issue 1 - 2008 eurofighter review

■ Locked on to Success

■ Qualifying Tranche 2

■ First Line of Defence

p r o g r a m m e n e w s a n d f e a t u r e s

General Jesús Pinillos Prieto:

Eurofighter Typhoon –The Answer

The Morón “Typhoon Meet” initiative was the first time that all fourcore programme Air Forces have collaborated in Exercise.

Highlighting the scale of the deployment, the image shows all aircrewand ground staff involved throughout the week long operation,

hosted by the Spanish Air Force. See Latest News on page 3 for more details.

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For the first time, all four Eurofighter Typhoon core Air Forces from Germany,Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom com-bined their skills for a mutual exercise atMorón Air Force Base, near Sevilla, upon invitation of the Spanish Air Force. Code-named “Typhoon Meet”, the deploymentcommenced on Monday 10 March and offi-cially finished on Friday 14 March.

In total, 20 Eurofighter Typhoon aircrafttook part in the exercise: the German AirForce deployed three aircraft from FighterWing 73 “Steinhoff” from Rostock-Laage;Italy’s Gruppo XII 36 Stormo, based at Gioiadel Colle, and Gruppo IX 4° Stormo, atGrosseto, both sent two aircraft; a total offour weapon systems came out of the RoyalAir Force’s No. 3 and XI Squadrons fromRAF Coningsby; with the remaining nine already stationed at Morón as part of theSpanish Air Force’s Gruppo 11 Ala 11.

The objective was to demonstrate the in-teroperability of Eurofighter Typhoon andits air-to-air capabilities while training with,and in mock combat against, other fighteraircraft types. While tactical aspects in real-istic scenarios were evaluated, of equal im-portance was the inter-squadron compar-isons with regards to maintenance and logistical support.

Eurofighter Typhoon flew in formationsof up to twelve aircraft against fightersbrought in from across the Spanish AirForce, including a combined ten F-18s fromAla 12, Torrejon, and Ala 15, Zaragoza,(supplying six and four respectively), aswell as four Mirage F-1 jets of Ala 14, Albacete.

In addition, the Spanish hosts had invitedthe Portuguese Air Force to take part in theexercise, who brought with them four F-16assets of 310 Escuadron, Monte Real. TheSpanish Navy also played their part withfour Harrier AV-8Plus of 9 Escuadrilla, Rota.The Eurofighter Typhoon sortie rate for the"Typhoon Meet" was three per day, with atotal of up to 70 different aircraft flying inthe training areas over Toledo, Albacete andHuelva (Atlantic Coast) daily, which deliv-ered an impressive operational scenario forthe military experts.

Spain took up air surveillance tasks in2006 and is to follow with QRA duties thisyear. And Austria will start air surveillancetasks with Eurofighter Typhoon this summer.

Dear Friends of Eurofighter Typhoon,

The remarkable achievements across theprogramme in 2007 were topped off in December with the full agreement of theSalam contract and the delivery of theTranche 3 proposal to NETMA. We have hitthe ground running in 2008, setting the pacefor the tasks ahead of us.

All activities this year are firmly focusedon securing the long-term future of EurofighterTyphoon. The first Tranche 2 aircraft hasflown and is now integrated into the Test andEvaluation programme where it will beworked hard to achieve Type Acceptance andfirst deliveries by Summer this year. TheTranche 3 negotiations have commenced andboth industry and our NETMA customer nations will strive for contract signature atthe end of the year. We expect strong politicaldebate, but we are confident that our partnernations will commit to the third Tranche ofthe Umbrella Contract that they agreed in 1998.

Our partner Air Forces are flying the jetsharder than ever before, with 15,000 flyinghours accumulated in 2007, almost half ofthe 33,000 total in-service flying hours todate. The Italian Air Force, the Royal AirForce and the German Air Force have alreadyplaced Quick Reaction Alert responsibilitieswith Eurofighter Typhoon, with Spain to follow soon. Austria is due to begin Air Sur-veillance tasks in July. But this is just the beginning. Advanced weapon system capabilityis the driving force behind our targets ofTranche 2 Type Acceptance and a successfuloutcome to the Tranche 3 negotiations. Future Enhancements packages will elevateour Air Forces to be the very best in the worldin terms of capability. The Royal Air Force arefinalising their multi-role deployability whilethe Spanish Air Base at Morón, in mid-March,played host to a four nation joint exercise assessing aircraft interoperability.

This will, of course, be of tremendous benefit in export. Domestic confidence in the programme will generate intense global inter-est. Conclusively strengthening the core programme will undoubtedly ensure a capable,profitable and unbeatable product that willform the backbone of strategic operationsworldwide for years to come. 2008 will notjust be another year for Eurofighter Typhoon,it will be a decisive year.

Enjoy the issue.

Aloysius RauenChief Executive Officer, Eurofighter GmbH

Aloysius RauenCEO Eurofighter GmbH

Four Eurofighter Typhoon Air Forces United in Exercise

Strength in Numbers

03 EditorialWelcome note from Aloysius Rauen, Chief Executive Officer

04 NewsJoint Flight Tests +++ Bilateral Force +++ Austrian Guests +++ Star Attraction

06 Locked on to SuccessEurofighter Management Conference 2008

07 Qualifying Tranche 2Flight Test Fleet Powering Ahead

08 New Eurofighter, New FacesAcquisition, Negotiation, Delivery

11 NETMA ChangesNew Face of the Customer

12 Eurofighter Typhoon - The Answer!By General Jesús Pinillos Prieto

15 Meeting the PartnersItalian Air Force Strengthens Eurofighter Relationships

16 1,000 and ClimbingFighter Wing 74 Cruise to a Flight Milestone

17 First Line of DefenceEurofighter Typhoon Begins QRA in Germany

18 High PerformanceOptimum Power for Eurofighter Typhoon

19 Above the RestGeoffrey Lee’s Latest Eurofighter Typhoon Book

20 Beyond Visual RangeMeteor: Redefining Combat Capability

22 Low Level FlyingRAF Typhoons Rip Through the Welsh valleys

Eurofighter Review is published byEurofighter GmbH, PR & CommunicationsAm Söldnermoos 17, 85399 HallbergmoosTel: +49 (0) 811-80 1587

Editorial representativeWolfdietrich HoevelerVP PR & Communications

EditorPhillip Lee

PhotographyEurofighter GmbH, Eurofighter Partner Companies,Geoffrey Lee Planefocus, Tom “TJ” HillItalian Air ForceJG74 German Air Force

Design & Productionimages.art.design.Andreas Westphalwww.iad-design.de

Printed byESTA Druck GmbHwww.esta-druck.de

Eurofighter Review on the Internetwww.eurofighter.com

If you would like to request additional copies ofEurofighter Review, please contact the PR &Communications Department at Eurofighter GmbH

08New Eurofighter,

new faces

Contents

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Cover picture shows a Royal Air Force No. 3 SqnEurofighter Typhoon on a low level pass through the “Mac Loop” in Wales, UK

Photography: Tom “TJ” Hill

Aircraft from across the core programme´s Air Forces on the flight apron at Morón Air Base, Spain

06EurofighterManagementConference 2008

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On Tuesday 05 February, a delegation fromthe Austrian Ministry of Defence in Viennaled by the Defence Attaché, Brigadier MagistoAndreas Mempör, arrived at the Eurofighterconsortium headquarters in Hallbergmoos,Germany, to meet with colleagues seconded to the programme.

Accompanied by Amtsdirektor Bruno Demmel, the two VIPs met with the four Aus-

Just short of 14 years after its first flightfrom BAE Systems Warton, and a little overone year after its final landing at RAF Con-ingsby, Eurofighter Typhoon DevelopmentAircraft Two (DA2) is now permanently residing at the Royal Air Force Museum atHendon, United Kingdom.

The British-built prototype aircraft, aworkhorse of the flight test fleet, is nowproudly hanging at the front of the viewinggallery as part of the Museum’s “Milestonesof Flight” Exhibition.

DA2 arrived by road on Tuesday 22 Janu-ary. Engineers from RAF Coninsgby andRAF St. Athens assembled the aircraft, initially putting it on display on the groundin the exhibition hall where it was to

designator pod trials using Instrumented Series Production Aircraft One (ISPA1, orBT005 of the RAF).

Mark Bowman, BAE Systems’ Typhoon Project Test Pilot commented: "It has been apleasure to again work so closely and produc-tively with both the customer and our industrycolleagues. Not only does this expand theknowledge base of the evolving product acrossthe whole programme, but also exposes otherEurofighter Partner Companies to the integrat-ed way the United Kingdom has adopted to thedesign/development/operational test cycle. In support of this, aircraft availability has beenkey where, on most days, all four aircraft havebeen made available to the flying programme"

Eurofighter Typhoon is truly a product of in-dustry and operator co-operation. Nowhere isthis more evident than in the Test & Evaluationteams from across the partners. This joint approach was demonstrated recently when testaircrew from EADS Military Air Systems inGermany and the Royal Air Force supportedcrucial flying tasks utilising all four of the BAESystems-operated aircraft stationed at 4 Hangarat their Warton facility, United Kingdom.

Their combined efforts covered a wholerange of Main Development tasks. The EADScontribution focused on providing support tothe Block 8 Entry into Service programmewhich included air-to-surface, radar and Defen-sive Aids (DASS) testing. The BAE Systems andRoyal Air Force crews meanwhile dedicatedtheir attention to the now completed laser

The India campaign, for the export of128 multi-role combat aircraft, is set to hotup over the next twelve months. The flyingevaluations will take place at the end of theyear, possibly running into 2009, whereeach competing party is expected to placethree aircraft in-country for a period ofthree months. The results of these evalua-tions will determine the three aircraft to beshort-listed. The Indian authorities will

In support of the ongoing campaign to exportEurofighter Typhoon to India, the Chief ofthe Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal FaliHomi Major, spent two days with the Euro-fighter programme in Spain to be briefed onthe production and operational aspects ofthe Spanish Air Force’s newest weapon system.

Part one of Air Chief Marshal Major’strip took in the Final Assembly facilties atEADS CASA, Getafe, on 21 January. Hostedby Mariano Barrena, Key Account Leader atEADS Defence & Security in Spain, and Antonio Rodriguez Barberán, Director ofMarketing and Sales at Military Air Systems,India’s top Air Force official was given unre-stricted access to Military Air Systems’ production capabilities. Day two saw the AirChief Marshal flown to Morón Air ForceBase on the invitation of Colonel Machés,Base Commander at Morón, for a bilateralmeeting between the two Air Forces. Although he didn’t participate in any flying,a Eurofighter Typhoon display of aerobaticswas organised in his honour where AirChief Marshal Major was able to admire theaircrafts performance.

International Co-operation in Aircraft Development

Joint Flight TestDefence Attaché visits Eurofighter HQ

Austrian Guests

DA2 Relocates to the RAF Museum

Star Attraction

Indian Air Force Chief visits Spain

Bilateral Force

trian representatives who are stationed withIndustry and NETMA to assist in the processof aircraft acceptance into service with theAustrian Air Force. The group also received astatus briefing from the Austria team headedby Programme Director, Peter Maute.

The procurement contract with the Repub-lic of Austria covers 15 Eurofighter Typhoonweapon systems of Tranche 1 standard. The

first handovers took place in July 2007 followingmonths of renegotiations on the original contract.By the end of 2007, five aircraft had been deliv-ered to the Air Surveillance Wing at their ZeltwegMain Operating Base, with the remainder sched-uled for delivery by 2009.

Austrian Defence Attaché (5th from left) at consortium headquarters, Germany

From left to right: Test Pilots from the Royal Air Force, BAESystems and EADS combine for flight test at Warton, UK

then assess the respective manufacturers’responses to the initial Request for Proposal(RFP), submitted already in early Marchthis year, before a final decision is given.

remain over the following eight weeks whilethe engineers planned the rigging andhoisting process. Finally, on 19 March, theteam put their plans into operation andslowly lifted Eurofighter Typhoon DA2 intoits final dramatic position in the Milestonesof Flight gallery.

As the “black” Typhoon (the aircraft waspainted black in order to hide the 490 pres-sure transducers), DA2 was at the forefrontof developing the carefree handling aspectsof the Flight Control System. Its edge-of-envelope workmeant that it was the only EurofighterTyphoon to be fitted with the anti-spin gantry.

The full scale replica model that DA2 hasreplaced is scheduled to be erected on polesoutside the museum as a “gate guardian”.

The lifting process begins DA2 was temporarily displayed on theexhibition floor prior to suspension

DA2 in its final positionat the RAF Museum,

Handon

Air Chief Marshal Major (3th from left) takes aguided tour of the EADS-CASA final assemblyfacilities.

AMRAAM and IRIS-Tfor air-to-air combat,and Paveway II, En-hanced Paveway II,GBU-10 and GBU-16for air-to-groundtasks. Lending theirpresence to Tranche2 testing further, several IPAs have, in recentweeks, been heavily and successfully involvedin Equipment qualification. The ComputerSymbol Generator (CSG) and the Identifica-tion Friend/Foe (IFF) transponder have beenput through a rigorous evaluation procedureto ensure the correct tagging of other airborneplatforms. Additionally, the Interface Proces-sor Unit (IPU), the system that deals with allBus traffic between aircraft systems, has undergone a series of tests assessing correctmaintenance recording and failure tracking.

As the workload for Tranche 2 increases,the number of tasks remaining in order tocomplete the Main Development Contract(MDC) is shortening. By the end of 2007,Service Release Package 4.1 (SRP 4.1), thelast evaluation segment of the MDC, wasnearing finalisation with just a handful ofcustomer re-fly requests outstanding. IPA1completed both the Autopilot assessment aswell as the Official Assessment of the air-to-air Handling Qualities. At the end of Febru-ary, IPA3 took to the skies at Manching forwork on the Limited Change Capability 4.1(LCC 4.1) of the Flight Control System (FCS).

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Eurofighter Management Conference 2008

All eyes were on Munich on 13 March as the key decision-makers from across the Eurofighter consortium converged in Southern Germany to discuss the programmestatus and the way ahead. Almost 90 managers from Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems,EADS Deutschland, EADS CASA and Eurofighter GmbH took part in the Locked On To Success management conference together with the members of the SupervisoryBoard. The special guest was Werner Sabarz, Deputy General Manager of NETMA.

“After a successful 2007, major steps lieahead in the programme, so the time tomeet is right,” said Aloysius Rauen, CEOEurofighter GmbH, in his opening remarks.

“It’s all about people, as we need a com-mon understanding, what we have to do,who does it and who is responsible for it.We have innovative technology and a com-petitive product. We need a joint and effi-cient approach to satisfy the customer.”

Werner Sabarz made it very clear in hispresentation that efficiency is the main concern, demanding more cost reductionand improvement of processes. The area ofIntegrated Logistic Support has received atremendous amount of industrial attentionas part of the reduction process. Conse-quently, the customer is happy with the development of the Aircrew Synthetic Train-ing Aids (ASTA) programme and the socalled Neuburg approach which have alreadyyielded improvements, and therefore costreductions, in areas such as Defensive Aidsand radar maintenance. Mr Sabarz alsocalled for a more transparent contract struc-ture in the area of Logistic Support as ajoint initiative between NETMA and the industry.

In his presentation, Maurizio De Mitri,Chief Operating Officer Capabilities, focusedlargely on the transition of Integrated Lo-gisitc Support. Two major objectives deter-mine the industrial ILS strategy: more reduction in respect to cost of ownership;and provision of higher operational avail-ability. These goals are to be achievedthrough four workstreams:

1) Management of Changes and In Serviceembodiment, representing aircraft modifica-tions and retrofits as well as modificationsin other areas like ground equipment ortraining aids. Main responsible player inthis is the National Partner Company, supported by Eurofighter GmbH.

Top: Aloysius Rauen presents to the Programme Managers

Middle: Werner Sabarz, Deputy General Manager of NETMA,speaks at the conference

Bottom: The Board of Management listens intently to theconference presentations

Eurofighter CEO calls for a “joint and efficient approach”

2) Improvements in the equipment supplychain leading to common logistic supportbased on National Performance-related requirements and specifications with moremanagement authority of Eurofighter GmbH.

3) Streamlining of processes and contractsis a central task of Eurofighter GmbH lead-ing to a new contracts suite in the supportarea reducing existing complexity of con-tracts and increasing efficiency.

4) Improvements in the Air Forces´ opera-tions by strengthening engineering servicesleading to common technical support in all nations through the National Support Centres.

Eurofighter’s Chief Financial and Com-mercial Officer, Victor De La Vela, under-lined that the business opportunities in theprogramme are immense. Brian Phillipson,Chief Operating Officer Programmes, high-lighted recently achieved milestones includ-ing the agreement of Main DevelopmentContract closure and the completion of allTranche 1 weapons testing including the in-tegration of a Laser Designator Pod for theRoyal Air Force.

Questions and Answer periods were intensively used for discussions amongstthe participating managers demonstratingthe overall success of the initiative.

Wolfdietrich Hoeveler

As Instrumented Production Aircraft Seven(IPA7) touched down at EADS Military AirSystems’ Manching site following its firstflight on 16 January, the target of Tranche 2Type Acceptance was fixed firmly in thesights of the Eurofighter Test & Evaluationteams. IPA7, as the first Tranche 2 EurofighterTyphoon, and IPA6, essentially a Tranche 1aircraft but one which is loaded with thecomputer suite and avionics of the secondTranche standard, will be leading the chargeto attain the certifications required for delivering the next batch of 251 weapon systems into operational service.

Although IPA7 was put into a Pausephase throughout February as it underwentupgrades to its avionics, IPA6 has beenbuilding up the air miles most notably inASRAAM integration tests, flying in co-oper-ation with IPA1. In further firing evaluations,

IPA2, the Alenia-operated aircraft, has beencarrying out important AMRAAM C5 sepa-ration tests. The objective was to check onthe safe jettison of the missile in relation to other stores ensuring that, on launch, asafe distance is achieved between the weaponitself and the Paveway II store still loaded onthe inboard pylon of the aircraft. Both thejet and the missile performed flawlessly.The successful test flight, conducted by Alenia Aeronautica at Decimomannu AirBase, Sardinia, means that all requiredweapons for operation with Tranche 1 arenow cleared, including AIM-9L, ASRAAM,

IPA2 airborne during AMRAAM C5separation tests

Flight Test Fleet Powering Ahead

Qualifying Tranche 2

This is a NETMA-approved initiative where,under controlled flying parameters, onlycertain sections of the FCS are tested withinthe entire system. This technique is provingto be much more efficient than standardbench-testing of upgraded software, wherethe entire software package is examined,and ensures that the Flight Test programmeretains all its assets.

Elsewhere across the programme, ISPA1(the Series Production Aircraft BT005 of theRoyal Air Force) has been involved in the assessment of the Head Equipment Assembly(HEA). Utilising Air Force pilots from thepartner nations, the Night Vision Enhance-ment goggles have been put through theirpaces on the HEA MK II+. ISPA1 is also deployed with the Combined Test Team(CTT) for joint industry/Air Force tasks, especially where the integration of air-to-ground munitions is concerned. As well asavionics integration for the Enhanced Pave-way II bomb, the CTT has, at the end of February, conducted a live laser firing ofthe Laser Designator Pod (LDP). Althoughthe Enhanced Paveway II is scheduled forfuture integration, the LDP work is consid-ered highest priority under the banner ofChange Proposal 4.2 (CP 4.2), otherwiseknown as the “Austere capability”, alongwith the full integration of the Paveway IIlaser-guided weapon.

Making up the rest of the team, IPA4 hasjust returned to operations following its 400flight hours inspection and will now progresson to Multi-function Information Distribu-tion System (MIDS) testing. IPA5’s notablecontributions have come on the DefensiveAids programme, assessing the threat prioritisation of the DASS system.

Phillip Lee

The gap between stores through whichthe AMRAAM C5 must safely pass

Introducing:Maurizio De Mitri,COO Capabilities

From a starry-eyedstudent dreaming ofone day joining theaeronautical world,Maurizio De Mitri

began his professional aerospace career asa Commercial Executive on the Tornadoprogramme at Aeritalia, now Alenia Aero-nautica. Moving up through the Commercialranks, Mr De Mitri soon established himselfas Commercial Director for Military Aircraftbecoming a major force in Alenia’s MilitaryProgrammes of Tornado, Eurofighter Typhoon,the C-27J transport aircraft, the ATR 42Maritime Patrol aircraft and the Harrier.From 1995 to 1998, he operated in the roleof Programme Director for EurofighterTyphoon at Alenia, and then on to Head ofthe Combat Aircraft Business Unit. In 2004,and for the subsequent three years,Maurizio De Mitri was Managing Director atPanavia Aircraft GmbH before finally landingthe role of Chief Operating Officer forCapabilities within the Eurofighter consor-tium. Ten months later, he sat down with EFREVIEW to discuss all things Capabilities.

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2007 saw the major overhaul of the internalstructure at Eurofighter GmbH. The result-ing streamlined organisation, reducingfrom nine directorates to just three, alsotook influence from the new philosophy atthe heart of all contract work – Acquisition,Negotiation, Delivery. Playing their signifi-cant parts in the re-structured programmeare Maurizio De Mitri, Chief Operating Officer Capabilities, and Victor de la Vela,Chief Financial and Commercial Officer.Both took the time to speak to EF REVIEWto discuss their achievements during theirfirst year at the helm and where they hopeto steer the programme through its nextphase.

The re-organisation of Eurofighter GmbHhas seen the company streamlined intothree programme areas. What was the rationale behind this?

Reducing the organisation into threepure areas, Programme, Finance & Commer-cial and Capabilities, demonstrates thechange into an organisation that is more ef-ficient and more effective. In other words,an integrated organisation, because threedirectorates interact much more effectivelythan nine separate teams. This is the idea.We have more of a focus on programme ob-jectives with clear and integrated targets tobe achieved. Of course, running simultane-ously is the drive to reduce overall pro-gramme costs, and this goes hand-in-handwith lowering the number of people in man-agement positions.

Integration is the key then?Exactly. Better integration is the mission

of the new organisation. Something that isparticular to the aerospace and defencebusiness is that we share expectations notonly in contract delivery, but also productdelivery, and by this I mean to deliver capability to the customer to operate the Eurofighter Typhoon as a complete WeaponSystem. This is the essence of my function.

How would you define capability?My interpretation of the role of Capabili-

ties is to align product capability with cus-tomer expectations. We are managing thedevelopment, production and in-servicesupport, and the relevant contracts, of theEurofighter Typhoon weapon system. Ourgoal is purely and simply to deliver the con-tracted capabilities to the customer i.e. aweapon system which is not only able to fly,but one that is capable to perform missionsand be supported through a comprehensivein-service support system. The integrationof in-service support is as critical as anyother factor in the overall programme in de-livering capability. From an industry pointof view, we have been good in delivering de-velopment contracts, production contractsand in performing within the Initial Logis-tics Support contracts. This places the air-craft in the hands of the Air Forces. Whatwe are now striving to do is to deliver theoperational capabilities and a sustained in-service support in order for the Air Forcesto fulfil their mission responsibilities.

We’re almost 12 months into the life of‘New Eurofighter’. What have been the major achievements in that time?

We have recorded significant achieve-ments in 2007 and are continuing in thatvein in 2008. I believe 2007 has been a veryimportant year for the programme, in thatwe have issued the operational performancefor Service Release Package 4.1 (SRP4.1)which, in real terms, means basic develop-ment is broadly completed. With the im-mense growth potential of our product,there will be future upgrades, future en-hancements to use the buzz word. There aresome remain- ing activities which are stillto be completed in the next phase of theprogramme, but the basic development ofthe aircraft is there.

Are you referring to the Main DevelopmentContract (MDC)?

Yes. Basically, the obligations under theMain Development Contract have been fulfilled. We have delivered the requestedevidences and documentation and have provided the customer with an OverallWeapon System Assessment in relation tothe performance capabilities which havebeen achieved. This is very important because, although it brings the curtaindown on a tremendous amount of work, crucially it has laid the foundation for future enhancement activities. There arenew upgrades, new developments in thepipeline. What we have accomplished is tohave developed an outstanding and capableplatform, and one which has the growth po-tential to receive further upgrades in orderto reflect the state-of-the-art in terms oftechnology and weapons.

Additionally, we are about to completethe core programme’s Tranche 1 delivery,another very important achievement in2007. Although we still have a few Tranche 1standard jets to be delivered, in essence, we have completed the basic production ofthe aircraft.

Looking ahead, we have put in place allthe activities in order to be able to start thedelivery of the Tranche 2 aircraft this year.We have been able to sign the Salam con-tract for deliveries to the Kingdom of SaudiArabia which, after the Austria contract,gives the programme’s internationalprospects a further enormous boost. Inachieving this contract, we have supported

Acquisition, Negotiation, Delivery

New Eurofighter, New Facesthe negotiation team by bringing to the tableall the technical capability aspects. We hadto, for example, support them in terms ofdefining the technical specifications, air-craft delivery plan and in-service support forthe Salam product. This is something gener-ated by us in Capabilities.

You described your involvement in theSalam negotiations but, in terms of thecore programme, how much interlinking isthere with the Commercial and Programmesdirectorates within the new structure?

This is one of the key points in creatingthe new organisation. We need to work inan integrated environment because, for example, any decision taken in the technicalarea has an impact in the other areas andvice versa. If you look at the businessprocess from programme acquisition to pro-gramme delivery, you will see that there isalways a need for each Directorate through-out. In the contract acquisition phase, Capa-bilities’ input is critical in defining whatkind of product we, as a whole, can deliver.It is also important to note that in the caseof there being no specific requirement fromthe customers, our role is also to generatesuch a requirement by examining the over-all scenario and defining a proposal whichcould attract their interest. In case opera-tional requirements are defined by the cus-tomer, it is Capabilities which is outliningthe best solution.

As Commercial build a price proposal,our contribution is delivering the technicaldocumentation in the form of annexes to bediscussed with the customer during the negotiation. Once the proposal is receivedby the customer, we move into contract negotiation. Here, we support the Commer-cial team in conjunction with Programmes intrying to negotiate the best balance betweentechnical, programme and commercial issues.After the contract signature, while discharg-ing our obligations, our responsibility in Capabilities is to really manage the PartnerCompanies and the Supplier work in orderto deliver the contracted product/ servicesthus ensuring that the Programmes teamcan deliver them to the customer. Carefulmanagement of this phase is of utmost im-portance. All programmes go through diffi-cult periods but strong management canturn all positions positively.

Should we, as an organisation, fail tomeet all criteria of a contract, the Capabili-ties and Programmes organisations enterinto the joint Risk Management process,where alternative options to mitigate theproblem will be identified. Then, in co-oper-ation with Programmes, we decide which isthe most suitable solution that can be im-plemented in order to ultimately achieveproduct/service acceptance from the customer.

In the phase of contract acquisition, youdescribe how your teams respond to customerrequirements. Putting this into an exportcontext, for example, should a nation request a capability not currently undercontract in the core programme, can youstill deliver?

Export is a very specific area demandingspecial attention. In the core programme,we have one customer, a clear customer,which is NETMA representing the core nations. In export, the customer is the po-tential market. We, as Capabilities, workingwith the export analysts, identify the possiblerequirements emanating from the marketand our contribution is to then identify aproduct which can be offered to the market.In the instances where there is a clear demand, we contribute in developing theproposal and discussing what kind of productand what kind of services we are in a posi-tion to deliver.

In this respect, I would like to highlightone very important accomplishment fromDecember last year. We have, in cooperationwith Export Support, produced the “ProductExport Strategy”, which is the first of itskind in the programme, and which representswhat we are able to offer into the market,recognising also the inter-linkage with thecore programme. It highlights the potentialcustomers and their respective requirementsand, based on those scenarios, what we asCapabilities are in a position to offer.

Does the document also account for futurecapabilities?

Absolutely. Not only do we take into con-sideration what is the state-of-the-art today,but also what we are already developing forthe core programme in the future. This in-cludes the Phase One and Phase Two En-hancements (P1E, P2E) and, in addition, thepredicted requirements identified in thewider market. Our “Product Export Strategy”also handles the economic and technologi-cal market requirements, namely Offsetsand Industrial Participation. The nationalindustries in the potential Customers can beassured that they will benefit from technol-ogy transfer as well as potential involvementin future capabilities development.

How can we further improve on deliveringcapability to the customer?

Our first priority is to ensure aircraftavailability. We need to maintain close rela-tionships with the operators to understandhow they are using the aircraft and any dif-ficulties they are encountering in-service. We must then work together through the International Weapon System Support Sys-tem (IWSSS) to recover in-service issues inorder to ensure that we are delivering ahigh-availability weapon system. This is

very important. We are generating an“Availability Report” which covers these issues, highlighting that our attention is notonly focused on contract delivery but also toresponding to customer needs. I believe thatour In Service Support function must play akey role in this, while we must also utilisethis channel for discussions on future up-grade programmes. There is already a closeco-operation with the core customer in iden-tifying the areas for future capabilities inTranche 2 and Tranche 3, and it’s with thisindustry/operators integration that wecould improve our performance in deliver-ing capabilities.

Do you envisage the change at the top ofNETMA affecting the transition in the Support System?

No, not at all. On the contrary I believethat the new Management in NETMA couldpositively contribute to this process. One ofthe big achievements in 2007, and which isongoing in 2008, is the transformation ofthe Integrated Logistics Support. We are developing the future In-Service Support(ISS) strategy detailing how we manage thesupport in the future through recognition ofthe expectations from each individual na-tion. If we talk about affordability, we needto look for efficiencies together with effec-tiveness i.e. reducing the total cost but im-proving aircraft availability. In this ILS strat-egy, there is a trade-off between nationalsupport policies and national expectations.The cost-saving measures are also achiev-able through economies of scale in an inter-national framework, working towards a sharedinvestment, and, consequentially, workingin an integrated overall ILS environment.

When do you hope to roll the strategy out? The Industrial Strategy is finalised. We

have started promoting this strategy to thecustomer. I believe that it is in line with the nations’ strategy and in line with the inter-national programme needs. We are not simplydeveloping, we are not simply producingand we are not supplying simply in-servicesupport to the aircraft but we are thinkingstrategically. And strategic integration. Thatis our mission. We have a revolutionaryweapon system and now we are developingcapabilities in an integrated environmentand this is the way forward.

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The Eurofighter programme has enteredperhaps its most important phase. Tranche3 is the hot topic throughout the consor-tium with all stakeholders firmly focused onsecuring the contract to be able to deliverthe third tranche of Eurofighter Typhoonaircraft to the nations. The customer, theNATO Eurofighter and Tornado Manage-ment Agency (NETMA) have, for their part,injected fresh life into the negotiations fol-lowing a raft of changes at the top of theirmanagement structure.

General Manager: Lt Gen Antonino AltorioBefore being appointed by NATO’s General

Secretary to be NETMA’s next Gener-al Manager, Lt GenAltorio held the position of LogisticsCom-manderfor theItalianAir

Force, from June 2005, at theirHeadquarters in Rome. Earlier,beginning in October 2002, he representedthe Italian Military to NATO and EU Mili-tary Committees in Brussels, this comingafter his stint as a member of the NEFMOBoard which gave Lt Gen Altorio his first experience of the Eurofighter programme.He has accumulated around 3,000 flyinghours on several types of aircraft and heli-copters, and recently had the pleasure offlying Eurofighter Typhoon.

Deputy General Manager: EDirBWB WernerSabarzSupporting the NETMA leader isWerner Sabarz, theformer Head of theProject Division Airin the German

Federal Office of Defence Technology andProcurement (BWB). In his former role, hewas responsible for the procurement of allaerial and space vehicles of the German

Armed Forces, including the Eurofighter Typhoon weapon system. Prior to that, Herr Sabarz directly participated in the Eurofighter programme as Head of the German Delegation in the NEFMO Board between 2003 and 2005.

Director of Opera-tions and Engineering: MGen Juan Antoni-no DorronsoroHis re-appointmentat NETMA marks areturn to a former office for MGen Dorronsoro having

already been in the employ of the customerbetween 1993 and 1996. Since then, he hasbeen responsible for the Personnel, Logis-

tics, CIS, Financial, Engineer-ing and Support Group for allHeadquarter activities of theJFC in Brunssum, The Nether-lands. Following this, and be-fore his return to NETMA, heheld the position of Advisor to

the Chief of Air Staff, responsible for Logis-tics and Eurofighter Typhoon matters.

Director Commercial: Mr Grant MorrisMr Morris is a seniormanager who has developed a combina-tion of specialistskills balanced witha wide experiencegained from a num-ber of policy appoint-

ments. Between 2006 and 2007, he was theprofessional head of all Commercial staff inthe United Kingdom Defence Logistics Or-ganisation. In the year prior to his appoint-ment as Commercial Director at NETMA, he held the position of Director GeneralCommercial (Projects) in the United King-dom Ministry of Defence.

Phillip Lee

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New Face of the Customer

NETMA Changes

Introducing: Victor De La Vela,Chief Financial &Commercial Officer(CFC0)

In terms of pro-gramme of work,Victor De La Vela’sprofessional career

has gone full circle having started at CASAin Spain on the Eurofighter project. Heswitched to civil programmes after twoyears, where he operated for twelve monthsbefore emigrating to the United States foran engineering role supporting CASA’scontracts with the McDonnell Douglascompany. During his six years in America,Victor De La Vela made the transition to amore business-oriented role, becomingresponsible for a wider range of aspects inthe aerospace programmes. Mr De La Vela’sarea of work gradually enlarged to theBoeing Company and had the privilege ofwitnessing the Boeing-McDonnell Douglasmerger. It was around this time that Franco,German and Spanish aerospace interestscombined to form EADS, convincing VictorDe La Vela to return to Europe where hebecame Vice-President of Mergers &Acquisitions at EADS’ Paris Headquarters.From EADS, he led the UK Future StrategicTanker Programme (FSTA) and headed aPrivate Finance Initiative (PFI) to thebanking competition stage (just before thecontract signature), progressively addingCorporate Business Development to hisrepertoire, before accepting the opportunityto head all monetary and contractualmatters of the Eurofighter programme. EFREVIEW listens as Victor De La Vela talksFinance & Commercial.

As of 01 May last year, the restructured or-ganisation saw the departments of Financeand Commercial merged into one powerfuldirectorate. What was the driving force behind this decision?

I think there was a dynamic here wherethe Contracts department was trying to de-liver what they thought was a good contract,but without proper consultation with the Fi-nancial side of the company. For example, Idon’t think there was a clear assessment ofthe financial risk when we were signing acontract. Now, all the teams from the Con-tracts, Legal, Finance, Controlling and Pric-ing departments work under the same um-brella which encourages everybody to talk.Today, when I authorise the signature of acontract, I do it on behalf of all of them, mean-ing that the document has received deparmen-tal approval from all corners of the directorate.

It’s a big challenge culturally in the companybut it is working much better each day.

Your new process encourages more interaction?

Exactly, and now it’s mandatory. There is no excuse for overlooking the people fromany department, because, when we sign acontract, we do so safe in the knowledgethat all aspects are satisfactory for the Com-pany, the Terms and Conditions, the paymentplan, the associated risks, etc. In the past, itwasn’t structured like that and that’s a bigimprovement.

What are the major objectives over the next,lets say, two or three years for your depart-ment?

There are a number of challenges that Iwould like to mention. The first one, veryclearly, is the Tranche 3. The teams in mydirectorate are heading the Tranche 3 nego-tiations on behalf of the Eurofighter consor-tium, so we are, in effect, responsible forthe successful completion of the contract.This is the biggest target right now.

Another objective is the Main Develop-ment Contract (MDC) closure. We are on thethreshold of wrapping up the MDC and areworking hard to ensure the contracts forfurther development after the MDC are correctly structured.

We have another target in creating aproper new contractual framework for theSupport Contracts. At the moment, we havetoo large a number of very different contracts,which require a lot of resources and effortto manage. We believe a uniformed contractstructure is much easier to manage and isthe sensible way forward.

The MDC closure is also a top priority inMaurizio De Mitri’s Capabilities direc-torate. In what way are you both workingtogether to conclude that contract?

The new organisation is set up in such away that, with every area of work, one ofthe three directorates will have a leadingrole backed up with the support of the remaining two. One can not move withoutthe others being aligned. For decision-mak-ing on critical items, the first interlinkage is to be found in the Eurofighter Board ofManagement. The initial discussions beginthere, from which our respective teamswork together on the direction we decide totake. Just as an example, this morning Ichaired the Contract Review Meeting wherewe discussed the MDC closure again and, asusual, among the attendees we had the Pro-grammes and Capabilities Chief OperatingOfficers ensuring the full co-ordinated sup-port among the directorates. The new organisation represents properly co-ordinated

decision-making, but also gives accountabil-ity and clarity on how we, as a company, needto progress.

Where does Finance & Commercial fit intothe three point strategy of Acquisition, Negotiation and Delivery?

Let me tackle this in reverse order and begin with contract delivery. In this endphase, the basic premise is we must deliveron an agreed contract, and here the Pro-grammes directorate has to take the lead.However, we will be supporting Programmesbecause, during the life of a contract, therewill be amendments and changes that re-quire Commercial participation. Going backfurther in the process, we have the contractnegotiations phase. This is the area wheremy directorate will take charge, coveringthe time between identification of a poten-tial contract till the moment we sign thecontract. If I go right to the beginning, contract acquisition is the phase where weevaluate what can be offered to the cus-tomer. This means the Capabilities team.They identify what is feasible and look tocreate a real opportunity of where we candeliver. In summary, we clearly lead the negotiation point of the strategy.

Ten months have passed since the organi-sational restructuring. What have been themajor achievements in this period?

Delivering the Tranche 3 proposal in December and the clarifications in February,both on time, has been the big achievement.Everybody, including the colleagues in theEurofighter Partner Companies (EPCs), hasbeen working very closely to meet thetimescales. Other achievements in these ten months include the signing ofthe contractual documentation regardingProject Salam. That was a big challenge be-cause it was a multi-layered agreement notonly with NETMA, but later with the PrimeContractor which, in this case, is BAE Sys-tems, and then flowing out the contractthrough us to the EPCs. Overall, it was a big challenge.

Financially, we have just closed the accounts for 2007 and I am happy to reportthat this was a very good year financiallyspeaking. In summary, the directorate hasdemonstrated a very solid performance,which is the result of the deliveries of avery capable team.

You have already mentioned Project Salam,but how much input and support do yougive in terms of export campaigns?

We have an Export Support departmenthere headed by David Richardson. Whenthere’s a campaign, the Export team co-ordi-nate with the EPCs up to the point where a

Request for Quotation (RFQ) is required tobe sent, and then the Commercial teams begin the standard Commercial procedure(the bid approval process) engaging withthe EPCs and discussing with them the conditions from which the prices will begiven. I would like to add that Export issomething that I think the Eurofighter com-munity should pursue more aggressively.We have a very good product that, if it ispriced correctly to be competitive, can winimportant campaigns. The message I wantto send to all the Eurofighter stakeholders isthat we all benefit from any export successes.Job creation, full order books for our suppli-ers, and the benefits to the programme itself need to be more appreciated.

A lot of emphasis at the moment is placeon Future Capabilities. How is the Finance& Commercial directorate involved inpreparing the programme for this?

The capabilities discussion is not drivenby the consortium, but is rather driven bythe customer because they want to have ca-pable aircraft. Our responsibility is to en-sure that we can support commerciallythose discussions. Once we are clear on whatthe customer is looking for and what the in-dustry can provide, we enter the negotia-tions and attempt to sew it together finan-cially. We are talking about further aircraftdevelopment which, at the end of the day,presents its own risks, so we need to bevery mindful of the contractual obligationsand to always consider providing value forthe money. Although we do not initially leadthese discussions, we become involved inthe game very early, because any require-ment eventually becomes a Commercial ef-fort and a contractual obligation.

How can we further improve on deliveringvalue to the customer?

As I mentioned before, we have a highnumber of contracts to support the aircraftwhich are, in my opinion, way too many especially when you consider that each onehas different Terms and Conditions for simi-lar products/services requiring a huge ef-fort to be ready to discuss any issue or tocarry out an amendment. The same appliesto the customer side, representing resourcesand money that could be better allocatedelsewhere in the programme. This is onlyone example, but we realise there are manyother potential ways to improve the efficiencyin the programme. Eurofighter is looking atthese issues very seriously and we are aim-ing to bring to the table a number of initia-tives to satisfy the customer’s demands forcost reduction in the overall programme.

Interviews by Phillip Lee

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By General Jesús Pinillos Prieto

Eurofighter Typhoon - The Answer!

Eurofighter Typhoon, in simple terms, couldbe described as a complex and lengthy project, a controversial modernisation pro-gramme plagued of technical, political andeconomic possibilities, and a very expen-sive initiative that has, over 20 years devel-opment, revolutionised defence but onethat, as a result, has produced a splendidcombat aircraft. But the real dimension of

the programme is much moreambitious. Throughout this arti-cle, I will try to show that theEurofighter programme is some-thing more than just the design,development and production ofone of the most advanced weaponsystems in the world. EurofighterTyphoon is, first of all, centralto the strategic transformationof Spanish defence policy and,second, is the answer to the

operational demands and modernisation ofour Air Force and a key player in the trans-formation and consolidation of the Spanishdefence industry.

A strategic component of the Defence Policy

The Statutory Law of Defence, 5/2005, theNational Defence Directive of 2004 and theStrategic Defence Review of 2002, are thefoundations of all Spanish defence policies.They establish the minimum requirementsand the critical capabilities of the ArmedForces and, as a consequence, those of ourAir Power and its equipment for the nextdecade. The Strategic Review takes into con-sideration potential future demands thatwill be placed on the Spanish Air Force, forexample responding to asymmetric conflicts,the fight against the terrorism, humanitarian

"The defence policy of a nation is based on two pillars, dissuasion and diplomacy. Whenboth fail, it is necessary to look for the answer in the will and the resources to achieve thevictory".The former Chief of the EF2000 Programme, and now General Sub-Director for Planningand Programmes at the Armament Procurement Directorate of the Spanish Ministry ofDefence, heralds the arrival of Eurofighter Typhoon into the ranks of the Spanish Air Force.

aid missions as well as the internal chal-lenge to sufficiently modernise the infra-structure to be able to adapt to these poten-tial scenarios. The Air Force will have to beable to undertake peace missions, maintain-ing the capacity of dissuasion while simul-taneously being able to offer rapid world-wide deployment in support of our allies.

The new strategic concept provides a balanced force with the essential and au-tonomous capacities for the independent defence of our national territories and vitalinterests, as well as being able to fully inte-grate into multi-national coalitions. A mod-ern, flexible, dynamic and sustainable forcethat guarantees:

The superiority in the confrontation

Eurofighter Typhoon constitutes the mostcompetitive and advanced weapon system

existing in the market today (the F-22, itsonly rival, is not exportable and weigheddown with a price rendering it unattain-able). The combination of sensors, arma-ment, self-protection and communicationsystems, aligned with the Flight ControlSystem in the overall sensor fusion, guaran-tees command & control networking and air

superiority over any threat. The platformnot only maintains the edge in aerial con-frontations, but its swing-role design pro-vides the capability to destroy ground-basedtargets and threats, offering the early neu-tralisation of the enemy’s Communication,Command and Control functions criticallyreducing their capacity in the fight.

Dissuasion

Eurofighter Typhoon is a key element in ourdissuasion strategy. The aircraft’s effective-ness in air defence aligned to its capabilityto execute swift and accurate attacks on anytargets, with the immediate response pro-vided by velocity and availability, withoutdistance restrictions using the air-refuelling,is primed for spearheading our defence poli-cies. The weapon system, boosted by itsabilities in Defensive Aids, precision-guidedstrikes plus a soon-to-be-added stand-off ca-pability, means that in our dissuasion strat-

IPA4 conducts many test flightsout of Morón Air Base

Pre flight checks at Morón

egy, we have the adaptable platform at ourdisposal should the option to display forceby exercised.

The technological superiority

A clear bid for the quality over quantity.The Eurofighter Typhoon next generationcombat aircraft offers an avionics conceptthat will allow the easy integration of newemergent technologies. The growth poten-tial has been an important part of its designand it is the next phase of enhancementsthat are under discussion for the aircraftconfiguration in Tranche 3. These includethe possibility of incorporating an electroni-cally-scanning radar, the capacity to operatein a network-enabled environment, and thepossibility of integrating the new genera-tion of radio communications tools, namelythe JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System) andthe SAT-COM (Satellite Communications),which will allow the operators to exceed thepresent restrictions of the UHF system.Technological barriers do not exist in thisweapon system, only those imposed by bud-getary measures.

The co-operation

The military co-operation in armament pro-grammes holds the advantage of standardis-ation across multi-national fleets, ensuringa higher degree of interoperability in theconcepts of defence and security. The factthat three nations in close proximity toSpain are equipped with the same weaponsystem facilitates the co-operation and theconvergence of efforts in combined operations.

The answer to the operational re-quirements of the Spanish Air Force

From the point of view of operations, the AirForce have confidently selected EurofighterTyphoon as the weapon of choice in a singletype force structure for its capabilities inovercoming current and emerging threats.This aircraft is the force multiplier that,with just 87 assets, will replace the air pow-er of the 150 airplanes, Mirage F1s and F/A-18s, currently in our inventory. The answer to the operational demands of theAir Force has to be a weapon system able to face any enemy, conventional or asym-metric, in any place of the world and be interoperable with the Air Forces of our allies. In order to achieve this, certain quali-ties must be in abundance:

Superiority

Eurofighter Typhoon is an aircraft designedto maintain the superiority in the air. Thecapacity of detection, identification and pur-suit of a remote target, utilising the advancedCaptor radar, FLIR and MIDS systems, mul-tiplies by a significant factor the capabili-ties of one F/A-18. In addition, the weaponsystem’s agility at supersonic speeds, cou-pled with its advanced missiles, AMRAAMand soon Meteor, enables it to neutralisemultiple targets at distances where the aircraft itself is not vulnerable. In close-incombat, its manoeuvrability and power, dis-playing high instantaneous turn rates com-bined with an excellent Human-Machine Interface and advanced short-range missiles,ensures that this airplane is simply superi-or to the rest.

Eurofighter Typhoon activities areramping up in the Spanish Air Force

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IPA4 lands at Morón

Precision

Asymmetric conflicts do not always offereasy to hit targets such as military installa-tions and other such massive infrastruc-tures. However, thanks to its laser-guidedarmaments and GPS, Eurofighter Typhooncan, under any meteorological conditions,achieve enormous precision and maximisethe damage while, at the same time, avoidcollateral effects such as own fleet lossesand loss of innocent civilian lives.

Deployability

The Spanish Air Force must have the capac-ity to detach from the Main Operating Basesto hastily prepared outposts on a worldwidescale while maintaining the same standardsof combat effectiveness. This deployabilityis an essential requirement for us in the future. The Eurofighter Typhoon is designedto operate from short runways (air-air con-figuration, 800 ft takeoff and 2,500 ft land-ing) and, backed up by the modular and eas-ily transportable design of the supportequipment, facilitates the requirement forexpeditionary missions. Currently, althoughnot at the same level of design maturity andaccumulated flight hours of the F/A-18, Eurofighter Typhoon detachments leave aleaner logistical footprint than that of its predecessor.

Sustainability

For deployed operations, the Air Force musthave a sustained maintainability. In the con-text of the evolving nature of modern con-

flicts, there is a requirement in addition tothe necessary transport to substantially reduce the logistical footprint while simul-taneously increasing weapon system avail-ability. In Eurofighter Typhoon, the reliabili-ty of its components offer a performance ratio of nine maintenance man-hours perflight hour, half that of the F/A-18, suitingthe aircraft for overseas operations. The

Royal Air Force has anticipated a Typhoondeployment to Afghanistan in 2008 and hasbeen able to consolidate the logistical chal-lenges in their rehearsals. In flight, the on-board sensors constantly relay informationto the cockpit establishing a link betweenaircraft and pilot, informing him of sub-sys-tem performance and advising on any nec-essary corrective actions. Furthermore thedesign of the aircraft includes the NBC pro-tection, intended as a combination of per-sonal flight equipment, cockpit and condi-tioning sub-systems that increase surviv-ability rates simplifying infrastructures andtraditional equipment.

Playing a key role in the transforma-tion and consolidation of the indus-trial sector

The recently approved Strategic Plan for theaeronautical sector recently identified inno-vation as an essential factor of Spanish in-dustrial policy. The Eurofighter programmeconstitutes the single most important initia-tive in the history of Spain’s aeronautics

and defence sector and has been a catalystfor a succession of alliances and co-opera-tive projects that have elevated our industri-al base over the last few years.

Eurofighter Typhoon is the product of in-ternational co-operation, a result of the bestmethod fulfil the need for national defencewith sensible economic considerations. Re-alising national defence requirements will

always have a tendency towards satisfyingdomestic aerospace industries but economicreality is that the industrialist concentra-tion of knowledge and assets around pro-grammes of technological development in-evitably is the best option. Co-operation isthe only alternative to ambitious defenceprojects that will always have to overcomeincreasing costs combined with the incon-testable trend of ever-decreasing budgets.

In the two last decades, co-operativepartnerships have been created throughoutthe industry to answer the needs in aero-space, including Tornado and Eurofighter,Airbus in the sector of commercial aviation,Arianespace in for shuttles and satellites,and Eurocopter for helicopters. As a resultof these initiatives, in which Spain has beenable to participate, we experienced the con-solidation of EADS (European AeronauticDefence and Space Company) uniting theaerospace industries of Germany, Franceand Spain.

It can be said, without fear of exaggera-tion, that the Eurofighter programme hasbeen one of the main drivers of Spain’saerospace sector. The Ministry of Defencelaunched this ambitious Research and De-velopment project in the 1980’s, while itwas also supporting the production of CASA’smilitary transport aircraft C-212, CN-235and C-295. The result has been the one of aconsolidated aeronautical sector, setting inmotion a continuous evolution and an accu-mulation of intellectual capital, a true in-vestment with the promise of a strong andprofitable future.

Without a doubt, the Eurofighter pro-gramme has been essential in the integra-tion of the European aeronautics industry.In addition, in the area of Research and De-velopment programmes, it has unquestion-able economic importance in its return oninvestment. The Eurofighter programme haspromoted new and innovative companiessuch as ITP (Industria de Turbo Propul-sores, S.A.), CESA (Compañía Española deSistemas Aeronáuticos, S.A.), the electron-ics firm Tecnobit, and has also been a re-generating force behind companies like IN-DRA, Espelsa, Gamesa and Spain’s own In-stitute of Technology, INTA, all of whomcompete in the most challenging Europeancollaboration projects. More than 15 Spanishcompanies directly supply to the pro-gramme and as many as 300 are operatingas indirect participants, with a potential of22,000 people invested in the programme.Additionally, thanks to the established co-operation agreements, 99.5% of Spanishmoney invested in the Eurofighter pro-gramme is invoiced for Spanish companies.40% of the 10.700 MEuros invested will re-turn to the State in form of direct or indirecttaxes.

Italian Air Force Strengthens Eurofighter Relationships

Meeting the Partners

As a founding partner of the Eurofighterprogramme, and the first of the four AirForces to elevate Eurofighter Typhoon toQuick Reaction Alert (QRA) status, thecrews of the Italian Air Force are fully qual-ified to be able to share experiences and of-fer operational knowledge. The increasingmaturity of the weapon system has seen amarked rise in the frequency of joint train-ing exercises between the partner Air Forces,and 36 Wing’s visit to RAF Coningsby in December was one of them.

As part of this trip, four aircraft from XIIInterceptor Fighter Group at Gioia del ColleAirbase joined up with the Royal AirForce´s XI Squadron at their LincolnshireMain Operating Base. For the newest Euro-fighter Typhoon Wing of the Italian AirForce, having only officially formed in Octo-ber 2007, the deployment to RAF Coningsbyproved to be an excellent demonstration ofthe Wing’s ability to maintain aircraft avail-ability while on foreign soil. In fact, over thecourse of the trip which, as well as flyingsorties with XI Squadron, also took in exer-cises with Tornado GR4 aircraft at RAFMarham and with USAF F-15s at Laken-heath Airbase, the 36 Wing delivered a100% operational availability rate, with nomission abandoned on technical grounds.

While co-operation on Eurofighter Typhoonat Air Force level is on the increase, collabo-ration with industrial partners has longbeen regarded as the norm. And so it waswith the Italian Air Force when, with theparticipation of Eurofighter Partner Compa-ny, Alenia Aeronautica, they undertook atwo week “deep assessment”of their newestweapon system at Decimomannu Air Base,Sardinia, in December.

Under the guidance of Pratica di Mare’sExperimental Test Unit, around 25 varyingoperational scenarios across 60 hours offlight were conducted to assess tactical AMRAAM engagements under different operational conditions. Four jets in total,comprised of three out of 4° Stormo fromGrosseto and Instrumented Production Aircraft Two (IPA2) from Alenia, were em-ployed for the evaluations which includedtypical air-to-air combat missions of one-versus-one, one-versus-two, two-versus-twoand even one-versus-three.

IPA2 was fitted with Autonomous AirCombat Manoeuvring Instrumentation(AACMI) to record flight data. Results haverevealed several new elements which haveput the Italian Air Force at the forefront ofcapability and tactics development on Eurofighter Typhoon. This will be advanta-geous to the other partner Air Forces andhighlights the shared community spiritamongst the customer operators.

In February, a high-ranking strategicsummit took place in Vienna with the Chiefof Staff of the Austrian Air Force, GeneralEdmund Entacher, hosting his Italian coun-terpart, Lieutenant General Daniele Tei. Themain discussion points were Eurofighter Typhoon air surveillance and defence betweenthe two neighbouring nations and, of equalimportance, the need to pool knowledge andput in place common directives on the top-ics of logistics and support for the weaponsystem in this role.

Having had over two full years of QRAexperience with Eurofighter Typhoon, theItalian Air Force are able to offer a wealth ofadvice on building up air defence squadronswith the jet. The Austrian Air Force on theother hand only took delivery of their firstaircraft in July 2007 and, with five aircraftin their ranks by the end of the same year,are still working towards an operational level. Securing the on-ground infrastructureto support the aircraft is as important astraining the pilots for a new squadron. Gen-eral Entacher and Lieutenant General Teitalked in-depth over these issues, morespecifically on the future collaboration inthe field of advanced military pilot training. The Chief of Staff from Italy offered full

availability of the Italian Air Force to shareexperiences and knowledge in the trainingof military pilots.

This invitation was promptly acceptedand, during the week of 10 March, an Aus-trian Ministry of Defence delegation, head-ed by Brigadier General Norbert Huber,landed at Pratica di Mare Air Base for aweek of information gathering and knowl-edge sharing.

Guided by Major General Paolo Magro,Chief of the Italian Air Force General Staff,the Austrian visitors continued their tourtaking in 4° Stormo at Grosseto, the firstoperational Eurofighter Typhoon wing of

the Italian Air Force; the Aircraft Mainte-nance Unit (RMV) at Cameri Air Base; be-fore rounding the trip off with a presenta-tion from the Air Combat Training squadron(RSSTA) at Decimomannu, Sardinia.

Along the way, summit meetings withthe requisite Commanders and SquadronHeads helped to further the discussionsthat were initiated in Vienna, maintaining afocus on aircrew and ground crew trainingand logistic support of Eurofighter Typhoon.

The week in Italy concluded this roundof bilateral talks between the two AirForces. Overall, the meetings were conductedin a cordial and collaborative climate.

Phillip Lee

Major General Paolo Magro welcomesBrigadier General Norbert Huber

The Austrian Delegation arrives at Grosseto

An Austrian Delegate tests the Cockpit at Grosseto

Translated and re-printed with the permission of Aeronáutica yAstronáutica, official magazine of the Spanish Air Force.

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Eurofighter Typhoon is to replace atNeuburg/Donau. Lieutenant Gloystein notesthe difference between the two jets as: “InEurofighter, you are alone but with so muchmore computing power providing a varietyof electronic data.”

The 1,000th flight hour celebrationswere attended by all Fighter Wing 74 per-sonnel, including pilots and technicians, aswell as representation from the media.Commodore Uwe Klein, former Commanderof the Wing, was on hand to be the first tocongratulate his successor, LieutenantColonel Gloystein, as he emerged from thecockpit.

At present, Fighter Wing 74 operateseight Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, withthree more to follow in the coming weeks.The planned total for Neuburg/Donau is 25.Alongside the operational developments, araft of infrastructural enhancements arenearing completion, including a new crewbuilding and fire station.

As operations ramp up with Eurofighter Typhoon at Neuburg/Donau, and with air-craft deliveries to Fighter Wing 74 still on-going, more and more milestones are set to be achieved in the future. On 18 February,the latest benchmark was reached as theWing clocked its 1,000th flying hour withtheir newest weapon system in the skiesover Southern Germany.

Lieutenant Colonel Jan Gloystein, WingCommander at Neuburg/Donau, piloted thejet for the milestone flight and, on landing,commented: “To fly Eurofighter is a mentaland physical challenge, but one that is a lotof fun! In terms of operational versatility, efficiency and technological growth poten-tial, this next generation combat aircraft isunmatched.”

Lieutenant Colonel Gloystein is wellqualified to make such comments. Beforehis conversion-to-type at training at Laage,he had flown almost 2,000 operationalhours on the F-4F “Phantom”, the jet that

Above: Lt. Col. Gloystein is ready for take off

Below: Commodore Klein congratulates Lt. Col.Gloystein following his milestone flight

Cobham’s MEL takesthe AMRAAM load

Fighter Wing 74 Cruise to a Flight Milestone

1,000 and ClimbingEurofighter Typhoon Begins QRA in Germany

First Line of DefenceNational air surveillance received a hugeboost in Germany early in 2008 with theirQuick Reaction Alert (QRA) crews at Neuburg/Donau joined by Eurofighter Typhoon. On 08January, two of Fighter Wing 74’s newestweapon systems took to the air with two F-4F “Phantoms”, the outgoing QRA aircraft,for the start of several weeks training in or-der to gain practical air surveillance experi-ence with Eurofighter Typhoon.

The German Air Force’s most advancedfighter will ramp up its QRA responsibilitiesat Neuburg alongside its predecessor untilmid-2008. At this point, the ageing F-4F“Phantoms” will fly-out from the Bavarianbase leaving Eurofighter Typhoon with thefull responsibility for air surveillance overSouthern Germany.

QRA in the Luftwaffe

Two separate QRA crews are maintained bythe German Air Force: Neuburg, coveringthe south, are complemented by a team atWittmund, in the north. 24 hours a day, 365days a year, a state of readiness is main-tained across Germany to counter any emer-gency. Fighters are scrambled on the occa-sions where radio contact is lost with anaircraft for an extended period of time or ifit has deviated from its scheduled flightplan, nuances mainly due to pilot error ortechnical problems onboard the approach-ing aircraft. In these instances, the QRA jetswill disengage and instead offer assistanceto the pilot and, if necessary, escort them tothe nearest airfield.

The landmark achieving jet preparing for flight at Neuburg

The Alarm Chain of Command

In the Control and Reporting Centre (CRC),German airspace is monitored across fourMission Command Areas. In the event of anunidentified object penetrating the airspaceor the unscheduled change of the flightplan, either the Combined Air OperationsCentre (CAOC) in Kalkar, or the CommandCentre for National Air Defence (FüZNatLv)will be informed. With an international of-fence i.e. when the encroachment originatesfrom foreign airspace, the CAOC is notifiedwhereas all domestic situations are handledby National Air Defence authorities. In thecase of the latter, the German FederalArmed Forces, Federal police and Air TrafficControl are pulled in to co-operate on thesituation. As soon as the threat level isidentified, an officer from the Control andReporting Centre will put the call into either the Neuburg or Wittmund QRA crewsto intercept the threat. Should the situationnot be resolved following contact with theoffending aircraft, or if the seriousness ofthe situation increases to a hostile or terroristlevel, the Minister of Defence and the Chiefof the Air Force are informed. Only theyhave the authority to command in these extreme events.

Prepared for an Emergency

The QRA crews are called into action by useof a distinct siren. Under normal conditions,the pilots have 15 minutes to get airborne,however, this time requirement can beshortened. Depending on the classificationlevel of the threat, the pilots can already beon the runway within five minutes. Practicescrambles, so-called “Tango scrambles”, areheld regularly with the scenario for a one-on-one simulation, whereas “Alpha scram-bles” are the calls for the real emergencies.In both instances, the pilots are not the onlyones who must be in a state of readiness.The full team always consists of five QRAtechnicians and a multitude of supportingofficers including, amongst others, theSquadron Commanders, the airbase firebrigade, medical personnel and the Towerand radar crews. In total, approximately 50people are on round-the-clock readiness foran emergency.

Below: The new and the old will workin tandem until June 2008 when the F-4Fs will fly out of Neuburg for good

Top: Eurofighter Typhoon will form theAir Defence for Southern Germany

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In the early stages of development, closecollaboration between EUROJET TurboGmbH and the Eurofighter consortium enabled the most critical flight performancepoints to be identified, which for Eurofight-er Typhoon are at the high speed/high alti-tude condition.

Such close collaboration to fully integratethe requirements of the engine and aircrafthas delivered unprecedented levels of syn-ergy and performance. Emphasis has beenplaced on both air-to-air and air-to-groundoperations.

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As an ever-present during the development,production and in-service phases of Euro-fighter Typhoon, no one is more qualified toshowcase the photographic history of theworld’s most advanced swing-role aircraftthan Eurofighter’s official photographer, Geoffrey Lee.

Geoffrey has been photographing aircraftfor 28 years and his work has appeared inbooks and all the leading aviation maga-zines and journals worldwide. Assumingthe role of photographer for Eurofighter Typhoon in 2000, he became the first pho-tographer to fly in the jet, going on to makefour flights in total and accumulating justunder four flying hours. Geoff has alsomade countless flights in other chase air-craft, including Royal Air Force Hawks andTornados as well as military transportplanes.

Careful design and matching of the com-pressor, combustor, turbine and nozzle mod-ules ensure that the engine can utilise themaximum power available at these most demanding flight conditions.

Whilst other engines offer equally impres-sive performance figures for take-off, at thehigh speed/high altitude conditions, wherethe air temperature at inlet is increased byover 80°C, mechanical, thermal or aerody-namic limits are reached, resulting in lowerengine power.

In such cases, a larger, heavier engine isrequired, forcing significant compromisesin the overall aircraft size, design and per-formance.

With the engine design optimised for themost challenging flight conditions, perfor-mance at other flight conditions are easilymet, FADEC control allows the engine to beeffectively de-rated at such conditions in order to preserve engine life and, in turn,through-life cost.

This approach also ensures flexibility to offer increased performance and growth potential in the future.

The result is an engine that perfectlycomplements the broad role requirementsof the aircraft – offering unsurpassed performance at all flight conditions.

Jessica SchulterEurojet Turbo GmbH

What is it that gives the EJ200 enginesuch great performance and pleases allpilots who fly the Eurofighter Typhoon?The secret lies in a combination of cutting edge technology and optimiseddesign to meet the needs of a next generation fighter aircraft.

Above the Rest is a pictorial account ofEurofighter Typhoon. Introductory chapterscover the history of the programme, fromprojected Air Force requirements to full series production, and, for the first time,project test pilots from across the PartnerCompanies detail their experiences in developing this best-selling aircraft.

Featuring over 350 full-colour pho-tographs, a mixture of Geoffrey’s signatureshots complemented by some never-before-seen imagery, Above the Rest – EurofighterTyphoon, a Pictorial History is the defini-tive Eurofighter Typhoon photographic collection.

Copies can be ordered from the Publishers at:www.adhocpublications.com

or signed copies can be requested from Geoffrey himself at:www.planefocus.com

Phillip Lee

EJ200 installation on Eurofighter Typhoon

Geoffrey Lee’s Latest Eurofighter Typhoon Book

Above the RestOptimum Power for Eurofighter Typhoon

High Performance

Geoffrey Lee presents his new book to the StationCommander, Group Captain Stuart Atha at RAFConingsby

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Meteor: Redefining Combat Capability

Beyond Visual Range

ways, self-explanatory, referring to a zonein which an aircraft will be unable to escapefrom a missile that is fired at it. This is theprimary capability that a fighter pilot needsto survive and win and is as relevant inshort range combat as it is in BVR. A large‘no-escape-zone’ is a function of motor per-formance so it will always equate to a longrange against a non manoeuvring target.Missile persistence would be another essen-tial as it would overcome the shortfalls pre-sented by a boost-coast missile motor. Theability for the missile to be unaffected bytarget manoeuvre, enabling it to maintainpowered flight all the way to the target,would clearly be a major advantage.

The next ‘must-have’ for the modern pilot is arguably situational awareness. Thisis also where the advanced nature of theaircraft enters the equation. Eurofighter Typhoon’s sensor performance and sensorfusion capability now allow the missile de-signer to use this performance to assist themissile in engaging targets. Ideally, the pilotwould also like to know how the launchedmissile is getting on with its mission postlaunch. The ability for a missile to have atwo-way data link so that target informationcan be sent to the missile and missile en-gagement status can be sent back to the air-craft during flight would be an obvious ad-vantage. The pilot would then have theawareness of how the engagement is pro-gressing, be able to change targets if thethreat aircraft has manoeuvred away, andeven use third party targeting information,passed to him by another aircraft, to prose-cute a target.

These design concepts formed the basisof the United Kingdom Ministry of De-fence’s Staff Requirement 1239. With fiveother nations also seeking a new BVRweapon, most of them to replace the AMRAAM AIM-120 medium range missile,a common European requirement emerged.The UK was eventually joined by Germany,Italy, Spain, France and Sweden, and thehard fought contract was awarded to MBDAwith its Meteor BVR missile solution in July2000. Meteor will give the Air Forces of

tend to evade. Early generation BVRweapons performed poorly due to a combi-nation of threat aircraft evasion and theability to decoy these semi-active and activeradar guided missiles. Boost-coast motortechnology meant that after a few secondsthe missile motor had been used up and themissile then coasted towards its target. Ifand when the target aircraft manoeuvredaway from the incoming missile, the missile

would attempt to follow. This missile ma-noeuvre would rapidly “scrub-off” speed al-lowing the target to get away.

The limitations of these missiles wererecognised for some time. As new electron-ics were developed to deal with the issue ofjamming and decoys, a new concept in air-to-air missile performance emerged, that ofthe ‘no-escape zone’. The name is, in many

these six countries a step change in combatcapability with an unprecedented perfor-mance margin.

Meteor can best be described as having amassive ‘no-escape-zone’. Its extended kine-matic range and persistence are provided by its throttleable ducted rocket motor, com-monly referred to as a Ram Jet. This uniquesolid fuel propulsion system, developed inGermany by Bayern Chemie (now part ofthe MBDA), provides the missile with aboost motor to allow launch at low speed.Once at Ram Jet speed, the motor transitionsinto the ducted rocket with a computer controlled throttle.

To meet the situational awareness re-quirement, Meteor is fitted with a two-waydata link enabling the Eurofighter Typhoon’savionics to ‘speak’ to the missile in flightand for the missile to reply. Add this capa-bility to the aircraft’s sensor performanceand sensor fusion and the pilot now has unprecedented weapon control and aware-ness of the battle space. Link EurofighterTyphoon’s inherent sensor capability withMeteor’s computer controlled variablethrust missile motor and the pilot now has a weapon that will adjust its speed and per-formance depending on the target’s rangeand manoeuvre. In operation, this results ina missile that will fly as fast as it can at

When considering the future air-to-air capa-bility in the context of Eurofighter Typhoon,the real challenge was to define the futureneed. The broad statement “what does the21st century combat pilot need to surviveand win Beyond Visual Range (BVR) com-bat?” proved to be an important foundationin developing a next generation Beyond Visual Range weapon. The initial responsemost people will make to the question is

that you need range, and a better rangethan that of your threat. Range is probablythe performance figure that is most oftenraised as the ‘must-have’ capability. In reali-ty, however, it is arguably the least relevantfigure in terms of judging a missile’s trueability in air-to-air combat.

Air-to-air combat is not an organised af-fair. When threat aircraft are targeted, they

An RAF Typhoon equipped with Meteor during thejets first flight with the missile

closer range targets but will fly a lofted tra-jectory to achieve the maximum no-escape-zone and high kill probability at longerranges – exactly what the 21st century combat pilot needs.

Is all this new technology such a changein performance over current weapons? Therequirement is to have a missile systemwith between three and six times betterkinematic ability than existing mediumrange weapons. That equates to a signifi-cant change in capability that will also leadto the development of new tactics and newconcepts of operation for the European partners.

Meteor is under development for the sixpartner nations under a contract managedby an International Joint Project Officebased at the UK MoD Establishment inAbbeywood, Bristol, and from MBDA’s Steve-nage UK facility. Meteor development willbe completed in 2013.

MBDA leads the programme as primecontractor with Sweden’s SAAB BoforsDynamics and Spanish company INMIZE being its industrial partners. A pan-Euro-pean defence project has the advantage ofbeing able to bring together the best of European technology. The six partner na-tions make Meteor a truly collaborative European programme. Meteor is also an es-sential contributor in maintaining a missileengineering and development base in Eu-rope and therefore has an important role toplay in securing industrial and operationalfutures. For example, this is the first timeSpanish industry has participated in a major development with MBDA. Criticalcomponents are coming from Spanish

industry (Indra, Navantia, Inmize, SBS) and some system tests are being performedby INTA.

Eurofighter Typhoon is a remarkablenext generation aircraft that has attractedthe attention of the world’s Air Forces. MBDAalready supports the Eurofighter consor-tium in the promotion and marketing of theaircraft in the export market with a numberof its weapon systems, including MeteorThe combination of Eurofighter Typhoonand Meteor provides an unmatched combatcapability. This is well recognised by theEurofighter partner nations and is begin-ning to be a significant factor when othercountries look at their future combat air-craft’s requirements. With one commonconcept of operation for BVR combat nowbeing realised within the four Eurofighterpartner nations, Meteor is emerging as amajor differentiator in many export cam-paigns.

As aircraft and missile manufacturers,industry has the challenge to design prod-ucts that meet the requirements for the AirForces of today as well as defeating thethreats of tomorrow. The problem is that wehave little idea what the precise threat of tomorrow might be. Future proofing meansdesigning from day one an inherent growthpotential to meet tomorrow’s threat. WithEurofighter Typhoon and Meteor, the part-ner nations know that they have the bestand will stay the best for many years tocome. Combat capability is being truly rede-fined.

Rob Thornley, Carol ReedMBDA

Ask ten fighter pilots from different countries what they under-stand by combat capability and you are likely to get almost as

many different responses. Part of the problem is that combat capability is something difficult both to explain and define. It seldom means the same thing to

everyone and has therefore resulted in differing concepts of operation being developed.Defining air-to-air combat capability in an age of next generation aircraft is not a sim-ple task. It is more than just a missile operating from a fighter, as the technology ismore complex than that. Clearly it would be impossible for a fighter to shoot down anenemy aircraft without air-to-air missiles, but it would be equally impossible for a missile system to destroy an enemy aircraft without the inherent capability of thelaunch platform.

Meteor fittedto theforward ejectlaunchstation onEurofighterTyphoon

Meteor trialsbeing carriedout on aSpanish AirForceEurofighterin Spain

Spanish engineers from EADS CASAoversee aircraft fitting trials withMeteor

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turn and disappearing out of sight. Theseawesome fly-bys were captured on celluloidas part of the production for a brand new Eurofighter Typhoon promotional film.

At the end of February, a Eurofighterfilm team journeyed into the heart of Walesto record the Royal Air Force’s newest

Cameras in position, fingers hovering overthe record button, the air still but for thefaint sound of traffic from the road snakingthrough the valley below – and suddenly aRoyal Air Force XI Sqn Eurofighter Typhoon tears through the pass, bankingsharply before accelerating into the valley

weapon system in low-level action. The des-tination was the Machynlleth Loop, knownas “The Loop” or “Mac Loop” to the pilotsand aviation enthusiasts alike, but officiallyreferred to as Low Fly Area 7 (LFA7). Afterassessing four possible locations, the teamassembled their equipment at two pointsacross the Cad Pass, under the guidance ofMr Tom Hill, an aviation photographer witha huge amount of local knowledge. Theythen simply waited for the high speed action to begin…

Over the course of the next eight hours,21 aircraft tore through the Pass includingHawks, Harriers, Tornado GR4s and Euro-fighter Typhoons. The Royal Air Force inte-grate low flying exercises into their trainingprogrammes to prepare their pilots for thepotential terrain they will face in combatenvironments.

Although the weather conditions werefar from favourable, the team captured somestunning low-level manoeuvres.

Special thanks goes to Tom for his guid-ance and advice during the shoot, and to theRoyal Air Force for their outstanding flyingcapabilities.

RAF Typhoons Rip Through the Welsh Valleys

Low Level FlyingLow Flying in the Royal Air Force

Low flying remains an essential skill formilitary aircrew. United Kingdom forceshave deployed repeatedly to potential trou-ble spots around the world usually with lit-tle or no warning. They have to undertake avariety of roles including reconnaissance,fast-jet or helicopter operations, search andrescue, transporting troops or the deliveryof humanitarian aid to remote locations.Whatever missions the Armed Forces areasked to undertake, the aircrew must beable to fulfil the task as effectively as possi-ble, often without time for "work-up" train-ing. Current operations around the worldsee aircrew of both fixed and rotary wingaircraft undertaking operations at low level.They are only able to do this through spe-cialist training gained through the use ofthe UK Low Flying System.

This System covers the open airspace ofthe whole of the United Kingdom and sur-rounding overseas areas from the surface to2,000 feet above the ground or mean sea level.

Military fixed wing aircraft are judged tobe low flying when they are less than 2,000feet minimum separation distance from theground (defined as the distance that mustbe maintained between any part of an air-craft in flight and the ground, water or anyobject. It does not apply to separation betweenaircraft in the same formation). Light pro-peller driven aircraft and helicopters arejudged to be low flying when below 500 feetminimum separation distance from theground.

Phillip Lee

Low flying is an essential skill for Royal Air Force pilots

Tom “TJ” Hill (left) and the Eurofighter film team

A 17(R) Sqn Eurofighter Typhoon creates avapour shroud while pulling through the lowfly loop

Low Flying: The Facts

• Is an essential skill that provides aircrewwith one of the best chances of survival

• Is a highly demanding skill which can onlybe maintained through continuous andrealistic training

• Is conducted with the safety of people onthe ground, aircrew, and other airspaceusers as the overriding concern

• Is rigorously controlled and continuouslymonitored

• Since 1988, the total number of sortieshas reduced by a third and those by jetsby more than half

The “Cad Pass”, part of Low Fly Area 7, Wales

issue 1 - 2008 eurofighter review

■ Locked on to Success

■ Qualifying Tranche 2

■ First Line of Defence

p r o g r a m m e n e w s a n d f e a t u r e s

General Jesús Pinillos Prieto:

Eurofighter Typhoon –The Answer

The Morón “Typhoon Meet” initiative was the first time that all fourcore programme Air Forces have collaborated in Exercise.

Highlighting the scale of the deployment, the image shows all aircrewand ground staff involved throughout the week long operation,

hosted by the Spanish Air Force. See Latest News on page 3 for more details.