The 300th Eurofighter Typhoon produced by the four partner companies of the European consortium, was delivered today by Cassidian to the Spanish Air Force, Ejercito del Aire. This milestone makes the Eurofighter Typhoon the only new generation multi-role aircraft to reach the impressive figure of 300 examples in service.
The Eurofighter Typhoons – developed and manufactured by Cassidian in Germany and Spain, BAE Systems in the UK and Alenia Aeronautica in Italy – are now in service across the globe with 16 units in six air forces replacing 11 aircraft types. This confirms Eurofighter as not only the best performing multi-role aircraft available on the world market but also the most effective and best value solution to meet the air defence requirements of air forces and nations worldwide.
To date, the fleet has completed over 130,000 flying hours with well above average operational availability and unmatched operational performance which was demonstrated recently during operations over Libya.
Eurofighter Typhoon is the aircraft of choice for the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Austrian Air Forces.
The event coincides with the Seoul Air Show 2011 where Eurofighter is exhibiting its capabilities to support the campaign for the FX-III acquisition project where the South Korean Defence Ministry is seeking to purchase some 60 next-generation fighters with the target of having them delivered for operational service in 2016.
Enzo Casolini, Eurofighter GmbH CEO, said: “Today’s milestone is another important example of how successful this joint European consortium is. The programme, the largest industrial collaboration in Europe, is a shining example of what can be achieved through cooperation, bringing together European capabilities; securing thousands of long-term jobs and generating a positive economic impact for the customer nations”.
Eurofighter Typhoon is the world’s most advanced new generation real multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft available on the market and has been ordered by six nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). With 707 aircraft under contract, it is Europe’s largest military collaborative programme and delivers leading-edge technology, strengthening Europe’s aerospace industry in the global competition.
More than 100,000 jobs in 400 companies are secured by the programme. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH manages the programme on behalf of the Eurofighter Partner Companies: Alenia Aeronautica/Finmeccanica, BAE Systems, EADS CASA and EADS Deutschland, Europe’s foremost aerospace companies with a total turnover of approx. EUR 120 billion (2010).
