. “Here at “It’s a huge change from the F-4 “Phan- “I’ve grown up with this hall. It’s where I’ve the chance to contribute immensely. This is Neuburg/Donau, we have an Interim Train- tom” to the Eurofighter Typhoon, especially seen fighter aircraft for the first time. But highly motivating and the visible evidence ing Device (ITD), which we are using only with the high levels of computerisation” now I’ve been to Laage, where one hall con- of positive change is extremely rewarding.” until the ASTA building and facilities are The engineer was quick to add that these The anti-‘g’ suit is essential for high ‘g’ operations complete, and it helps to get in some ITD inventions are no cause for concern as, flying time before my next course starts in before use on the aircraft, they are required May.” As the ASTA programme expands in says Major Schönhöfer. Each pilot is placed But does it hurt? “Everybody has different to be officially accepted and registered onto capacity, Fighter Wing 74 will take delivery into a rotating device which generates ex- symptoms – pins and needles, discomfort the tool lists. of a Full Mission Simulator (FMS) and a treme centrifugal forces equivalent to the in the arms or neck, but normally we have All Eurofighter Typhoon ground crew Eurofighter Cockpit Trainer (ECT) which, ‘g’ pressures experienced in flight. The two or three days of ‘g’ training which is training is carried out at the German Air once operational, will allow the Neuburg/ quick onset rate, up to six ‘g’ per second, enough time to find a technique which suits Force Technical School at Kaufbeuren. Donau crews to network with their counter- provides the ultimate test in terms of pilot you. But ‘g’ doesn’t hurt” he adds, “you just Although the courses are conducted in Ger- parts at Laage for combined exercise endurance, but the pilots are aided in the black out!” man, all technical documentation and man- training. trials through learning to work with the Since qualifying as a single-seat pilot uals are in English, often with abbrevia- As Eurofighter Typhoon is designed to anti-‘g’ suits, either the Aircrew Equipment and as a pilot instructor, Major Eibisch is tions, which can raise moments of doubt operate at the extremes of the flight enve- Assembly (AEA) or the Libelle, both of heavily involved in the mission rehearsal within the servicing teams. “Every instruc- lope, the pilots themselves must also be con- which are designed to protect against loss of flying out of Neuburg/Donau. With Quick tion is in English, but sometimes there can ditioned to cope with the stresses of weapon consciousness. “Up to now, I have only Reaction Alert duties on the horizon, he is be ten abbreviations in succession, all just system operation at nine ‘g’. The majority of worked with the AEA. As the ‘g’ levels in- increasingly working towards improving the like the one before it, but they all mean F-4 “Phantom” pilots will already have expe- crease, the suit inflates to squeeze your tactical capabilities of the squadron in a something completely different” explains rienced six or seven times the force of gravi- legs, then your back and stomach, and then variety of threatening situations. Major Technical Sergeant Schmauser. “But we ty, but Eurofighter Typhoon pilots are ex- puts pressure into your breathing” explains Eibisch explains: “In today’s mission, we become more and more experienced every pected to absorb much more. “The aim of Major Schönhöfer. “Building up this pres- will be flying 2v1 short-range set-ups. day.” the ‘g’ training is to hit nine ‘g’ and sustain sure helps prevent the blood going into your The bandit will be trying to attack us in a But support is on hand. All the engi- When complete, the new maintenance hall will be able to house up to 12 aircraft it for 15 seconds. Then you are qualified” legs and maintains your conscious state.” very short-range environment and the two- neers from Neuburg/Donau volunteered to take part in an experience-sharing trip to explains Technical Sergeant Michael tains 12 – 14 aircraft, it’s interesting and I Laage, to talk to the service personnel of Schmauser. “Working with the new aircraft wonder how it will work in there. We will Fighter Wing 73 and establish effective is all about gaining experience, and looking have the possibility to fully use the re- communication across the Squadrons. “The to improve procedures for the future.” sources of the aircraft and its material, support from Laage is working really well” A huge amount of time and money has while working in the same house will facili- says Technical Sergeant Schmauser, adding: been invested in not only readjusting the tate the communication and logistics “There are friendships emerging where we existing maintenance hall and the Hardened between the two groups.” know we can pick up the telephone and Air Shelters (HAS) in anticipation of the It is early days for the Wing and they are solve problems immediately. This works arrival of Eurofighter Typhoon, but also in not entirely without teething problems. perfectly.” the construction of a brand new facility Inadequate tooling is testing the resource- Industrial support from EADS Military Mission training is intensifying as QRA duties approach which, when complete, will be able to house fulness of the engineers, but workaround Air Systems is also a key factor in knowl- double the amount of aircraft as the current solutions are being formed through innova- edge sharing. Engineering staff from hall. At the moment, all aircraft servicing tion. “Sometimes we need to build special Manching have regularly visited the on both types is conducted in the original tools, which requires creativity” explains Neuburg/Donau workshops to offer advice readjusted buildings and, with a bit of Technical Sergeant Schmauser. “This is an and tips in support of Fighter Wing 74. initiative, the engineering teams are manag- advantage for young soldiers as they have “They didn’t keep anything secret” explains ing the logistics of maintaining two aircraft the opportunity to contribute. On the F-4 Technical Sergeant Schmauser. “They just types in a hall that is formatted to fit “Phantom”, there is a limitation as there are said ‘you need to know this, you need to Eurofighter Typhoon. “There is no obstruc- few opportunities for new developments, check this and here’s how it should work’.” tion as we’ve set the hall in such a way that but on the Eurofighter Typhoon, they have 18 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - squadron - - block 5 - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 19

The fully- retractably refuelling probe is a unique feature of RAF unveils first multi-role squadron Swing-Role Type Acceptance for Eurofighter Typhoon the aircraft Preparing for Deployment Building Blocks

As Eurofighter Typhoon advances onto Eurofighter Typhoon - a weapon system capabilities for air-to-surface configurations. Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties across with an inherent built-in capacity for As a result of the commencement of heavy Europe, becoming the continent’s premier growth. In line with the principle of intro- loads testing across the programme in air defence platform, the Royal Air Force are ducing step-increases to the aircraft’s capa- 2006, the Block 5 Eurofighter Typhoon will leading the programme into a combat era bilities, the Eurofighter Consortium have be equipped with the Paveway II and GBU- with the announcement that the aircraft is delivered the first Block 5 standard 16 laser-guided bombs. External fuel tanks, being readied for deployment to one of the Eurofighter Typhoon to a customer Nation for increased range, are certified for super- world’s most fierce war zones. following the arrival of SS011 into the ranks sonic flight while “wet” air-to-air refuelling, The Stand-Up Parade of 11(F) Squadron, of the Spanish Air Force. This achievement with the unique fully-retractable refuelling on 30 March at RAF Coningsby, signals the follows international Type Acceptance of probe, is cleared for all specified customer start of the Air Force’s efforts to harness the Block 5 standard, granted on 15 Febru- Tanker types, including “buddy-buddy” the weapon system’s air-to-ground capabili- ary 2007. refuelling from a Tornado aircraft. Addition- SS011 achieved first flight in December 2006 at Morón, Spain ties. As the eighth Partner Air Force unit to Block 5 represents the highest capability ally, the Mauser cannon has received certi- take delivery of Eurofighter Typhoon, and standard to date, and will be the benchmark fication for air-to-ground operation. the second operational squadron of the Roy- to which all earlier Eurofighter Typhoons The sensor fusion capability has been al Air Force following the 2006 formation of are brought up to through the Retrofit R2 given a boost with software packages de- The ever-increasing maturity of the 3(F) Sqn, 11(F) Sqn are tasked with realis- We will be prepared and ready to deploy to integration of a laser designator pod onto programme, currently ongoing across the signed to increase the air-to-surface ability weapon system is vitally important for the ing the aircraft’s multi-role potential and Afghanistan next year. It has not been Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons. four Partner Air Forces. In addition, the of the radar. Additionally, Block 5 provides success in the export market. The Austrian bringing it up to a deployable level. timetabled, but I expect that when we are As this work continues on the side of the enhanced ground equipment for use with the aircraft with the full Direct Voice Input Air Force, under the terms of their contract Speaking at the ceremony, Wing Comman- prepared, we will go.” industrial consortium, the Royal Air Force the new aircraft standard has been cleared (DVI) and defensive countermeasures for the purchase of 18 aircraft, will take der Gavin Parker stated: “We plan to have The acceleration towards multi-role oper- has announced plans to begin its own air-to- for use, including a more capable version including automatic Chaff and Flare dis- delivery of aircraft at the baseline standard all pilots fully qualified in both air defence ations follows the 2006 signature of the ground weapons trials. These will com- of the Ground Support System. pensing as part of the Defensive Aids Sub- of Block 5. Additionally, the promise of a and air-to-ground roles by 01 July 2008. “Austere Capabilities” contract enabling the mence with inert bomb drops at United In terms of capabilities, the Block 5 System (DASS). swing-role capability has attracted a wealth Kingdom test facilities scheduled for before package starts the evolution of Eurofighter Eurofighter Typhoon’s features in its pri- of interest across the world, which has lead the end of the year, followed by a live Typhoon into the full swing-role aircraft it mary air-to-air role have been further en- the analysts at Forecast International to firing deployment to ranges in the United was designed to be. The features that will hanced with full carefree handling, and fir- declare Eurofighter Typhoon as the market States in 2008. 11(F) Sqn will be based at enhance air-to-surface operations include ing certification across the entire flight en- leader for the next five years. RAF Coningsby. the software for carefree handling, Disorien- velope for the cannon, AMRAAM, ASRAAM, tation Recovery Facility (DRF) and autopilot IRIS-T and AIM-9L air-to-air missiles. Phillip Lee Top: 11(F) Sqn will work towards Multi-Role deployment

Far left: Eurofighter Typhoon in 11(F) Sqn markings

Left: 11(F) Sqn are beginning a new chapter with SS011 was the first Block 5 Eurofighter Typhoon Eurofighter Typhoon delivered to a Partner Air Force

11(F) Squadron History

The Royal Air Force Number In the intervening years, the unit served til 1966. Returning to the UK, 11(F) 11(F) Squadron was formed at in India and briefly in Singapore. During Squadron stood up at Leuchars in 1967 with Netheravon in February 1915 as the Second World War years, the squadron Lightnings, becoming the last unit to fly the first Royal Flying Corps moved frequently, serving with distinction these aircraft in 1988. squadron specifically tasked in Egypt, Greece, Crete, Palestine and Iraq, Tornado F3s followed at RAF Leeming, with fighter duties, soon deploy- and then on to Ceylon to defend the island North Yorkshire, with the squadron deploy- ing to France, and then to from Japanese Carrier forces. With the ing on operations to the Middle East and the Germany as part of the Royal Japanese surrender, the squadron, now with Balkans until it was disbanded once more Air Force of the Rhine. Spitfires, moved to Malaya and then to in 2005. Now the squadron is beginning a Between the wars, 11(F) Sqn flew a vari- Japan, as part of the Occupation Forces, new chapter with the Eurofighter Typhoon. ety of aircraft before departing the UK for where it remained until disbanding in 1948. India’s North West Frontier in 1928, and did Later the same year, it reformed in British Crown Copyright/MOD, Reproduced with not return until it was reformed at RAF Germany flying Mosquitoes, Vampires, Ven- the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty´s Leuchars in 1967. oms, Meteor night fighters and Javelins un- Stationery Office 20 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - eurojet - - eurojet - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 21

EJ200 Engine – Aiming for the Future capability (giving performance and life im- provements), further advances in control and health monitoring capabilities (offering operational benefits ranging from perfor- Forward Thinking Technology mance optimisation to prognostics) and advanced nozzle concepts targeting enhanced system flexibility. It is clear though that new technology The EJ200 engine powering the Eurofighter Typhoon occupies an enviable position on combustion, advanced cooling and sealing development will need to be backed up by a the world stage. Not only is it the largest new generation military engine programme technologies, latest materials and manufac- robust business case demonstrating that the currently in production with more than 1,400 engines on order, but the engine itself turing techniques. Successful integration benefits outweigh the development pro- delivers unprecedented levels of performance, reliability and operational life. The of these technologies is another key factor gramme costs and that these concepts can EJ200 is the benchmark military engine. in the success of the product. be matured in time to meet programme requirements. The ability to retrofit new What can EUROJET do to maintain the technologies to the Tranche 1 and Tranche leadership of the EJ200 in the fighter 2 engines is an important factor. engine market in the future? Although the focus and drive for change will continue to be the core programme, EUROJET is currently exploring possible careful attention must also be paid to the enhancements and believes that there is a competitiveness of the EJ200 for export and Top: EJ200 engines in afterburner mode good opportunity for continuing investment new business opportunities. Other military Below: Maintaining the leading position of the EJ200 will require close cooperation with the customer in engine technology. The performance of a engines in the fighter engine market will military aircraft engine remains a signifi- undergo upgrades and investments in new cant factor in overall operational effective- technology to ensure their market position. ness, availability and life cycle costs of the Therefore, it will require dedication and Hartmut Tenter, EUROJET Managing industries have demonstrated that they weapon system and continuous improve- commitment from Industry and Govern- Director, stated: ‘‘It is important that the can develop world-beating technology and ment must be a consideration in enhancing ments and a close cooperation with the EJ200 engine delights our customers, not generate win-win solutions for all parties”. that weapon system. Of course, it is not just Eurofighter consortium to maintain the only today, but far into the future and this EUROJET looks forward to working with about thrust, which is instantly recognis- leading position of the EJ200 into the future. aspect requires continual review. European the customer and the Eurofighter consor- able to any pilot, but also fuel burn (influ- tium to explore opportunities for further encing reach, persistence, operational enhancements. costs), all aspects of supportability and component life (availability and cost of Mark S. Thomas / Katarina Elbogen ownership). The introduction of the Digital Engine Control and Monitoring Unit (DECMU) into Tranche 2 engines represents the first step in product development from the base- The EJ200 is the largest new generation engine programme line engine. Deliveries of this engine stan- dard will start in the first half of 2007. EUROJET had successfully delivered all 363 Such a position is not easily attained. delivers maximum performance with the Tranche 1 engines to schedule by the end The EJ200 is a successful product because simplest engine architecture (offering relia- of 2006. of the joint competences of four leading bility and maintainability benefits), made For the future, as well as for existing aero-engine companies (Avio, ITP, MTU possible only through the application of ad- EJ200 engines, there are opportunities for Aero Engines and Rolls-Royce) and key deci- vanced technologies and innovative design. further, more significant changes to the sions made early in the programme i.e. the None of this would have been possible with- engine design and technology, offering even choice of engine cycle, the robust design out investment in research and technology greater benefits to the end user. Areas of philosophy, intelligent selection and appli- demonstration programmes, underpinning enhancement being explored by EUROJET cation of emerging technologies. The goal and reducing the risk in the development include Low Pressure / High Pressure Com- was to develop an engine that not only satis- programme for the EJ200. pressor aero improvements for increased fied highly demanding multi-mission re- The technology already embodied in the efficiency and operational margins (giving quirements but one that would also signifi- EJ200 engine is highly advanced, with reduced fuel burn and extended installed cantly drive down life cycle costs compared features such as 3D blading, compressor engine life), new hot end cooling concepts to previous generation engines. The EJ200 blisks, single crystal turbines, airspray and materials for increased temperature 22 1 - 2007 eurofighter review - news - - multimedia - 1 - 2007 eurofighter review 23

4° Stormo His Majesty Juan Carlos visits Manching in AIM-9L firing Online re-design for eurofighter.com exercises Eurofighter and the King New-Look Website

Edmund On 07 February, the red carpet was rolled al Highness, himself an enthusiastic pilot, King Juan Carlos’ appearance in front Stoiber out for the arrival of the most prominent of took the opportunity to get behind the of the assembled German and Spanish me- greets King Juan Carlos Spanish guests. Escorted by Dr. Edmund controls of the Aircrew Synthetic Training dia at Manching was part of a two-day In keeping with the ‘white line’ approach at EADS Stoiber, Prime Minster of Bavaria, and Dr. Aids (ASTA) cockpit simulator, experiencing engagement in Germany that also made adopted by the current Eurofighter Typhoon Manching Manfred Bischoff, Chairman of EADS, His first-hand the methods employed to train stops in Berlin and Baden Baden. On his publicity material, the www.eurofighter.com Majesty King Juan Carlos I paid a visit to the aircrews of the Partner Nations. The departure from Manching, Juan Carlos re- website has undergone a re-vamping of its The new website is a slick, clean the Eurofighter Typhoon final assembly Royal Tour concluded with a visit to the ceived a pilot’s jacket from Dr. Bischoff and own. design with improvements to the facilities of EADS Military Air Systems in Messerschmitt Hangar, allowing His a Eurofighter Typhoon model, presented to Designed and developed by Open Plat- navigation and the media library Manching. Majesty a glance back into a bygone time of him by a group of EADS trainees. form, an Edinburgh-based digital communi- Following a comprehensive briefing on aviation with the historical aircraft that cations company, this new makeover for the EADS and the Manching activities, His Roy- are on display there. website displays the most sweeping changes yet to the online face of the programme. Central to the new design, and the most Eurofighter Typhoon flies the E-scan antenna striking adaptation, is the switch from blue to white to match other external presenta- tions and branding. The website navigation Future Radar Trials has been considerably upgraded. A much slicker and more efficient format in negoti- ating through the menus and content pages Future capabilities is a current “hot topic” BWB through NETMA and, based on this The new antenna emphasises the push has been introduced, founded on a “one- within the consortium and customer com- contract, Eurofighter GmbH drove the inter- for continuous capability enhancement in click” principle that aims to provide the munities. The test fleet have made giant national clearance process and resolved all the Eurofighter programme and could be visitor with their desired information more strides in demonstrating that Eurofighter life extension issues on certain components available for Tranche 3 or as a retrofit in rapidly. Typhoon will be capable to meet head-on all in DA5 together with EADS Military Air Tranche 2 aircraft. While maintaining the Aesthetics aside, the most daunting chal- Systems. Support throughout the duration excellent performance features of the lenge that Open Platform faced was the of the trials is to be provided by EADS and Captor radar, the new antenna provides a complete rebuilding of the Media Library. Eurojet. significant reduction in operating costs. As the most comprehensive catalogue of Eurofighter Typhoon imagery available on the world wide web, and with over 1.4mil- lion pictures downloaded since initial DA1 makes its final journey launch, it is vital that that the implemented changes not only maintain its own high standards but improve on them. The result what everyone else is looking for, the ‘most The new site is being developed to com- Museum Attraction is a step forward on the previous drop-down popular tags’ function offers a fascinating ply with web standards and a particular Trials with predicted and emerging threats. In early menus to a powerful and more favourable insight into the favoured search criteria of effort and focus is being placed on making the E-Scan April, Development Aircraft Five (DA5) was The Eurofighter Typhoon will be placed keyword search facility that stays very Eurofighter Typhoon fanatics everywhere. the website more accessible to visually Radar will set to take off from EADS Military Air Sys- next to the first fast jet of the German Air much within the one-click philosophy. Each Speaking about the opportunity to rede- impaired users.” begin with DA5 tems’ Manching facility, Germany, for the Force, the F-86 Sabre, which was opera- image is also fitted with tags, a grouping of velop the Eurofighter Typhoon website, More new and exciting features and first of a scheduled three flights to gather tional during the 1950s, to be able to show single words that help identify the content Tony McKenzie, Managing Director at Open interactive elements are to be added to the data on multiple targets. The target aircraft the development in capability of military of the image and which work to complement Platform, commented: “The team at Open Eurofighter Typhoon website over the com- were provided by the German Operational aircraft. It is also hoped that, at some point, the picture caption. The picture descrip- Platform is delighted to be involved in the ing months. Log on to keep up to date with Test Centre WTD 61 at Manching. The accu- a retired Tornado weapon system will join tions and corresponding tags work in tan- redesign and improvement programme for all future enhancements! mulated data will be assessed and evaluated Development Aircraft One (DA1) last flew these on display in Oberschleißheim. dem to enhance the potency of the search the Eurofighter Typhoon website. on ground rigs of the Euroradar consortium. in December 2005. On 15 March 2007, the As well as the fast jets, the museum also engine. Locating that specific Eurofighter I don’t think any of us anticipated how DA5 had previously been used for flight first prototype of the Eurofighter Typhoon plans to showcase the EJ200 and RB199 Typhoon image has never been easier. Addi- popular both the website and the media Tony McKenzie, MD Open Platform testing the Captor radar, and had already programme made one last journey, albeit by aircraft engines in close proximity to the tionally, for those visitors wishing to know library would become. completed all of its assigned tasks accord- road, from EADS Military Air Systems’ DA1, in addition to the IRIS-T and ing to the Main Development Contract. Af- Manching site to the Aerospace unit of Mu- Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles ter a short period of negotiations, Eurofight- nich’s Deutsches Museum in Ober- and the AMRAAM medium-range missile. er GmbH and the NATO Eurofighter Torna- schleißheim, Germany. Also, the Libelle pilot suit from the firm do Management Agency (NETMA) The transportation was organised by the Autoflug, qualified for use with highly-agile contractually agreed to use DA5 for this se- Test Centre at Manching (WTD 61) and the aircraft in order to offset the effects of ries of antenna flights. Funding was provid- Procurement Department of the German extreme ‘g’ pressures, is to be featured with ed by the German Procurement Agency Ministry of Defence. The aircraft was trans- the aircraft. ferred with use of a heavy-goods, wide-load transport. programme news and features issue 1 - 2007 eurofighter review

I Exporting Capability

I Programme Way Ahead

I ASTA goes Operational

At the forefront of single seat testing and development, Instrumented The pictures here show IPA4 during GBU-10 air-to-surface weapon Production Aircraft Four (IPA4) is pushed hard in striving towards certi- release trials in Morón, Spain. For more details on this and other test fication for the next generation of weapon system capabilities. campaigns, turn to page five.

Ramping up operations at Neuburg/Donau Mission-capable Preparations