BALTIC GUARDIANSSPANISH AIR FORCE ON PATROL

E U R O F I G H T E R PROGRAMME NEWS & FEATURES JULY 2015

STRIKER II: BRING ON THE NIGHT

SPECIAL RUSI REPORT: THE FUTURE IS TYPHOON

THE ULTIMATE TEST DRIVE

32015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDE D I T O R I A L

WELCOME

Earlier this year I was privileged to travelto Ämari Air Base in Estonia where I witnessed at first hand the work of the

Spanish Air Force as they provided 24/7 NATO Baltic Air Policing.The Spanish were following the German andItalian Air Forces and they have since been replaced by the British - all deployingEurofighter Typhoons.The crews had been operating in severe con-ditions with temperatures down to -20°C.Despite that, the alert response time required

by NATO is now just 15 minutes – whatever the weatherthrows at them. Joining me on the trip were a number of Spanish aviationjournalists who were incredibly impressed, not just withthe warm reception we were given, but with the dedicationand professionalism of the Spanish detachment.We all left Estonia with a much greater understanding ofthe importance of the role the NATO air forces are beingasked to play. We also saw how the Eurofighter Typhoon isa key asset for this vital policing role. You can find out laterin the magazine.In this issue of Eurofighter WORLD we also hear all abouthow the aircraft fared in the latest Red Flag exercise in theUnited States.There’s a feature from a test pilot on what it’s like takinga brand new jet out of the factory and into the skies forthe very first time. Getting a first hand account of whathappens during an initial test flight makes for a fascinating read.Another story that I’d recommend is a feature on the newStriker II helmet. We give you a pilot’s perspective on whatmakes this latest piece of equipment such a step forward.There’s an interesting look at the DASS system and themeasures the aircraft can take to protect itself.Fundamentally, it underscores just what a clever designthe aircraft is.One story I’d particularly like to draw your attention to isthe Royal United Services Institute`s (RUSI) report‘Maximising European Combat Air Power’. It’s a detailedanalysis on how Eurofighter fits into debates on Europeanair power and our story looks at the key findings.Plus there’s a report on how we are spreading the wordabout Eurofighter in Indonesia.Of course, I know that Eurofighter is not just about a machine. It’s also about the people who make it work. Soit’s also great to learn more about some of these like FlightTest Co-ordinator Reyes Carrion who help make this a special organisation.I hope you enjoy the read and, as always, I’d welcome anyfeedback you may have.

Alberto GutierrezCEO Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH

EDITORIAL

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD

Editorial

Striker II: Bring on the Night An incredibly sophisticated digital innovation, Striker II is BAE Systems’ latest Helmet Mounted Display system (HMD).

Typhoon shines amid Thunder and LightningTwentyfive aeronautical engineering undergraduates clung to every wordthat came from the mouth of Group Captain Laurie Hilditch in the impromptu classroom.

Advantage EurofighterLuigi Trotta: The Life Cycle Advantage.

THE FUTURE IS TYPHOON: RUSI ReportThe Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) recently released its report:“Maximising European Combat Air Power”.

Baltic GuardiansSpanish Eurofighters take a Tour of Duty in Estonia.

The Ultimate Test DriveTest pilot Nat Makepeace describes the ultimate test drive.

The EJ200 Phenomenon“The power available to you is simply amazing...”

How the Eurofighter Typhoon comes togetherA look at the Final Assembly facility in Warton in the UK.

Swing - Role on RED FLAGWith its Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoons in full swing-role configuration,the Royal Air Force’s No. 1(Fighter) Squadron headed to Nellis AFB to putits jets to the ultimate test — Exercise ‘Red Flag’.

What is DASS?The DASS, which constitutes the Electronic Warfare suite, monitors and responds to the outside world. Interview Rob Wells.

A Life in a DayReyes Carrion Eurofighter´s Flight Test Coordinator has become part ofthe Eurofighter family – and the aircraft has become part of hers.

A European Solution for the Heart of EuropeBelgium needs to replace an ageing fleet of F-16’s to be sure of sovereignprotection for years to come.

Typhoon Team at TURKUA Finnish first was marked recently when the Eurofighter Typhoon Teammade its debut appearance at the Turku Air Show.

Eurofighter offers Canada Strong Defence CapabilityEurofighter briefed delegates at Canada’s premiere defence exhibitionCANSEC 2015 this Summer on the latest capability developments of theEurofighter Typhoon.

New Enhancement ContractEurofighter has agreed a new capability contract.

Social Media: Be part of our social media family.

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE...

Eurofighter World is published by Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, PR & CommunicationsAm Söldnermoos 17, 85399 HallbergmoosTel: +49 (0) 811-80 1587communications@eurofighter.com

Editorial TeamTheodor BenienSimon ShrouderMartina Schmidmeir

ContributersAlenia Aermacchi BAE SystemsAirbus Defence & SpaceEUROJET Turbo GmbHRoyal Air ForceViva PR

PhotographyEurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbHEurofighter Partner CompaniesGeoffrey Lee, PlanefocusNeil ChapmanLawrence CrespoBartosz BeraRich DentonMike GlendinningJamie HunterAlberto Garcia PerezCristian SchrikRay TrollAndreas WestphalLucas Westphal

Design & Productionimages.art.design. Werbeagentur GmbHwww.iad-design.de

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Eurofighter World on the Internetwww.eurofighter.comFollow us on:

If you would like to request additional copies ofEurofighter World, please contact the PR & Communications Department at Eurofighter GmbHcommunications@eurofighter.com

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Title:Baltic Air Policing with theSpanish Air Force

Photo: Cristian Schrik

52015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDS T R I K E R I I2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD S T R I K E R I I4

STRIKER II: BRING ON THE NIGHT

An incredibly sophisticated digital innovation, Striker II is BAE Systems’ latestHelmet Mounted Display system (HMD). It’s also believed to be just about themost advanced helmet ever devised and is about to be put to the test for the very first time. In this edition of Eurofighter WORLD we discover just what makesthe system so impressive. >>

Using a Striker HMD system the pilot has all theinformation he needs.

72015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDS T R I K E R I I

because you have to factor in the effect of G-force. If something weighs a kilo on theground then it will weigh the equivalent of 9kilos if you are pulling 9G, as Typhoon does.“The other issue is brightness. A

Eurofighter pilot usually operates at40,000ft where you get a lot of glare fromthe sun and therefore the screen has to bebright enough to cope with that extreme.Think about it in terms of trying to see yourmobile phone screen in bright sunlight. Youhave to have a very high brightness displayso it will show up.”Striker was built with these issues in mind

and is already used by Typhoon pilots in theair forces of the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain andSaudi Arabia. As we go to press 600 helmets

have been delivered to these customers. But now a new improved version is on the

way. With the original helmet pilots have toclip on a pair of night vision goggles (NVG) ifthey’re flying after dark. NVGs are heavy, cum-bersome and difficult to use, particularlywhen you encounter G-forces.“The RAF first used NVGs in the Falklands

in 1981 but wearing them is pretty grim,” saysAlan. “They are heavy and clip onto the frontof the helmet which means if you pull G theywant to force your head down into your knees,so they tend to restrict a pilot. They’re alsotricky to put on if you need to do it in the mid-dle of a sortie and equally tricky to take off.Then there’s an issue if the pilot has to eject.Plus there’s a significant fatigue issue. In

short they’re messy. The magic they performis they let you see in the dark.”The original intention for the first Striker

helmet was to make night vision integral butat the time the technology wasn’t goodenough to make it work. The new Striker II hel-met incorporates a night vision sensor in thefront of the helmet. Pilots are now able to seein the dark without goggles.“There is a very slight increase in weight of

helmet but nothing like NVGs. The centre ofgravity is just where you would want it whichmeans the pilot can happily perform the fullenvelope of the aircraft. There’s also com-pletely seamless day/night transition so nofiddling around trying to clip goggles on whenit goes dark.” >>

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD S T R I K E R I I6

“In the Eurofighter Typhoon the pilot has anumber of very sophisticated sensors andweapons at his command and consequentlyhe is interested in a very big volume of sky,”says Alan Jowett of BAE Systems. “The pilotneeds to know exactly what is going on formany miles around him. The helmet tells himthis story very intuitively. Everything he needsto know is right there: height, speed, points ofinterests, where all his mates are and so on.”The development of the system was car-

ried out by a dedicated and talented team atRochester and took several years. The twobiggest problems faced by the engineers wereweight and brightness.“One fundamental issue around helmets is

weight and balance”, says Alan, “particularly

The act of reading a radar screen would haverequired him to look into the cockpit. If a rivalaircraft was out there, say at 30 degrees tohis left flying at 20,000ft, compared to hisheight of 35,000ft, he would have to carry outa rapid calculation to work out where his ad-versary was in relation to his current position.He’d then have to scan the radar and carry outthat mental arithmetic for any other possibletargets. Even for the elite this little test ofcerebral alacrity could take anything between15 to 20 seconds when faced with a busyradar screen. Then he would have to decidewhat he was going to do next. However, usinga Striker HMD system the pilot has all the in-formation he needs in an instant and can im-mediately work out his tactics.

Afast jet fighter pilot often only has afraction of a second to absorb a vastamount of information. Radar. Comms.

Weather. Weapons. Location. Speed. Height.Defensive Aids. Any enemies.Making sense of it all quickly is one of the

most essential skills any pilot can possess.That’s why the original Striker HMD, whichcame into service with Typhoon fleets in 2010,was regarded as such a revolutionary step. Itticked two key boxes. It gave the pilot vastlyimproved situational awareness — building aninstant image of what was happening in theworld around them. At the same time it re-duced the pilot’s workload. Before Striker came along a pilot would

have relied on a fixed point Head Up display.

The sensor also doubles up as a high definition camera.

>> STRIKER II: BRING ON THE NIGHT

THE CAP FITS — PERFECTLY

The Striker HMD systems are so sophisticatedevery pilot has to have their head scanned before being issued with one. This level of surgical precision allows every contour to bemapped in detail. The inner liner of the helmet is then manufactured to match exactlythe shape and size of the pilot’s head. Thismeticulous process is carried out to makesure the helmet fits perfectly and is completelystable on the pilot’s head. With a good fit thepilot hardly knows he’s wearing it.

92015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDS T R I K E R I I

EUROFIGHTER TYPHOONPILOT PAUL SMITH VERDICT ON STRIKER II

The key benefit of both Striker 1 and 2 isthe helmet display gives a pilot the com-plete sensor-fused picture you see on

the HUD – but now through 360°- whicheverway you look. This has massive benefits for apilot because it allows you to assimilate lots ofinformation quickly without taking your eyesoff the area of interest and also to interactand exploit your sensors far more flexibly andefficiently. The wide field of view of these hel-mets, approximately 40 degrees, also im-proves their utility.The pilot was always a sensor, your Mk 1

eyeball is one of the best sensors out there,but Striker enhances that by giving a cue ofwhere to look. In effect, the data flow is nowtwo-way. The helmet cues me where to look,but I also use the helmet to cue the aircraftsensors. For example, I am given a positioncue to my wingmen from the Data link. Withoutany of my sensors pointing at him I get a highrate data feed on his position, which is essen-tial, especially during a visual engagement. Ifany of my sensors have detected tracks of in-terest I get a cue to them as well.Of course I can use the helmet to cue my

weapons, but also any of my sensors. In air-to-air I can cue the radar to enemy contrails orother visual indicators. In air-to-ground I canuse it to mark the position of friendly troopsonce visual, or if they are hostiles, mark thatas a target position instantaneously with oneswitch on my HOTAS (Hands On Throttle AndStick). Due to Typhoon’s integrated weapon

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD S T R I K E R I I8

“This is ideal for good quality debriefs because it offers the opportunity for greatanalysis of exactly what happened on the sor-tie. It is much more realistic for everyone because you see what the pilot is actually look-ing at rather than a fixed camera built into thecockpit which just looks forward.”Another fundamental change to the helmet

is in the technology used to create the brightgreen display. Until now the only technologywith the power to produce something bright

With its high resolution, binocular, visor-projected display, the new system has alreadyundergone a series of clinical engineering andaircrew assessment trials where the perfor-mance of the camera proved itself to be on apar with goggles. In fact, the ability to see thebattle space despite the dark is just one of theadvantages of Striker II. The sensor also dou-bles up as a high definition camera which iscapable of recording a whole flight and play-ing it back with the pilot’s eye view.

>> STRIKER II: BRING ON THE NIGHT

enough to work in a cockpit environment wasa cathode ray tube. This had two drawbacks,it was quite dated technology and it needed25,000 volts to power it. Striker II has gonedigital making the cathode ray obsolete.Instead it uses flat panel displays which arefar less voltage heavy and more reliable.There is an additional major change in the

way the system calculates where the pilot’shead is at any one time. The original helmetuses a system of infrared LEDs that ‘talks’ to

THE ORIGINS OF STRIKER II

BAE Systems produced one of its first hel-met-mounted systems for the Jaguar aircraftfor use by the UK Royal Air Force in theBosnia conflict in the early 1990s.Pilots knew this as Jag Sight. It was a sim-

ple air-to-ground sighting system. It workedby the pilot first designating the target. Helooked at the target, put a cross on it andpressed a button to ‘designate’ it. The target-ing pod would then look at it and the pilotwould then be able to refine the aim beforereleasing the weapon. The operation couldn’thave been carried out without a helmetmounted display because the workload wouldhave been too high for the pilot. The pilotsloved Jag Sight and the added capability onthe aircraft was phenomenal.A similar system went onto the Harrier

and later a version was adapted for use in theTornado. It worked by either the pilot desig-nating a target to the aircraft system or theaircraft showing the pilot where the targetwas and steering his head to look at it.With Striker the team started with a blank

sheet of paper but made situational aware-ness and pilot workload their priorities. <<

system this is recorded directly in the naviga-tion kit and the LDP (Laser Designator Pod)slews automatically to that position. I canthen refine the aim point, zoom in to gatherbetter data, or if the situation warrants it, rollin and release weapons. This ability to targetso quickly and accurately will save allied livesin a combat situation and provides a lot moreoperational flexibility. The two key benefits of Striker II over

Striker are the new night sensor and the re-moval of any latency when rapidly movingyour head.When you make very rapid head move-

ments there is usually a small amount of lag inhelmet cueing systems. Striker II removesthis, really increasing the usability and effec-tiveness of the helmet cueing system. Duringan air combat scenario I might only get a frac-tion of a second to take a missile shot, so byremoving this latency Striker II enables me tomaximise these opportunities to employweapons.The night sensor is cutting edge and re-

moves the need for separate NVGs providing ahigh quality night image with much reduced pi-lot fatigue and workload. There is no need toadjust the focus and gain of the image, there isno ‘bloom’ from strong light sources as therewas on legacy NVGs and the image can be in-stantaneously selected or occulted as the tac-tical and environmental situation dictates.Around twilight this gives greater opera-

tional flexibility. At 5000ft it might be com-pletely dark but above the clouds it may bemuch brighter. In Eurofighter I could go from5,000ft to 30,000ft in seconds but donningand doffing the NVG whilst manoeuvringrapidly is not practical. NVGs can be fiddly toclip on so you often use the autopilot; withStriker II it is one HOTAS switch selection.The reduction in pilot fatigue is important

too. Unlike NVGs which necessarily clip on thefront the helmet, the night sensor adds almostno weight and the Striker II is well balanced.As a result, you don’t get the same neck fa-tigue issues and there is no need to restrictmaximum G as you have to do with NVGs. From an operational safety perspective,

you will have increased flexibility in when youcan use the night sensor because there is noneed for NVGs. A no notice ejection whilstNVGs were still attached might well result in abroken neck. So to reduce risk, there wereusually restrictions on NVG use during criticalstages of flight such as air refuelling, or duringtake off and landing. Those issues go awaywith Striker II. It is just another sensor in thecentre of the helmet and it does the job.Finally, the HD camera in Striker II is great

for both intelligence gathering and debriefing.In air policing roles it will remove the need forpilots to use hand-held cameras. We fight howwe train and the ability to debrief how pilotsare using the helmet and what they are actual-ly seeing will be a massive training benefit. <<

three optical sensors in the cockpit. A proces-sor then calculates which direction the pilot isfacing. With Striker II this optical system hasbeen supplemented by inertial head tracking,which measures the rate a pilot’s head is turn-ing and is predictive about where he is. Thisgets around any potential tracking issuescaused if the pilot’s head is moving particular-ly fast. In those cases there is a slight lag or‘latency’ in the picture being painted.Essentially the optical system means trackingis even more precise and therefore the infor-mation given to the pilot is more accurate andresponsive.Not surprisingly, when it was launched at

the Farnborough International Air Show lastyear, Striker II — offering what the team de-scribe as performance without compromise —caused quite a stir. Now the team behind it isputting it through its final testing phase.

“We carried out our first on aircraftground assessment very recently with a pilotmaking sure the helmet works with all theaircraft´s systems,” says Alan. “We will nowembark on a series of night flight assess-ments this year.”Striker II is about to take to the skies — as

soon as darkness falls. <<

Paul Smith

`The sensor also doubles up as a high definition camera...`

`...what they are actually seeingwill be a massive training benefit.`

112015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDE X P O R T2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD E X P O R T10

TYPHOON SHINESAMID THUNDER AND LIGHTNING

al thing. It proved a big hit with everyone ableto see it.Eurofighter had already caused a stir at the

close of 2014 when it showcased it’sEurofighter Cockpit Demonstrator atIndoDefence and took to the streets of Jakartato meet with the taxpayers who will effectivelyfund any new procurement. Now it was back –and this time it won even more attention.It may all seem a novel approach to posi-

tioning the credentials of a fast-jet fighter intothe consciousness of a nation – but there islittle doubt that it is effective. Where once thetalk was all of a Russian procurement, nowthe debate is much more about what makesthe most sense in the long term – and whatwill be for the benefit of the Nation as a whole– not just in terms of national insurance, butin terms of jobs, skills development and tech-nological competency.As Eurofighter’s Head of Industrial

Participation, Martin Elbourne, said: “As in somany of these situations, this is a marathon,not a sprint.”The Eurofighter Team in Indonesia, led byExport Director Joe Parker, is positioningthe Eurofighter Typhoon as a ‘StrategicOpportunity’ for Indonesia as it seeks to re-place its existing F5 fighters and further develop its military aerospace competen-cies in country. Part of the Eurofighter offeron the table is the development of an assembly facility in Indonesia giving theNation genuine indigenous capability. <<

Outside fat bolts of lightning raced for the groundand pea-sized raindrops spattered the windows. But six levels above the streets of Bandung, in the humid heat on an Indonesian Spring afternoon, 25 aeronautical engineering undergraduates clungto every word that came from the mouth of Group Captain Laurie Hilditch in the impromptu classroom >>

er in Indonesia and a company which has along history of working with one ofEurofighter’s Partner Companies – AirbusDefence & Space.The undergraduates were one of a series

of groups who attended EurofighterMasterClass series in Spring to hear for them-selves some of the key considerations thatneed to be factored in when assessing fighterprocurement. Other groups included industryrepresentatives, the media, the Military andeven community groups.The prize for the students’ attentiveness

lay less than three miles away in a hangar justyards from the airfield’s main runway, a full-size Eurofighter Typhoon ExhibitionDemonstrator, faithful in every detail to the re-

The Eurofighter Typhoon MasterClasswas in full-swing, and the theatrics of athunderstorm outside only served to

underline the point that the former UK MODChief Test Pilot wanted to make to his atten-tive students.“When you design and build a fighter using

a high percentage of carbon fibre composites,you have to be sure the airframe and the sys-tems within it can withstand the most chal-lenging conditions,” he said. “Conditions likethese. The Eurofighter Typhoon is designed tocope with such conditions – and it does.”The MasterClass was being held within

sight of Bandung’s main airport which alsohappens to be the home of PT DI, theGovernment affiliated aerospace manufactur-

132015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDE U R O F I G H T E R

As Gino says, operating a fast jet aircraftfleet over many years, sometimes decades,means that any considered answer to thequestion of cost has to take a myriad of fac-tors into account. For example, what exactlydo you measure? Would fuel, maintenance,spares, consumables and technical supportcover everything? How is the support struc-tured and what level of capability does thefleet require? These are all the kinds of ques-tions that need to be sensibly considered.But whatever way you look at it, In-Service

Support, including engineering services,

spares deliveries and repairs services, is afundamental concern when you’re looking atthe life of the aircraft.“The key element of the life cycle is cost

effectiveness,” says Gino, “ By that I mean wehave to make the cost of the aircraft effectivefor our customers. “Our customer’s budgets are part of their

nation’s public spending. So, because of that,we have a tremendous duty to demonstratethat the money spent — on the aircraftDevelopment, Production and Support - hasbeen spent for good reason and spent cost effectively.“From my perspective, that’s one of the

main reasons why the life cycle story shouldbe at the centre of any discussion on the costof an aircraft. It can demonstrate more clearlythan anything else that Industry is effectiveand it shows how the Customer is spendingthe money to support and sustain the fleetwhen the product is in service.”With an aircraft like the Eurofighter that

has now been in service for more than 10years, there’s a growing body of evidencearound life cycle costs. It has seven cus-tomers, more than 500 aircraft under con-tract and more than 400 in service. There are16 different Military Operating Bases and 20Operational Units all over the world. Taken asa whole, the fleet is close to achieving300,000 flying hours. For Gino, this level of experience isn’t just

a series of milestones but rather it evidencesexperience in developing good standards ofmaintenance, good service availability and,crucially, excellent levels of flexibility. >>

Life cycle cost advantages can be foundin a number of areas when it comes tomilitary fast jets. From more efficient

operational use, from refined and finely honedmaintenance procedures, from more effectiveuse of training – and even from a growth-pro-gramme that ensures the very best value canbe gleaned from the airframe over everydecade of its life. In this feature, we’re lookingat maintenance and operational efficiencies –an area covered by Eurofighter’s In-ServiceSupport Team – and headed up by - GinoTrotta, Vice President In Service Support.

LUIGI TROTTAVICE PRESIDENT IN SERVICE SUPPORT

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD E U R O F I G H T E R12

ADVANTAGEEUROFIGHTER

What’s the cost of a military fast jet aircraft? The headline writers and media prefer a simple ‘fly away now’ answer. The reality is more complex. In search of the real answer, in this edition of Eurofighter WORLD, we launch the first of a series of features looking at how Eurofighter Typhoon offers lifetime value. It’s what we call the Life Cycle Advantage. >>

152015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDE U R O F I G H T E R

customer and industry come together, the na-tions have the chance to speak directly tochief engineers on the industry side. Thissharing of knowledge saves costs and leads toa much quicker resolution of issues whichgenerate a positive reputational impact andmake our products cost effective.”As well as providing a forum for day-to-day

contact, the IWSSC also holds an In-ServicePanel (ISP) several times a year. The ISP issupported by IWSSC (Industry and Customerelements) together with National Users andEurofighter Partner Companies (EPCs) withthe scope of managing and coordinating theresolution of In-Service Issues acrossNations/ NETMA and EPCs/Eurofighter byplacing the required actions. If required, it

can also establish cross-functional workinggroups and call Ad-Hoc Functional Reviews,to resolve in-service issues.“Today we are talking with NETMA and the

nations about how to make the repairs serviceeven more effective and affordable. We wantto make the customer happy by providing aneven more cost effective repair service.Between 65% – 70% of support cost is linkedto spares and repairs services, the rest ismainly engineering support services.Therefore if we are able to manage these keycost elements better, we will make the prod-uct and service support more affordable foreach customer and make the life cycle costsof the product more affordable without preju-dicing the Operational Requirement.”

Life cycle cost is clearly a difficult thing tomeasure and comparing two aircraft types iseven trickier, rather like trying to compare anapple and pear. However, the phrase ‘cost ef-fective’ crops up constantly in relation to theEurofighter offer. In that context, Gino saysthere is another aspect of the life cycle that ismuch broader than looking at repairs andmaintenance schedules. It’s what he calls thewider benefit to a nation.“This whole enterprise is a good invest-

ment of the four core governments’ moneybecause the money invested by them is re-turned directly to the industrial companieswithin the country and it has a ripple effect.The Eurofighter Programme works with morethan 400 world class suppliers from aroundEurope. It provides opportunities for the na-tions to have a return in terms of industryjobs, experience, knowledge, technologiesand capabilities.“This is another reason why the product is

cost effective for our national customers. Thisis a key element for the export customers,too. Indigenous industry can make use ofEurofighter technologies.”So in future, when you see a headline fig-

ure for an aircraft, it’s worth pondering for asecond if that truly tells the whole story.You’ve got to consider the Life Cycle Cost,too. You also need to understand how differ-ent elements like support combine to make acomplete Life Cycle picture.Unless this is accomplished, comparisons

between different platforms might lead to awrong perception of the reality. <<

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD E U R O F I G H T E R14

bases, has been a success. It also makes a dif-ference to the life cycle cost — it means thatthe aircraft is more cost effective in opera-tional terms.”This ability to tailor the overall package to

suit requirements feeds into what theEurofighter Programme says is the most com-plete, flexible and value for money Life CycleAdvantage concept on the market.A good example of this customer focus and

how it produces cost effective results is theInternational Weapon System Support Centre(IWSSC). The IWSSC is a unique co-locatedjoint international team of military and indus-try personnel, based in Munich. The centre ishome to core Customers who get to share ex-perience directly between air forces and withthe Industry team, who are engineers with AirForce experience. The IWSSC role is to cen-trally manage the in-service aspects and tojointly keep the fleet flying efficiently.Recently a Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF)

Representative has joined the IWSSC provid-ing a wider contribution to the In-ServiceSupport experience. Communication and collaboration are at

the heart of what the IWSSC provides. If acustomer is experiencing a problem, all theyhave to do is ask and people come to help.Without the IWSSC, there’s little doubt that in-dividual companies would have been produc-ing solutions, with varying degrees of suc-cess, and undoubtedly there would have beena degree of duplication.“The IWSSC facilitates sharing information

and experiences,” says Gino. “By working inan open and transparent environment where

A key area where you see this adaptive ap-proach brought to life is in the support, aseach of the core nations has its own mainte-nance policy.“Spain is different to Germany which is dif-

ferent to the UK and Italy,” says Gino. “The UKhas the Typhoon Availability Service. TheItalian Air Force has evolved things in a differ-ent way again. There they have a repair ser-vice in place, which leaves the management ofrepairs to an industrial contractor, AleniaAermacchi, and their three main suppliers.The Air Force is very happy with the arrange-ment because of the high fleet availability per-centage. Handing the responsibility over to in-dustry in a well-organised and managed way,with some specific services at operating

“Flexibility is a key aspect of Eurofighter,”says Gino. “It contributes to making the prod-uct more cost effective because it allows us tomeet the specific needs of each nation. It’sabout finding customer-oriented solutions.“The aircraft has a good baseline and from

that there is the opportunity to embody differ-ent types of customer needs and requests.This is flexibility in practice. Each customerhas a particular focus on their national needsand each is different; this could mean differ-ent weapons and different capabilities. Wehave seven customers and seven differentneeds, which we are endeavouring to inte-grate as much as possible to maximise com-monality while respecting the specificneeds/requirements of each of them.”

>> ADVANTAGE EUROFIGHTER

´...THE MOST COMPLETE, FLEXIBLE AND VALUE FOR MONEY LIFE CYCLE ADVANTAGE CONCEPT ON THE MARKET.`

172015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDE U R O F I G H T E R

Detailed and thoughtful in its analysis,´Maximising European Combat AirPower` doesn’t simply examine

Eurofighter’s capabilities, but paints a biggerpicture of how the aircraft ought to be consid-ered in any debate on European air power. Author Justin Bronk, a research analyst

specialising in air power and technology inthe Military Sciences team at RUSI, wantedto address ‘a perceived lack of understand-ing in political, media and some military cir-

cles of the Eurofighter Typhoon multirolecombat aircraft, its capabilities and level ofmaturity.’ To do this he conducted indepen-dent research of the aircraft’s qualities, inparticular with operating nations and alliedfront line pilots.He says: “The Eurofighter will provide

the core of four of the five most powerfulEuropean air forces for at least a decadebetween the late 2010s and around2030.

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THE FUTURE IS TYPHOON:

RUSI REPORTThe Royal United ServicesInstitute (RUSI) recently released its report´Maximising EuropeanCombat Air Power.`Subtitled ‘Unlocking theEurofighter’s Full Potential’,it’s a well-crafted and intelligent assessmentfrom an independent andrespected think tank. >>

A thorough understanding of the platformis, therefore, important in an era where airpower is the cornerstone of modern defencecapabilities, and defence budgets are underconstant pressure.”Bronk’s report provides real context for

discussion on any likely future force mix, look-ing at what needs to be done to best operatethe Eurofighter alongside so-called fifth-gen-eration assets such as the F-35. >>

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Due to repeated successes whilst operatingwith US F-22s at Red Flag exercises, theEurofighter’s capability is held in high regardby the elite of the USAF’s air-dominance com-munity and has shown it can offer significantcombat advantages to a high-end US strikepackage.”Another key thrust of the report is to un-

derscore Eurofighter’s inherent aerodynamicstrengths. It states: “The Eurofighter’s com-bination of high thrust-to-weight ratio, ma-noeuvrability at all speeds, 65,000-footservice ceiling, supercruise capability,powerful radar and large missile load en-sures that it outclasses any currently op-erational fighter aircraft in the world withthe exception of the US F-22 Raptor.”At the same time the aircraft is lauded

amongst pilots and maintenance crews for itsexcellent reliability record and operationaloutput per airframe and pilot.

Bronk says that with few rivals in the air-to-air domain — indeed at one point he describesit as the most formidable non-stealth air-supe-riority platform in the world — he believes thatthe Eurofighter Typhoon still has to establishits credentials in the air-to-ground context. Tobe fair, the report was researched before theoutstanding air-grounds results currently be-ing achieved by the Royal Saudi Air Force withTyphoon in concurrent campaigns against ISISand in Yemen were widely publicised. That said, he accepts that “the perfor-

mance and load-carrying capabilities of the jetmean it can be made substantially more capa-ble in a strike role than legacy designs”, men-tioning the Tornado, F-16 and Rafale. Toachieve that, Bronk says, will require contin-ued investment in the integration of the likesof Brimstone II and Storm Shadow missiles. “The integration of Storm Shadow and

Brimstone II remain a priority for the RAF, with

both planned for integration by 2018. Thesewill be increasingly attractive for the Italian airforce as their Tornado IDS fleet is drawn downaround 2020. With these capabilities, theEurofighter will represent a mature and extremely potent strike platform”. He rec-ommends a “relatively modest level of sus-tained funding to complete the Eurofighter’smaturation into a fully functional multirole as-set with capabilities to outmatch any opera-tional fighter outside the US.”Drawing on the historical experience of

frontline pilots, the report notes some of thesmall-scale problems with subsystems theywould like resolved as a priority. Of course,due to differing delivery dates of national em-

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F-35 working alongside Typhoon - if the F-35’s developmental issues can be over-come. Hence, maintaining, sustaining andensuring systems and tactical interoperabili-ty will become increasingly significant, be-cause interoperability will ensure Eurofighterremains a vital part of any future force mixfor decades to come.The RUSI report puts this clearly:

“Developing maximum network, systems andtactical interoperability between theEurofighter and F-35 offers significantly in-creased combat effectiveness for both types.Each is capable of offering strengths wherethe other is comparatively weak. TheEurofighter offers exceptional performance,heavy and diverse-ordnance capacity, long-range and combat mass, whilst the F-35 willbring unmatched situational awareness, low-observable survivability in defended airspaceand powerful electronic warfare capabilities.

SO WHAT DOES THE FUTUREHOLD?

The report points out that Europe’s majorair forces face serious challenges in the 15years up to 2030 — shrinking budgets, ageinglegacy fleets, expensive fifth-generation plat-forms, and at the same time the proliferationof high-end ground and air-based threats.However, it adds some words of comfort: “Inthe Eurofighter, European states have themost-formidable non-stealth air-superiori-ty platform in the world.”“Once the CAPTOR-E AESA radar and

Meteor BVRAAM are integrated, European airforces will have a fighter capable of deterringand, if necessary, defeating any opposing airthreats they may meet until the mid-2020sand any non-peer threats substantially beyondthat.” Bronk bounds the scope of the report tothis period due to the lack of credible threatdata beyond 2030.Already described as ‘formidably capable’,

with radar and armament upgrades that arefunded and on schedule, Eurofighter will onlybecome even more so.One of the major misconceptions that

Bronk believes clouds the debate aroundEurofighter’s future is around F-35. He pointsout that “significant parts of the political, me-dia and, in some cases, military circles seethe stealthy US F-35 as the future of Europe’scombat air fleets. If the common political andmedia narrative is to be believed, the F-35 hasalready made all previous fighter aircraft de-signs obsolete and will soon revolutioniseWestern air power.”But he says that such an assumption is

misguided, arguing that because of seriousdelays and cost increases in the F-35 pro-gramme the likelihood is for relatively smallEuropean F-35 fleet sizes, and even smallernumbers of aircraft actually available. As aconsequence, working out how Eurofighter isable to work alongside these assets is goingto be far more important than many appear tograsp.The report says: “The F-35 is a potentially

huge force multiplier for other networked as-sets on the ground and in the air. However, un-less NATO is prepared to accept a crippling re-duction in combat mass in the air domain, theF-35 alone cannot fulfil Europe’s combat-airrequirements within the timeframe envisagedby this study. Therefore, measures which couldobtain the best combat capability and flexibili-ty out of the Eurofighter, given the limited de-fence funds available, must be considered.”The good news says the author — poten-

tially for both aircraft types — is that recentexercises have proved that when workingeffectively together the Typhoon and theF-22 are greater than the sum of their re-spective parts. It is reasonable to as-sume that the same may be true of the

>> THE FUTURE IS TYPHOON: RUSI REPORT

bodiment programmes, frontline pilots may not yethave seen the fixes that have already been devel-oped. Their view of major airframe or engine upgrades is that whilst they would improve the aircraft’s performance, they’re not viewed as par-ticularly urgent, given the fact that Eurofighter’s“kinematic performance is already superior to anyother currently operational fighter aircraft with theexception of the F-22.”While, in a comprehensive and independent

document, Bronk doesn’t shy away from pointingout these previously documented development is-sues, it’s worth remembering that further enhance-ments are being introduced by Eurofighter as amatter of priority. Indeed the underlying theme ofthe entire narrative is that Eurofighter will be thebackbone of European air defence beyond2030. An opinion evidenced by operating nations’Typhoons providing 50% of the Baltic Air Policingforces over the last two periods. It points out thehigh regard the USAF’s air-dominance communityhas for the Eurofighter, and clearly states theEurofighter has shown it can offer significant com-bat advantages to a high-end strike package.

The report calls for continued investment at arelatively modest level and argues that this ismore than justified to further enhance theEurofighter’s multirole capabilities making surethe jet’s full potential is unlocked. The executivesummary concludes with a recommendation ofTyphoon to other nations requiring a new combataircraft: “any new operators would benefit great-ly from the investment in the Eurofighter’s jour-ney to maturity made by existing partner statesas they would be buying a ‘finished product’ –and one with the potential for significant futureenhancements.” <<

https://www.rusi.org/publications/whitehallre-ports/ref:N553E2DE7813E9/

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It was in the deepest northern winter whenthe Spanish Air Force took over the lead toprovide 24/7 Air Policing at Ämari Air Base

in Estonia. They followed the GermanEurofighter detachment featured in the last is-sue of Eurofighter WORLD.To gain a deeper insight into how the

Spanish detachment operates, we joinedthem on their tour of duty in Estonia. On boardfor the trip were Eurofighter CEO AlbertoGutierrez, NETMA Commercial DirectorGeneral Salvador Alvarez, and five journalistsfrom the Spanish aviation press.NATO Baltic Air Policing has been opera-

tional in place since 2004 at Siauliai Air Basein Lithuania, and in May 2014, the Ämari AirBase in Estonia became the second Baltic lo-cation from where Eurofighters fromGermany, Spain, the UK and Italy are takingon the duties on a rotational basis.

Arriving at the base, about an hour’s drivefrom the picturesque Estonian capital city ofTallinn, we were warmly welcomed by theSpanish Chief Detachment CommanderLieutenant Colonel Enrique Fernández Ambel.In the morning briefing at the Base, the

Commander underlined the importance of themission which was led by the Spanish AirForce from January 1st – May 4th this year. Itconsisted of immediate reassurance mea-sures and showed Spanish solidarity with fel-low NATO members. The Spanish Detachment in Ämari was op-

erated by four Eurofighter Typhoons fromMorón Air Base close to Seville in the South ofSpain. In total, 115 people were deployed onthe mission, covering everyone from pilots,maintenance crew and support personnel,right through to a doctor and fire rescue team.It’s a tried and tested formula which >>

It was in the deepestnorthern winter when theSpanish Air Force tookover the lead to provide24/7 Air Policing at Ämari Air Base in Estonia.They followed the GermanEurofighter detachmentfeatured in the last issueof Eurofighter WORLD. >>

BALTIC GUARDIANSSUCCESSFUL SPANISH DETACHMENT IN ESTONIA

Tcol. (EA) Enrique Fernández Ambel SpanishDETCO and Eurofighter CEO Alberto Gutierrez

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home. That moment comes when the fightersscramble, their twin EJ200 engines lighting upthe runway as the sound of 40,000lbs of un-leashed power echoes between the forestthat flanks either side of the runway. It’s a defining moment. A moment of pur-

pose. A moment of power. And it makes astatement to those that need to know. <<

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generates a proven and professional result.The Spanish mission in Estonia provides furtherevidence of the reliability and the strong perfor-mance of the Eurofighter Typhoon. During our visit, Colonel Ambel told us that

the alert response time required by NATO hasnow been reduced from 30 minutes to 15 min-utes – whatever the weather. On the subjectof weather, he explained that the Spanish

Eurofighters had been operating under severeconditions meaning snow and frozen tracks attemperatures down to -20°C. He also saidthat there had only been a handful of occa-sions, during 300 start-ups, where there hadbeen any serviceability issues. After the briefing, we were given a tour of

the facility’s maintenance hangar. It’s the coretechnical centre - the place where skilled en-

gineers and technicians ensure the aircraftare serviced and ready for rapid deployment.The feeling of a good team spirit was palpable- and the spirit of true collaboration amongstthe different parties at the Base without doubtcontributes to what is another successful detachment.All of this, of course, only makes sense

when the reality of what this is all about hits

>> BALTIC GUARDIANS

THE FACTS

• During the time Eurofighter WORLD was on base the Spanish detachment reached theoutstanding number of 400 flying hours in the Eurofighter Typhoon in the NATO Air Policing mission.

• The Spanish Eurofighters took part in more than 10 interceptions.• The increase in violations of borders and safety incidents in recent years from zero

violations and 53 incidents in 2011 to 8 violations and 144 incidents in 2014 tells its own story.

• On May 4th the Spanish Air Force handed the baton to the UK Royal Air Force.

Mission Accomplished.

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GUARDIANS OF THE BALTICS…

At Readiness and on Patrol – Photographer Christian Schrik captured these images of the Spanish AirForce at work in Estonia, one of four Eurofighter Partner Nations who have been patrolling the skies ofNorthern Europe under the guidance of NATO.

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controls a full workout. That’s phenomenalperformance. You’re basically going to thelimits that the aircraft was designed for.You’re doing things with the aircraft thatwould never normally be done by the aircrew,except perhaps in real combat situations. Fullstick rolls, where you slam the stick hard tofull deflection and the jet aggressively rollsand pitches as we do it. Then it recovers.‘At 25,000ft I shut the engines off one at a

time. It’s the only time in normal service it oc-curs. We shut it off for a minute and then re-light it again. Then you drop down to about10,000ft and fly upside down for 30 seconds.Even a display pilot doesn’t normally do it forthat long. Then I drop to 2,000ft and slam theengines again. This is one of the most danger-ous phases because if anything was to gowrong you don’t have a lot of time to react.‘Even the first landing is extreme. I deploy

the parachute and stamp on the brakes,which, I can assure you, is not a normal pilottechnique but it heats the brakes and teststhe anti-lock system. Everything is beyondwhat you would do on a normal flight, butwithin cleared envelope of the aircraft.‘A PFAT is a high workload flight and it’s

demanding for a pilot. Is it the ultimate testdrive – I guess so. There’s constant noise andvibration and all the time you’re making notes,

recording times, and moving on from testpoint to test point. It’s a discipline and onethat’s carried out by every partner nation.There are more than 100 test points but youcan split it into two parts: the aeromechanical,like the engines and controls, and then thesystems and avionics.‘Testing the airframe and engines takes

you to the edges of the design envelope whichis the exciting test pilot stuff you often readabout. You could look at it another way; weare testing to ensure the aircraft is safe andthat there aren’t any product quality issues.‘The point of the whole exercise is to put

the engines, the flight controls and things likethe cockpit pressurization and anti-g protec-tion systems through to the extremes of theircleared envelopes to make sure they work. Wehave a very strict schedule to follow but, inessence, what we are tying to do is say the air-craft is built perfectly. It’s also about learningand improving.‘As a test pilot you are the tip of the ice-

berg – the work that has got you there byteams of people is vast.‘Another way to look at the PFAT is that it’s

the pilot’s quality control stamp in what is oth-erwise an extremely complex engineeringprocess. It’s the aircrew saying the aircraft isgood enough to give to the customer.’ <<

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‘After making a rapid climb to 40,000ft I slowright down to a point where we can barely flyand then slam the engines into full throttle. Ifthere’s anything wrong with the engines this iswhere you’re going to find out…‘For me this is one of the most critical test

points because at 40,000ft you’d typically beflying at 0.9 Mach, but we are back at 0.5Mach — that’s only 150 knots, which is notmuch more than landing speed. At this heightthe air is only a tenth of the density comparedto ground level. Even in full reheat the aircraftstruggles to stay level. You are in a very chal-lenging part of the envelope. We’re flying asslow as we can and then we slam the engines!(That’s pilot-speak for mishandling them in avery severe way).‘It’s all part of ensuring the performance of

the engine is guaranteed.‘It’s extreme flying but in a sense this is

the whole point of a first flight or ProductionFlight Acceptance Test (PFAT). We are givingthe aircraft a thorough workout through mostof the envelope — at high speed and low speedand we slam the engines in a way that wouldnot happen in normal flight. ‘We try to make the engines surge at alti-

tude and then slam the throttles in and out ofreheat. If you did that in an old jet they’dcough, splutter and stall.‘The fun starts even before we leave the

ground because as you taxi out I take the nosewheel steering out to make sure the flight con-trol system is okay. No pilot would ever dothat on purpose. Once I’m happy everything isgood, I take off and pull straight into a steepreheat climb.“We have to check the maximum and min-

imum G, that’s usually around +7g and -3g, athigh supersonic flight to give the flight >>

THE ULTIMATE TEST DRIVEPower, speed and outrageous agility — the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft has it all. Those qualities are brought to the fore when each new aircraft rolls out from the factory floor andonto the runway for its first flight. For just over an hour Eurofighter is taken right to its limitsin a way that very few ever experience. Here test pilot Nat Makepeace describes the ultimate test drive. >>

NAT MAKEPEACETYPHOON TEST PILOT

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Situated in Moray, Scotland, RAFLossiemouth is one of the Royal AirForce’s most important and busiest

bases. Tornado squadrons are stationedthere, alongside three Typhoon squadrons: 6Squadron, 1 (Fighter) Squadron and II (ArmyCo-operation) Squadron, which relocatedfrom RAF Marham in early 2015.

RAF 6 Squadron Eurofighter Typhoons on ExerciseBersama Lima 11 in Malaysia

Royal Air Force Flight Lt. S. Harth, No. 6Squadron Typhoon FGR-4 pilot from RAFLeuchars, United Kingdom, parksaircraft on the Nellis Air Force Base,Nev. flightline after a Red Flag 14-1training mission Jan. 28, 2014. Red Flag is conducted over the NevadaTest and Training Range, which allowspilots from the United States and alliedcountries to train to a level of realismnot encountered outside of real combat.

Eurofighter Typhoon at Farnborough International Airshow 2012which was flown by Sqn Ldr Scott Loughran from 6 Squadron, RAFLeuchars

From last September, RAF Lossiemouth al-so assumed Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) du-ties, with crews and aircraft at a high state ofreadiness 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, topolice UK airspace and to intercept unidenti-fied aircraft.QRA is the Typhoon’s day job and to carry

it out to maximum effect the aircraft needs aholy trinity: reliability, speed and power. Ahuge part of that triumvirate comes in theshape of the EJ200 jet engines. The EUROJETconsortium, comprising Rolls-Royce (UK),MTU Aero Engines (Germany), ITP (Spain) andAvio Aero (Italy), is responsible for the man-agement of production, support and export ofthe EJ200 engine system. It is an engine thathas proven itself over the last decade of inservice use. The EJ200 has clocked up more

than 550,000 hours powering the EurofighterTyphoon among six of its seven air force cus-tomers worldwide the seventh customer tojoin the programme, (the Sultanate of Oman),is due to receive its first aircraft in 2017.Flight Lieutenant Stuart Harth is a pilot

with more than 950 flying hours under hisbelt. As the Typhoon Standards andEvaluation officer, he knows a thing or twoabout the aircraft and its capabilities. As faras the engines go, he has got real faith.“In day to day operating they are not in the

forefront of your mind; they have such a goodtrack record you know that pretty much every-thing is sorted out behind the curtain,” hesays. “You only really get to appreciate what agood thing that is when you start to talk to >>

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THE EJ200 PHENOMENON

No sooner had the words “Welcome to Lossie” come out of the officer’s mouth whena Eurofighter Typhoon roared overhead. Almost in its slipstream came a second. Asthe pair moved side by side, they made a slight left turn and then soared off into thewide blue yonder. Welcome indeed! >>

“You just do what you want with the throttles, andthe engines do what they are told.”

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able. For me, they are far more reliable thananything else we have used in the fast jetfleet.“The only time you have to carry out an en-

gine ground run is when you have a double en-gine change and that is rare. We have beenoperating at RAF Lossiemouth for nearly ayear and we’ve never needed one.”Throughout operations with six fleets since

2003 (the Air Forces of Germany, Spain, Italy,Austria and Saudi Arabia, as well as the RAF),the EJ200 has produced some impressivenumbers. For example, over more than550,000 engine-flying hours, the flight shutdown rates and the mean time between en-gine removals beats specification and reliabil-ity figures far better than planned. In fact, theRAF is the fleet leader and has achieved over1,800 flying hours.The average time on the wing of the

EJ200s in use on the Typhoon fleets is cur-rently more than 1,100 operational hours andEUROJET is aiming to increase this figure stillfurther. It might be pushing it to say that theEJ200 is head and shoulders above the rest,but there’s little doubt that engineers workingon the Typhon enjoy a number of benefits overprevious aircraft.

Says Johnny: “The engine is at the perfectworking height for an average person standingup, so the inspections and maintenance weneed to perform are really easy to carry out.When you compare this to other aircraft,where you may need steps or to get on somestaging simply to carry out an inspection, it’sa real practical advantage. “With the Harrier, for example, you had to

remove the engine to carry out routine main-tenance but when you did the airframe wouldbend. Therefore, taking it out and putting itback in was not a simple process. TheTornado was much quicker to take in and out.It was great up until you used thrust reversebecause it caused FOD ingestion.”FOD – Foreign Object Debris — is a poten-

tial danger to all aircraft engines. There’sbeen a keen awareness of the problem overmany years and processes have been intro-duced to help minimise it, like tool control andregular sweeps of the airfield.“One of my fears when coming from Tornado

was that FOD would be a big problem forTyphoon because the intake position is quitelow to the ground,” says Johnny. “But that’s notbeen the case. It really isn’t. You don’t see any-thing like the level of FOD issues >>

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zone. You touch the stick and it responds. Youcan focus on the best way of getting the air-craft to do the things that you want.”The message about ease of use at

25,000ft is echoed at ground level by IISquadron Senior Engineering Officer JohnnyMeehan, who works with the Typhoon day in,day out and knows all about the aircraft’sbeating heart.“From my point of view, the EJ200 is a phe-

nomenal bit of kit,” he says. “In terms of engi-neering, it does exactly what we need it to do.And the power it generates for the pilots isprodigious. They speak volumes about its performance.“Time will tell how it works through life. We

have had 10 years of Typhoon operationally sowe are still very much in the first half of its lifebut it has already demonstrated much higherreliability than many people expected.”

guys from other aircraft types. Then you beginto realise how many engine limits they areworking to or how closely they have to moni-tor things for lifing, on take-off and so on. Wejust don’t have any of those concerns.“You just do what you want with the throt-

tles, and the engines do what they are told.You don’t think about them because you don’thave to think about them.”For the RAF pilots, the power and perfor-

mance of the EJ200 package really comes tothe fore when it is up against a different typeof aircraft.“When you get an opportunity to fly

against something else, you know you havegot an advantage. The energy regain is the bigthing. Whilst we can’t pull as much alpha(quickly change the angle of attack) as someothers, we just know that as long as you keepthe jet fast, the energy regain is going to bethere for you.“So, for example, when you pull hard in a

visual range combat scenario you will in-evitably bleed speed off the airplane – every-body does it. If you go up against the Alphafighters they have the ability to ‘flat plate’ orspin round in front of you. Of course youhave got the shock of realising ‘something isgoing on’ but you also know he has paid aprice for it.“That price is speed. Then it is all about

who can get their energy back to the rightstate quickest and that’s when our engines re-ally come into their own.“The whole package on Typhoon is bril-

liant. If on an exercise you go up against an F-15, for example, they will turn up to the mergeand they will have pretty much bled them-selves dry because they have no tanks on theaircraft. So they will do a couple of timesround the circuit and then they’ll say that’s medone. Everyone in the Typhoon force is justchomping at the bit to do more.“The power available to you is simply

amazing. But it has the right mindset to gowith it. The aircraft has the right numbers, theright energy bands and that’s with everythinghanging off it — that’s stores and tanks. Thatjust builds a pilot’s confidence. You know thatif you had to strip off the stores because youwere down on the fuel and fighting to get backto base, you could manage safely.”What all this means is that pilots get to

concentrate on flying the missions withouthaving to worry about things like the G-meteror Alpha limits.“When I graduated from the Hawk to

Typhoon, I thought you would actually lose alot of the kinetic feedback. But even in a typi-cal training circuit you feel the air surging overthe top of the main plane and you still get afeedback connection through the airplanethat’s really good.“It’s an easy aircraft to fly in terms of me-

chanics because you don’t have any dead

>> THE EJ200 PHENOMENON

“Engineers enjoy the fact that it requiresvery little maintenance to keep it on the wing.It rarely goes wrong but when it does the re-pair loop, thanks to our relationship withRolls-Royce, is very efficient and effective.”That working relationship between the RAF

and Rolls-Royce is mirrored among the othernations in the EUROJET family, with partnercompanies through MTU Aero Engines inGermany, ITP in Spain and Avio Aero in Italyeach playing a similar close role with their respective nations air force.A good measure of the engine’s reliability

is the fact that Lossiemouth doesn’t currentlyhave a Typhoon engine testing facility.“Despite the fact Typhoon squadrons have

been operating here since summer last year,we don’t have a facility to carry out high pow-er ground runs. But in truth, it’s not been re-quired because the engines are so service-

Squadron Leader Johnny Meehan

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base to provide the technical back up whenit’s required.Johnny says it works really well: “A good

example happened the other day. We foundsome suspected damage and to examine theengine we had to use a borescope (a camerain a flexible tube that’s used to inspect the in-sides of the engine). The method the Rolls-Royce team has created for us is very clever.It involves going through the back of the en-gine, rather than going through the doors. In

the recent case, it turned out that therewasn’t a crack and we were able to keep thataircraft flying.“These inspections are vitally important.

For example, if we find cracks we have tochange the engine. But it’s not always thateasy because you are right inside the depthsof the engine when you are doing it. However,having that relationship between us and theRolls-Royce team on site allows us to carryout more effective maintenance, right at the

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD E N G I N E32

Johnny explains: “To get the engines out,you open the bay doors on the swing arm, pinthe engine up, remove the pins and winch itout. Then you dress the engine that you wantto put back in. You have to turn new enginesinto left or right-handed at the time you needthem; this is done concurrently with other air-craft prep. Finally, you change the cell tomake sure no damage has been caused to theinterior of the engine bay. Then it’s straight in– a piece of cake. If it’s a single engine

that you see on other aircraft. Because theEJ200 has bladed discs with an anti-FOD de-sign, it means they are very FOD tolerant.”Another big advantage that the EJ200 dis-

plays is its power. “What you notice day to dayhere on base is that the Tornado aircraft haveto use reheat to get off the ground. TheTyphoons just disappear with very little noise.In fact, when it was announced that theTyphoon was to be based at Lossiemouth, theexpectation of the general public was that itwas going to be a lot louder. But in the main itis very quiet. It is so quiet, in fact, that whenyou are operating around it you have to checkyou have your ear defenders on!”Johnny says that in terms of health and

safety, operating around the aircraft and car-rying out its maintenance cycle, the EJ200 “isa whole epoch ahead”. “It is a pleasure to work with this bit of kit.

We are aware that you can’t treat it like an oldpiece of mechanical engineering. You can’ttake a big hammer to fix it. We talk a bit likeit’s an F1 engine. You have got to appreciatethat there is a scientific standard of engineer-ing involved and stick to good engineeringprinciples. You certainly can’t treat it like anold tractor. It’s a massive leap in technologyand concept.”A good gauge of what that leap means for

the people who spend their working livesaround the engine can be seen when they de-scribe the ease of a Typhoon engine change.In a word it’s: straightforward.

>> THE EJ200 PHENOMENON

change, you don’t have to carry out significantfunctions afterwards as it comes ready made. “There is a downside. If you don’t carry out

an engine change very often, you don’t havemany guys that are familiar with doing oneand if you are out on operation you want to befully capable. So you plan, train and have reg-ular events.”At Lossiemouth, the RAF enjoys an excel-

lent partnership with Rolls-Royce, which hasrepresentatives permanently stationed on the

point of use, which is great. We know theyhave a huge amount of expertise about the en-gine and our strong relationship helps to solveour problems a lot faster. “I don’t write the contract but whoever

does has got it right. They have enabled us tohave a contract where we can work together.It is a relationship where we can create qualityand have an engine that stays on wing longer.This in turn means far less maintenance forme and more aircraft for the pilots to fly.” <<

Many thanks to the RAF at Lossiemouth formaking this article possible.

“We talk a bit like it’s an F1 engine. You have got to appreciate that there is a scientific standard of engineering involved and stick to good engineering.”

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HOW THE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON COMES TOGETHER

FACTSFloat on: The Final Assembly facility inWarton in the UK is built on a ‘floating’ 4-meter concrete raft which has been designed to take account of the tidal move-ments which otherwise could throw the jetfighter tolerances out.

Weigh in: Each aircraft is weighed ahead toestablish its centre of gravity, which is accu-rate to the size of a postage stamp.

2 STRUCTURAL MARRY UP

The front, centre and rear fuselage are joinedtogether first. This is carried out using a sys-tem known as ‘automated alignment and mar-ry up’. They are brought together using lasertracking for positional accuracy. This ensuresthe tip of the aircraft and the rear fin arealigned to a tolerance of less than a millime-tre. It’s important because an aircraft that’sbuilt ‘straight’ lasts longer as there’s lessstress on the airframe and it performs as de-signed.The next stage is to add the wings and installthe main under carriage.

3 SYSTEMS MARRY UP

At this point in the process the electrical andmechanical systems are added. A preliminari-ly systems test is carried out (DITMCO and hy-draulic leak test). Then the cockpit and avion-ic bay equipment is installed. As the aircrafttakes shape, the engines and the fin are in-stalled.

4 SYSTEMS INTEGRATION TESTING

This is where all the final touches are appliedand all the systems are tested ahead of get-ting the aircraft set for engine runs. The testsinclude: fuel, hydraulics, undercarriage, flyingcontrols, avionics and electronic displays andcontrols. Then the ejector seat and canopy isinstalled. Once this testing phase is complete the air-craft is taken to the paint shop where the fa-miliar paint finish is applied. Then it’s time forthe engine ground runs. Finally the aircraftcarries out its test flights, which are known asProduction Flight Acceptance Test, where thepilot runs through a pre-determined series ofin-flight manoeuvres.

1 THE ARRIVAL OF THE MAJOR UNITS

The major sections that make up EurofighterTyphoon come from different manufacturers.The front fuselage from BAE SystemsSamlesbury, centre fuselage from Germany,rear fuse and left hand wing from Italy, righthand wing from Spain and the engines fromEurojet. Other equipment arrives from thepartner companies’ supply chain. First a document check is carried out. Thenthe parts are thoroughly inspected. Then theyare prepared for the marry up.

372015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDR E D F L A G

“We’ve been practicing our swing-role flyinghere, working with F-15s, F-16s and F-22s:fighting our way in to the target through an ad-vanced air threat, ‘firing’ our AMRAAM mis-siles, then fighting our way through an ad-vanced SAM (surface-to-air missile) threat,while simultaneously dropping live Paveway IV[precision-guided bombs], then fighting ourway back out again’. So says Wg Cdr Mike Sut-ton, Officer Commanding No 1 (Fighter)Squadron, as he talks on the hot and noisyflightline at Nellis — the self-proclaimed ‘homeof the fighter pilot.”

Wg Cdr Sutton was in Nevada with hissquadron in order to achieve three main goals:to train at the highest level, to develop inter-operability with close allies, and to provide theultimate test for the new standard of swing-role Eurofighter Typhoon — the P1EB variant.‘‘Red Flag is preparing us for any contin-

gent operation we are likely to face,” he said.“We are flying large missions with up to 100combat aircraft, both day and night. The inter-operability of these aircraft is essential.”Sutton picked out the participating F-22

Raptors, with which he said the RAF Typhooncommunity has some ‘tried and tested tac-tics’. “We’re working with the low-observable

assets extremely effectively in the air-to-airrole,” Sutton continued. “It’s critical that wedo more of this [type of training] as the F-35comes into service in the UK.”Typhoon pilot Flt Lt Rory Denman from No

6 Squadron is attached to the deployment.“So far I’ve flown three missions and it’s in-credibly challenging — there’s more aircraftthan I’ve ever flown with on an exercise andthe variety is quite remarkable. The ability ofthe Typhoon to fight air-to-air and then bombwith [the] Paveway IV is something the othernations are actually quite taken aback with.[Plus we have] a lot of performance, so we canfly fast and high!”Flt Lt Dan Jones was flying on his second

‘Red Flag’ exercise. “On the aircrew side weare generally working 12-hour shifts with mis-sion planning and flying, or both. On the engi-neering side they are working equally longdays and we are running a six-turn-six pro-gram, so that’s 12 flying serials per day. Oncertain days we are launching two multi-rolebomber serials where the jets will be armedwith live Paveway IVs.“It is hard to explain and understand the

complexities of flying and fighting in such avast and demanding environment. Many regard‘Red Flag’ as more complex than recent >>

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD R E D F L A G36

SWING - ROLE ONRED FLAG

With its Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoons in full swing-role configuration, theRoyal Air Force’s No 1(Fighter) Squadron headed to Nellis AFB to put its jets to the ultimate test — Exercise ‘Red Flag’. >>

392015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDR E D F L A G

Taking eight RAF Typhoons from RAFLossiemouth in Scotland almost 5,000miles away to Nellis Air Force Base inNevada represents a massive logisticalchallenge. Here’s how the crew involvedmade it happen.

“We started in September 2014 with theprocess by identifying the aircraft we wouldneed for the exercise,” says JuniorEngineering Officer, Flight Lieutenant DarrenTremble of 1(F) Sqn, who was involved fromthe beginning.As Senior Engineering Officer, Tim Lowing

1(F) Sqn explains it was an important deci-sion: “For Typhoon, this was the first majorexercise for P1EB standard aircraft. Theywould also be dropping live Paveway IVbombs. The aircraft would be carrying outmissions in true swing role mode, meaningbombing and counter air missions on thesame sortie in the most challenging interna-tional environment.”Once agreed which aircraft we’d be tak-

ing we started looking at the other equip-ment we needed and then the route was se-lected, this is known as the trail.Flt Lt Tremble says: “The trail — the route

chosen to get the aircraft to their final desti-nation — is planned early as well. The idea isto take as many spares as you might need toget you through the trail but not too manybecause you have to carry it on the Voyager,along with the pilots and the engineeringteam. To get this right, we drew on some ofthe experience of people who had beenaround before.

“The eight Typhoons went in two trailswith a Voyager aircraft accompanying eachto carry out tanking (refuelling) en route. Wewent in a series of hops. First stop was Lajesin the Azores, then Bermuda, next Eglin inFlorida and then across the US to Nellis,which is near Las Vegas. In manpower terms,each trail team had an Engo, a SNEC andsmall team from each trade, Lineys (groundcrew who work on the aircraft line) and GSScomputer support.“You meet different challenges in differ-

ent places but in Eglin it was a very unsea-sonal minus 17 degrees overnight. We wentfrom temperate in Scotland, to humid andhot in Bermuda, then to extreme cold inFlorida. This brought different issues to thinkabout. But we got through OK. Spares wisewe were lucky, as we didn’t have to break in-to them on the trail.”SENGO Lowing adds: “You have to expect

anything on a trial and to get eight Typhoonaircraft halfway across the world is prettychallenging. It is virtually unheard of to geteight aircraft across there like that withoutany issues but it was seamless. The aircraftwere very good. It was amazing how well thejets survived without a fault.”So was it all worth it? Well SENGO Tim

Lowing has absolutely no doubt: “There is nobetter air war training exercise in the world.The aircraft at Red Flag are phenomenal.”Entire US Air Force squadrons are set up toplay the enemy in what’s as close to a repre-sentative air war environment as there is inthe world.” <<

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD R E D F L A G38

combat air operations, and arguably as tougha challenge as many pilots will face. You aretrying to co-ordinate a huge number of aircraftin a relatively small piece of airspace, oftenoperating dynamically and at night, while stillmaintaining situational awareness and still op-erating effectively,” explained Jones.“I’ve done a mixture of pure air-to-air and

the swing-role missions,” he added. “TheTyphoon is performing extremely well. Ingeneric terms, in the swing-role environmentas we ingress the fighters will create afavourable air situation, such that we are notoverwhelmed by adversary aircraft. This gets

us to the target without being targeted our-selves and then drop our weapons. Oncewe’ve dropped we can re-role into a pure air-to-air fighter to take over from our previousescorts for target area CAPs [combat air pa-trols] or as HVA [high-value asset] defence.”Summing up the new P1EB-standard jet,

Jones said: “Most impressive is the ability toswitch from the self-escort to ground attack;it’s literally one switch on the HOTAS [handson throttle and stick] controls. You can be in-gressing as a fighter, then switch into thebombing role, then one switch and you’reback into the air-to-air role — it’s very simple.”

Asked about his best moment in the exer-cise, Jones smiled and added: ‘Watching myPaveway IV direct hit yesterday.”

A TOUGH TEST

Proving the ability to move a squadron of com-plex fighters over a long distance to then es-tablish a core fighting capability in such aharsh environment was one of the key aims ofthis deployment. Throw into the mix the Nellisaggressor forces in the air and on the groundtrying to spoil their day, and the value of theopportunity is underlined.

>> SWING - ROLE ON ‘RED FLAG’

RED FLAG FERRY

Sqn Ldr Tim Lowing is the Senior EngineeringOfficer (SEngO) on the squadron. “It’s a bigeffort to move eight aircraft half-way roundthe world,” he explained. “We have 120 engi-neers here, and the jets are both bombingand flaring. In order to meet this task the en-gineers are working in four shifts. There is aline shift for the first wave, then we have asmall rectifications window ahead of theevening mission. The real bulk of the work isdone from 01.00 to 07.00 hrs, when we dig into the deeper snags that we’ve picked upduring the day.”

As well as ironing out any problems, theend of each day usually included applyinglessons learned from the day’s flying andthe intense debriefings in the ‘Red Flag’building.Summing up the value of the exercise,

Wg Cdr Sutton said: “We are an exclusivelyTranche 2 P1EB-standard detachmenthere. Throughout the whole process of de-ploying, the pre-exercise flying at RAFLossiemouth and through exercise ‘RedFlag’ itself, the aircraft have remained ex-tremely serviceable.

“We’ve flown more than 175 sorties andwe’ve only dropped a handful through unser-viceability, so the reliability has been excel-lent. The Typhoon Force has been working towards a declaration of the P1EB capabilityfor well over a year and this has been the finalproving ground here. The Typhoon has beenperforming magnificently, the pilots have a lotof confidence and trust in the system, and theweapons have all hit their targets! This hasbeen the best possible training opportunityand the Typhoon Force is now well placed forthe challenges ahead.” <<

© Crown Copyright

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8

DASS – DEFENSIVE AIDS SUB-SYSTEM

The DASS, which constitutes the ElectronicWarfare suite, monitors and responds to theoutside world. It is installed internally andprovides the pilot with an all-round prioritisedassessment of Air-to-Air and Surface-to-Airthreats, with fully automatic response to mul-tiple threats; manual override is available.Space and computing power expansions willhouse continuous evolution for futurethreats, enhance Eurofighter Typhoon’s survivability and greatly increase overall mission effectiveness.

1 FRONT LASER WARNER

2 FRONT MISSILE WARNER

3 FLARE DISPENSER

4 CHAFF DISPENSER

5 WING TIP ESM/ECM PODS

6 REAR LASER WARNER

7 REAR MISSILE WARNER

8 TOWED DECOY

412015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDD A S S

THE PROTECTIVE SHIELDEvery Eurofighter has its own protectiveshield known as the Defensive Aids SubSystem or DASS. Its primary objective is toprotect both the pilot and the aircraft andprovide the weapon system with informationneeded to keep both viable. The DASS formspart of Eurofighter Typhoon’s avionics systemand is one of six sub systems. Its alternativename is the Electronic Warfare suite.

When dealing with potential threats there aretwo basic techniques — the first is to disruptand the second to distract. Disruption meansjamming the enemy radar or weapon and isalmost always the preferred option.Distracting means trying to make the threatbelieve the aircraft is somewhere else.

HOW DASS OPERATES

In essence the DASS, which has 360 degreesspatial awareness, detects transmissions thatimpact on the aircraft and identifies and actson potential threats. This includes assessingradar emissions and inbound missile threats(both from the ground and from enemy air-craft) and actively working against thethreats where appropriate by using ElectronicCounter Measures. It also logs any informa-tion it detects, storing it for later use, even ifit is not necessarily a threat today.

Passive Electronic Support Measures(ESM): This is the first line of defence and it’sall about watching, listening for and detectingpotential threats. It looks out for unknown,unfriendly and uncertain transmissions andcategorises them. Suspect ones are passedto the active part of the DASS which will jamthe transmission if it is hostile.

ELECTRONIC COUNTER MEASURES (ECM)Jamming: The DASS generates jamming signals to disrupt enemy RF sensors (e.g. radar).It’s the primary method to prevent enemy air-craft and ground-based systems from engaging,tracking or firing at the Eurofighter.

In addition the system has Missile Warningand, on the UK aircraft, Laser Warning.

Towed Decoy: This is essentially an ECM butit’s deployed on a wire well behind the air-craft to confuse potential threats by trying tomake them think the aircraft is at the otherend of the wire. Inbound missiles are attract-ed to the decoy.

Chaff: Used to decoy radar guided missiles,the aircraft releases a small cloud of chaffwhich are packs of aluminium that confusethe radar by giving false returns. The chaff isstored in dispensers near the wing tips sothat when they are released the vortices fromthe wing tip helps to disperse it very quicklyand in a good dispersal pattern.

Flares: These pyrotechnic devices help to de-coy infra-red guided heat seeking missiles.They are highly sophisticated pieces of tech-nology as they have to match and outsmartthe sensors on the infra-red heat seekingmissiles that pose the threat. The flares arestored in dispensers close to the engines,which are the primary heat source of the air-craft.

Computer: At the heart of the DASS is thedefensive aids computer. It deals with all thedata it gets from the individual sensors andpasses useful info to the weapon system. Thepilot gets to see what is happening butdoesn’t have to take any action as the DASSis fully automated. That said, the pilot still hasthe ability to have the final word and overridethe system. The defensive aids computer al-so provides the last line of defence by provid-ing emergency manoeuvre cueing to the pilot,to help him avoid inbound missiles.

Mission critical: The effectiveness of anyDASS system depends on how good your mis-sion data is. Mission data comprises informa-tion on the threats that are likely to be faced—including information on enemy radar andmissiles.

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD D A S S40

WHAT IS DASS?

ON THE RECORD WITHROB WELLSEurofighter Export Future Business Manager

Rear missile warner

Flare dispenser

Chaff dispenser

Wing tip ESM/ECM pods

Rear laser warner

Towed decoy

432015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDE U R O F I G H T E R

EADS - and have since had my family here andso this isn’t just a job for me but it’s becomea huge part of my life. Without this aircraft Iwouldn’t have the three children I have todayand I wouldn’t live in Munich.”Today Reyes has a key role in a crucial part

of the programme. As each new capability de-velopment comes down the line a thoroughtest evaluation is required and it’s her job tomake sure these tests take place on schedule.She looks after the coordinating and planningof the whole flight test programme ensuringnew systems and upgrades to the aircraft canbe tested and validated.“We have two aircraft that we use and at

the start we work out which aircraft is thebest fit for a particular series of tests, thenwork out its availability, the timeframe in-volved and so on. Both aircraft are equally ca-pable but they are different with different ca-pabilities and so one may be more suitablethan the other. “Every day in flight test is different be-

cause you have so many variables and con-straints to factor in — good weather, badweather. You often want to test in differenttypes of weather conditions. Then an aircraftmight have a technical issue or the clearancesneed to be done or the pilot might have aproblem. You have to be aware of all thesethings and handle them. Dealing with so manyvariables means you have to try to coordinatea lot of different things and, even though Iknow the job well, each day can throw up lotsof surprises. But that’s why I love it so much.It’s a very dynamic job, every day you get upand wonder what the day will bring.“I am the kind of person who thrives off

these things. When something happens I liketo talk to people to see if I can come up witha solution. It can be challenging and ideally Iwould like to make sure the customer is 100%happy all the time but sometimes there arethings you cannot control – like the weather orclearances – and that’s one of the most diffi-cult things,” says Reyes, who away from thetests of work relaxes with her husband andthree dogs.One of the highlights of her varied career

came on 27 March 1994 when Typhoon madeits maiden flight. Though a relatively low keyaffair, Reyes was one of a select group invitedto witness the milestone in the flesh. She wasgiven the honour of representing the WorksCouncil (Reyes has been chair of the Councilfor more than 20 years), and attended this lit-tle piece of aviation history with the managingdirector.

“That first flight of the Eurofighter proto-type, the A1, is the day I remember most.After overcoming so many challenges overseveral years it was a very emotional day. Ieven kissed the aircraft! I can honestly saythat first time Eurofighter flew was really thehappiest day in my professional life.“Seeing the aircraft fly for the very first

time was like the birth of a new baby. Rightfrom the beginning this is what we had beenworking towards. I know I wasn’t very impor-tant in the company but in my own small wayfrom my little desk I had been fighting to getthe aircraft into the sky. So it was like a littlebrother of mine, because I had put so muchemotion into it.”Back at the start, with the Cold War still an

ongoing factor, Reyes linked up with an enthu-siastic team. “When I was very small my parents sent

me to France and other places to study. Itwasn’t a very normal upbringing because myfather travelled a lot but I enjoyed it. So I knewfrom an early age that I wanted to be out inthe world, to learn the languages and havecontact with different people and cultures.That’s why I like the Eurofighter world somuch because it’s a mix of all cultures.“When I joined in 1985 it was a new thing

for everybody and there was a great spirit be-tween the companies with a group of peoplefrom different nationalities working togetherfor a common goal,” she recalls. “That was awonderful feeling – a real bond. We had a feel-ing we were doing something very special together.”Not that it was an easy life. Reyes remem-

bers working late into the night – though no-one complained.“We often worked 12, 13 hours and some-

times even all through the night. That kind ofthing didn’t worry us because we all felt drivenby what we wanted to achieve. It sparked theenthusiasm and energy which was at theheart of those early days.“From a personal perspective I really liked

meeting and working with people from othernationalities and I like this company becauseit is unique.”Like a proud mother Reyes believes that

the Eurofighter has a real chance of enjoyinga great future.“I really hope so because for me, this air-

craft is fantastic and has the potential to offereven more in the future. Time will tell but I ex-pect the company will get more contracts. Ireally feel there’s opportunity because it’s agreat product.” <<

“I love this aircraft,” she says. “Not just be-cause it’s technically amazing but it’s sosmart and elegant. For me there’s somethingvery British about the aircraft. To me it com-bines the elegance of Concord with the soul ofa fighter and that’s magnificent.”If there’s a heartfelt passion in the picture

she paints it’s because the Eurofighter hasbeen such a massive part of her life. It still is.Though born in Barcelona, Reyes lived most ofher pre-Munich life in Madrid, only arriving inGermany in the very early days of the pro-gramme.“They were actually looking for someone

who was confident enough to go to anothercountry and could speak other languages.Initially they asked me to come to Munich fortwo or three months. I’ve been here eversince. I met my husband here - he worked for

2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD E U R O F I G H T E R42

A LIFE IN A DAY On November 5, 1985Reyes Carrion started workon the first day of whatwas supposed to be a brieftwo-month placement atEurofighter in Munich.Almost 30 years latershe’s still there! Not surprisingly, over thedecades Flight TestCoordinator Reyes has become part of theEurofighter family – andthe aircraft has becomepart of hers. >>

REYES CARRIONEurofighter’s Flight Test Coordinator

AFinnish first was marked recently whenthe Eurofighter Typhoon Team made itsdebut appearance at the Turku Air Show.

Over two days, the Team, supported by itsEurofighter Partner Company Airbus Defence& Space, briefed a wide range of Air Show del-egates on the capabilities of the EurofighterTyphoon and what it could offer this amazingand fascinating Scandinavian country.Turku, Finland’s former capital, is located

to the Northwest of Helsinki and can bereached in a two hour drive from the new cap-ital. On the Friday before the show the Teamattended a Mayoral Reception at the local cityhall and were warmly welcomed by the Finnishorganisers and representatives.On Saturday, June 6th, Paul Smith, former

RAF Eurofighter pilot and now CapabilityManager for Eurofighter, briefed 15 Finnishjournalists on the Eurofighter Typhoon – already the backbone of European air power -and one which could provide the Finnish AirForce with proven and reliable equipment offering new levels of capability for decadesto come. Smith’s presentation to the media was

well received, and many visitors came to seethe Eurofighter delegation at the Show to findout more. Walter Mancini, Eurofighter’s Vice

President of Business Development welcomedFinnish delegates to a special Eurofighter

briefing on the Sunday, the last day of theshow where Paul Smith went into more detailon the operational capabilities of theEurofighter and explained just what it couldoffer the Finns. An interesting highlight at the Show was

provided by Rauli Mard, a Finnish aviation

artist, who used chalk to create a uniqueEurofighter Typhoon artwork during a live ses-sion in the Air Show’s VIP area. Eurofighter Typhoon looks forward to fur-

ther visits to Finland and will be happy tocome back to Turku Air Show in 2016 to showmore of the capabilities of the aircraft. <<

TYPHOON TEAM AT TURKU Eurofighter had strong representation at Turku Air Show.

452015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDE X P O R T2015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD E X P O R T44

Belgium needs to replace an ageing fleetof F-16’s to be sure of sovereign pro-tection for years to come - and to be

able to offer an air-power solution that can in-teroperate effectively with its neighbours andeffectively participate in expeditionary mis-sions, as Belgium has successfully demon-strated in last decades. As the nation gets togrips with one of the most important spendingdecisions it will have to make in terms of de-fence for years, Eurofighter is pulling out allthe stops in a bid to persuade the Belgians tojoin the Eurofighter family and thus furtherstrengthen European air power and the indus-trial base which supports it.Eurofighter’s Partner Companies already

have huge experience in delivering Europeanand global defence programmes – not justwith military fast-jets, but with helicopters,military transport aircraft and a variety ofhigh-end military hardware.“This is an important campaign for us and

for the future of the European defence indus-try,” said Alberto Gutierrez, CEO ofEurofighter GmbH. “A Eurofighter Typhoonsolution would strengthen Europe’s ability tooperate as ‘one’ and would also help sustainand continue growing a European industrialbase.”

Working closely with its EurofighterPartner Company, BAE Systems, a dedicatedBelgian Campaign Team has been establishedto support the initiative. Christoph Kokott,who is heading the project management atEurofighter GmbH for the campaign, said: “It’swidely recognised that the EurofighterTyphoon already forms the backbone ofEuropean air power and the recently pub-lished RUSI Report (see page 16) makes clearthat the aircraft is destined to play a majorrole in European air power for decades tocome.“It’s common sense that with the UK,

Spain, Germany, Italy and Austria already op-erating Eurofighters, there will be real bene-fits in terms of ‘critical mass’ and interoper-ability if the Belgians chose to opt for us. Wehave already seen a lot of interest from theBelgian military in what we have to offer – andthere have been visits by Belgian delegates toBritain and Germany to see Eurofighter onbase and in action.“If Belgium did opt for Eurofighter they

would become one of the NETMA family withall the benefits that this membership wouldbring. It’s an exciting prospect, but these arevery early days and we have a long way to goin building partnerships.”What is certain is that a combined

Eurofighter Typhoon acquisition with other re-gional allies would offer a unique and potentmix of potential economic, operational, indus-trial and support benefits. This includes bene-fits in terms of training, logistics and maintenance.It’s a compelling proposition – and one

that Belgium is likely to consider extremelycarefully. It is the European solution for themost European of European countries. <<

As Belgium considers the selection of its futurefighter fleet, we areworking to ensure theEurofighter Typhoon isrecognised as the naturalchoice as the next majorfast-jet procurement forthe nation that sits at theheart of Europe. >>

A EUROPEAN SOLUTIONFOR THE HEART OF EUROPE

Eurofighter briefed delegates at Canada’spremiere defence exhibition CANSEC 2015this summer on the latest capability devel-

opments of the Eurofighter Typhoon.A Team from Eurofighter’s base in

Germany, travelled to Ottawa to ensure theCanadians are up to speed on a story thatcontinues to deliver.Massimiliano Marchisio, Eurofighter’s

Business Development Manager for Canada,said: “Last year we made a compelling casefor Eurofighter in Canada – not just in terms ofwhy the fighter can offer the Canadian militarywhat it needs, but also in terms of Canada be-coming parts of the Eurofighter family.“This year we returned to update them on

our story. The Canadians are already aware ofthe benefits interaction with EurofighterPartner Companies can bring and of the basiccapabilities of the aircraft which they recog-nise can service their requirements. What wewere able to do this year was update them onprogress with many of the emerging capabili-

EUROFIGHTER OFFERS CANADASTRONG DEFENCE CAPABILITY

ties that make Eurofighter the optimumchoice for air forces looking for performance,reach and flexibility.”The Canadian market analysis initiated two

years ago by the country's Department ofNational Defence (DND), is likely to enter amore active phase after the federal electionsin Canada which are scheduled to take placein October this year. Eurofighter is one of theaircraft that can meet Canada's new fighterrequirement.Max said: “The fact that the Typhoon ful-

fills all Canadian operational scenarios,while economically benefiting Canada alongwith serious commitment to grow in capa-bilities and operational experience, is givingus a great deal of credibility and capturingthe attention of the Canadian military andgovernment.“We were well received in Canada and I am

extremely pleased that we were made so wel-come and such an interest is being taken inwhat we have to offer.” <<

(L-R) Airbus Defence & Space’s Senior Adviser Air Combat Operations, Joachim Borkenstein, withADS Senior Manager Stephanie Offerdahl andEurofighter’s Business Development Manager,Massimiliano Marchisio.

472015 • EUROFIGHTER WORLDS O C I A L M E D I A2015• EUROFIGHTER WORLD R O U N D U P46

the aircraft’s already impressive availability.Support for the contract will come from allfour core nations and the enhancement pack-age will benefit all who use it.”Air Vice-Marshal, Graham Farnell, the

General Manager of NETMA (NATOEurofighter and Tornado ManagementAgency), who signed the contract on behalf ofthe core customer nations, said: “Over thelast 18 months the Eurofighter Typhoon com-munity has enjoyed a significant accelerationto the weapon system capability enhance-ment programme and I am pleased to say wehave been able to agree a number of majorcontracts which really drive the weapon sys-tem’s contribution to air power.”He said: “The agreement of the P3E con-

tract is further evidence that this is aProgramme which keeps on delivering. Asthe hugely successful Panavia Tornado movestowards the last decade of its life cycle, it ishighly re-assuring to know that the mantlewill be picked up by the Eurofighter Typhoon.Brimstone 2 capability is both a unique andwelcome addition to the capability portfolio,and whilst it is just a part of the P3E story,Brimstone represents an extremely importantcapability to have.”The four nation contract between the UK,

Italy, Germany and Spain will form the basis

Eurofighter has agreed a new capabil-ity contract that will equip theEurofighter Typhoon with the ability

to deploy multiple precision-guided air-to-surface weapons at fast-moving targetswith low-collateral damage.The Phase 3 Capability Enhancement will

also introduce a number of upgrades to theEurofighter’s mission and maintenance systems. Valued at EUROS 200 million this suite of

new enhancements, confirms EurofighterTyphoon’s full multi-role, swing-role capability.

“THIS CAPABILITY UPGRADE GIVES THEEUROFIGHTER TYPHOON UNRIVALLEDFULL MULTI-ROLE AND SWING-ROLE CAPABILITY” ...

“This capability upgrade gives theEurofighter Typhoon unrivalled full multi-roleand swing-role capability,” says AlbertoGutierrez, the CEO of Eurofighter. “Althoughthe prime focus is the introduction of theBrimstone 2 missile required by the UK RAF,P3E enhances the capabilities of the StormShadow long-range strike missile, the Meteor,Paveway IV and ASRAAM weapons, as well asintroducing modifications to further improve

NEW ENHANCEMENTCONTRACT

for the next major Eurofighter enhancement,the Phase 4 Capability Enhancement con-tract, now in its ‘definition phase’. This will laythe foundation for the Nations’ combat air ca-pability requirements into the next decade.The Phase 3 Enhancement contract is

scheduled for delivery in 2017. All four corenations will work on flight control and avion-ics and the contract will centre round ascheduled programme of weapon testing, thedevelopment and testing of flight control sys-tems, and finally store clearing and store re-lease testing. The initial fit for the Brimstone2 missiles on the Eurofighter will see twolaunchers fitted to the outboard pylons of theEurofighter each carrying three Brimstone 2missiles.The full swing-role, multi-role weapons

compliment on the Eurofighter could now in-clude a mix of: six Brimstone 2 missiles; up tosix Paveway IV bombs, two long-range StormShadow missiles, four Meteor beyond visualrange air-to-air missiles and either two IRIS-Tor two ASRAAM heat-seeking missiles.This weapons package, combined with the

high-kinetic performance and super cruisecapability of the platform and AESA radarnow being integrated onto the platform, con-firms Eurofighter as the world’s most versa-tile fast-jet fighter.

It’s never been easier to keep bang up to date with all thevery latest information and images from the world ofEurofighter. Our social media channels on Facebook,Twitter and YouTube are regularly updated to keep you inthe picture. You won’t miss a thing. Please join in — follow,like, share and engage with our ever-growing fan base. Be part of our social media family.

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE...

More on new capabilities for Eurofighter Typhoon, a report about UK RAF Eurofighters on duty in the Baltics -and updates on campaigns around the world including:Denmark, Belgium, Indonesia and the Middle East.

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Close encounter of the Russian kind – a UK RAF Typhoonon patrolling duty.’ © Crown Copyright 2015

Details of the new enhancements were revealed at the IDEX defence exhibition inAbu Dhabi in February 2015.

The contract signing was made in the presence of Philip Dunne, UK Minister forDefence Equipment, Support andTechnology, accompanied by Alberto Gutierrez, CEO of Eurofighter andAir-Vice Marshal Graham Farnell, GeneralManager of NETMA, and representativesfrom the other Eurofighter customer nations: for Germany, General ErhardBühler, Director Defence Plans & Policy;representing Italy, Lieutenant General EnzoStefanini; and for Spain, Ministry ofDefence, Secretary of State, PedroArguelles, all showing their support for thisessential capability.