Eurofighter Typhoons of the Austrian Armed Forces are to secure the airspace of the World Economic Forum 2014 in Davos.
As part of what is known as “Operation Daedalus 2014“, Eurofighters will deliver a significant contribution to the security of this international conference in Switzerland. The World Economic Forum is due to take place from 22nd to 25th January in the famous ski resort.
Alberto Gutierrez, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eurofighter, said: “In addition to its primary task of securing the airspace in Austria on a daily basis, Eurofighter will again support the security measures for this renowned conference in Switzerland. Every day our aircraft protect the skies of our customers around the clock. Outstanding events like this one are always given special attention.”
All 15 Eurofighter Typhoon in Austria have gone through a planned upgrade programme and are equipped with performance-enhanced hardware and software. They now have the latest capability standard for what are known as ‘Tranche 1’ variants of the aircraft.
In recent years, Eurofighters have been used for numerous large international events including securing the airspace during the Olympic Games in London in summer 2012. For the entire period of the Games the combat aircraft were on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft also controlled the airspace during the European Football Championship in Austria and in Switzerland in 2008 and during the Ski World Championship 2013 in Schladming/Styria.
Eurofighter Typhoon is the most advanced new generation multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft currently available on the world market. Seven nations (Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia and Oman) have already ordered the Eurofighter Typhoon. With 719 aircraft under contract and 571 on order, Eurofighter Typhoon is currently the largest military procurement programme in Europe.
Its high technology strengthens the position of European aerospace industry in the international market. The programme secures more than 100,000 jobs in over 400 companies. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH manages the programme on behalf of the Eurofighter Partner Companies Alenia Aermacchi/Finmeccanica, BAE Systems and Airbus Defence and Space in Germany and Spain, which are the most important aviation and aerospace companies in Europe with a turnover of about 126 billion euro (2012).
Since delivery of the first Eurofighter Typhoon to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom end of 2003, a total of 400 aircraft have been delivered to six nations. The 100th Eurofighter was delivered to the Royal Air Force in September 2006. The 200th aircraft was handed over in November 2009 to the German Air Force. The 300th aircraft was delivered to the Spanish Air Force in November 2011 and the German Air Force received the 400th Eurofighter in December 2013.
In the past 10 years, the Eurofighter fleet has demonstrated its high operational effectiveness in international missions and training exercises and has accumulated more than 220,000 flying hours. Several developments such as the Phase 1 Enhancement, the integration of the METEOR air-to-air missile, the new electronic radar (E-Scan) and additional weaponry will further increase the capabilities of the Eurofighter Typhoon and secure the future of this modern combat aircraft.
