Combat aircraft

Having originally planned to fi eld its Eurofi ghters solely as air-to-air

fi ghters, Spain quickly embraced multi-role plans and has played a

leading role in air-to-surface capability development.

A

IRBUS DEFENCE AND

Space delivered an

initial pair of Euro ghter

Typhoons completed

to P1Eb FW (Phase 1

Enhanced Further Work)

standard to Albacete air base in

December 2017. There the  rst two new-

build aircraft in P1Eb FW con guration

were handed over to the Ejército del Aire

(Spanish Air Force).

The aircraft were manufactured at

the  nal assembly line in Getafe, Spain,

and include increased integration of

a variety of air-to-surface weapons

and enhanced targeting, among other

improvements. Airbus describes the

P1Eb FW con guration as, ‘a key step in

the overall Euro ghter evolution plan.’

The remaining six aircraft out of the

73 total jets contracted by Spain will be

delivered to the same P1Eb FW standard

this year and next.

Airbus operating o cer, military

aircraft, Alberto Gutierrez said, ‘The

smooth introduction of these enhanced

features is a vital element of Euro ghter’s

Having originally planned to fi eld its Eurofi ghters solely as air-to-air

A Tranche 2

Eurofi ghter (serial

C.16-53) of Ala 11

noses out of its

shelter clutching

a 1,000lb EGBU-16

(GBU-48).

All photos this

spread EdA

66

EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON // SPANISH AIR FORCE

April 2018 // http://www.combataircraft.net

66-67 SUPP_Spain C.indd 66 15/02/2018 13:40