BAE Systems

The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017 119

considerations resulted in this was being
whittled down to 15 Tranche 1 single-
seaters, all delivered from the Manching
production line. The first aircraft was
delivered in 2007 and the aircraft were in
service in the air-defence role strictly
within Austria’s borders two years later.
The Eurofighter project ran so far
behind schedule that it caused Italy’s
Aeronautica Militaire Italia (AMI) severe
problems with resourcing its air defence
fleet. So much so that it upgraded 60 of it
elderly Lockheed Super Starfighter F-104s
and leased 24 Tornado F3s from the RAF
from 1995 until 2004. The AMI received
the first of its 27 Tranche 1 aircraft in
February 2004 when the first aircraft was
delivered and final delivery was in
February 2008. The Typhoons began
operating in the air-defence role Quick
Reaction Alert (QRA) role at the end of
2005 ahead of the other partner nations.
Besides the interceptor role, the AMI is
developing the mission capability of its
Typhoons even further. By September
2012 these Tranche 1 aircraft had been
modified to Block 5 standard. Following
on from these were 47 Tranche 2 aircraft.
The AMI is receiving 21 Tranche 3A aircraft
and the first delivery of this version was in
mid-2014.
The Spanish Air Force accepted its first
Typhoon in September 2003 and the first
squadron began equipping with the type
in the following year. It originally ordered

87 aircraft, of which 60 have been

delivered as of December 2015. 20 of its

aircraft are from Tranche 1, 33 in Tranche 2

and 20 in Tranche 3A.

In December 2005, the order for 72

Typhoons was announced for the Saudi

Arabian Air Force. The first 40 were

Tranche 2 aircraft, the remainder Tranche

3A. Deliveries of these aircraft from

Warton are nearing completion but BAE

EAP to EurofightEr tyPhoon

Data EAP Typhoon

Length 48ft 3in 52ft 4in

Wingspan 38ft 7in 38ft 7in

Height 18ft 2in 17ft 49in

MTOW 32,000lbs 51,800lbs

Max speed M2 at altitude M2 at altitude

Combat range n.a. Air defence with 3 hour loiter 100nm

Ground attack 750nm

Crew 1 1/2

Engine 2 × RB199-104D 9,000lb dry / 17,000lb

reheat

2 × Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofan

13,500lbs dry / 20,200lbs reheat

Mauser 27mm cannon

Armament AMRAAM, ASRAAM, Meteor, Maverick,

Harm, Brimstone, Storm Shadow,

Paveway, Drop tanks

and the Saudi Government have long

been negotiating and order for more

Typhoons, which may materialise.

Not only has Typhoon has proved a

profitable investment for BAE SYSTEMS,

maintaining the technological prowess

of the company and providing work for

5,000 of its staff but it has also provided

air forces with a state-of-the-art

weapons system. ■

Two RSAF Typhoon Trainers 321 and 322

waiting to take off at Warton. They are

carrying UK military serials ZK088 and

ZK089. They were delivered in April 2013.

(BAE SYSTEMS)