EADS Military Aircraft, MUNICH/MANCHING, Germany: EADS Military Aircraft has handed over the first single-seater operational Eurofighter aircraft to Fighter Wing 73 (JG 73) “Steinhoff” in Laage near Rostock.
This is the first of a further ten single-seaters that are still to be delivered to the operational wing in the course of the year. In addition to these delivery quantities, this year a further twin-seater will also be put at the wing's disposal. This was announced by EADS, the German and Spanish partner in the four-nation European programme, on Monday.
Through the single-seaters, the German Air Force is now in a position to extend the ongoing Eurofighter operational evaluation to also include this configuration of the aircraft and conduct practical tests to confirm fulfilment of the specific air force requirements. Furthermore, the mission pilots can now continue their tactical training on the single-seater Eurofighters. The twin-seaters that have already been in operational service for some time mainly serve as a means of conversion training for pilots being instructed on this latest-generation advanced flying weapon system.
The Eurofighter that has just been handed over bears the production number GS004 (GS standing for German Single-Seater) and is already the second single-seater Eurofighter to be delivered to the Luftwaffe. The first Eurofighter in this configuration originating from final assembly at Manching and destined for the Bundeswehr was ferried to the Air Force School of Engineering No. 1 at Kaufbeuren on 14 February 2005. There, the aircraft is serving to train technicians and ground crews on this new model for the German Air Force.
The handover of the single-seater on Friday means that 35 Eurofighters in all have now been delivered to the four partner countries: 31 twin-seaters and now four single-seaters as fully operational aircraft. During the current year, it is planned to deliver a further 39 aircraft to the partner nations. At the moment, operational evaluation is getting underway in all the partner countries
