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Eurofighter will last 30 to 40 years: German envoy K.V. Prasad NEW DELHI: Eurofighter, one of the six contenders for the multibillion-dollar tender for 126 medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA), offers a cutting-edge technology without the End User Monitoring clause, German ambassador Thomas Matussek has said. “It is really a next generation plane and it will be in service for the next 30 to 40 years,” he told The Hindu. “It also comes without any End User Verification, complete transfer of technology and production.” End User Monitoring, which created a political controversy earlier this year, is a requirement the United...

Novel U.K. AESA Approach Brings Benefits Nov 24, 2009 Douglas Barrie/London,Andy Nativi/Edinburgh, Scotland & Robert Wall/Dubai The results of a still mainly classified U.K. program are spurring the Defense Ministry and industry to pursue a novel design of active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon. The AESA design is already earmarked for the Saab Gripen NG. A Selex Galileo prototype AESA for the Gripen NG demonstrator has been installed on the aircraft. The full design includes the company’s so-called swashplate architecture that allows the angled antenna face to be rotated. This addresses coverage and performance-degradation issues encountered...

Dubai 09: UAE hosts first mock dogfights for F-22, Typhoon, Rafale By Stephen Trimble The United Arab Emirates not only attracted the Lockheed Martin F-22 to the Dubai air show, but also staged perhaps the first mock dogfights between F-22s, Dassault Rafales and Eurofighter Typhoons. In parallel with the air show, the advanced tactical leadership course at Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi hosted a five-nation fighter exercise, says the UK Royal Air Force. France, the UK and the USA each sent six of their top-line fighters to the exercise, and those were joined by jets from the UAE...

Eurofighter to be boosted by new radar LONDON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A new radar system will make the Eurofighter Typhoon more attractive to international buyers, designers say. The companies responsible for the jet's current radar system are proposing to Eurofighter consortium partners Britain, Germany and Italy a rotating e-scan radar known as Caesar, Defensenews.com reports. While the current mechanically scanned Captor radar system is fixed, the new system will rotate to increase its efficiency. The so-called Euroradar consortium wants to put the new radar system into the Tranche 3 jets to be delivered over the next years to Britain,...

Eurojet proposes thrust-vectoring upgrade for Typhoon By Andrew Doyle Eurofighter and engine supplier Eurojet are stepping up their efforts to interest Typhoon customer nations in a thrust-vectoring upgrade that promises to bring substantial operational benefits and pay for itself through lifecycle cost reductions. Equipping the twin-engined Typhoon's EJ200s with thrust vectoring nozzles (TVN) could reduce fuel burn on a typical mission by up to 5%, while increasing available thrust in supersonic cruise by up to 7%, the engine consortium says. Eurojet partner ITP benchtested a TVN several years ago, and EADS earlier this year equipped its Typhoon cockpit simulator to...

BAE Systems targets 300 Typhoon exports BAE Systems will go head-to-head with the US in the lucrative fighter plane export market as it attempts to sell up to 300 Eurofighter Typhoons abroad to keep production going when domestic orders dry up. By Amy Wilson The biggest potential export markets for BAE and its consortium partners, EADS and Finmeccanica, are India, Japan and Saudi Arabia, which is already buying 72 Typhoons. An order from Switzerland could come as soon as next year and the consortium is also pursuing sales in Greece and Romania. It also has long-term ambitions in Brazil, Malaysia...

Political card in aircraft dogfight - Makers of Eurofighter up the ante on the ground to beat American contenders in the race for $11-billion air force contract SUJAN DUTTA New Delhi, Aug. 17: The great duel in the skies for an Indian Air Force order that could top $11 billion for 126 fighter aircraft began in Bangalore today, but the real action is being worked out in boardrooms of aviation majors. At least one of the six competitors in the race, EADS, is saying upfront that it will gift-wrap its offer of the Eurofighter Typhoon for the IAF with a...

Analysis: Eurofighter/Typhoon was designed in a different era Michael Evans, Defence Editor The Eurofighter Typhoon programme has been one of the most controversial military equipment projects, not just because of its cost — more than £20 billion for the proposed 232 aircraft — but because the fast jet was designed with the Cold War in mind. It was thought that the RAF would need the most advanced aircraft to win superiority against the best Russian fighters. The design was first sketched in 1979 but the contract for the Eurofighter, later renamed the Typhoon, was not signed with Britain’s three European...

Majority of advanced RAF jets go to Saudi Arabia The RAF will lose half of its most sophisticated batch of Eurofighter Typhoon with the majority going to Saudi Arabia it was disclosed after a deal for the final group of aircraft was announced. By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Published: 7:27PM BST 31 Jul 2009 Despite spending more than £16 billion on the project over the last two decades the British are now going to end up with less than half of Typhoons from the Tranche 3 group. The Tranche 3 aircraft are specifically designed with built-in ground-attack capabilities that would...

MILAN (AFP) – The four partner countries in the Eurofighter consortium were on Friday due to sign a contract on production of the first part of the third tranche of the aircraft, sources said Thursday. "The contract will be signed tomorrow (Friday) in Germany," said an Italian defence ministry source. "It will be signed at the Eurofighter consortium headquarters at Hallbergmoos, near Munich," an industry source added. The contract, worth about eight billion euros (11.2 billion dollars), was for 112 of the 236 planes in the third tranche, the source added. Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain decided to split the...

June 21, 2009 Eurofighter guns for £10bn Indian deal BAE Systems is preparing for a dogfight that could result in it landing an order for 130 modern fighter jets for India Dominic O'Connell The fortunes of Eurofighter, the much-criticised European combat aircraft, could improve sharply next month when it stakes a claim for a multi-billion-pound contract in India. India wants to buy more than 130 modern fighters, making the contract one of the largest international arms deals in recent years. Analysts say that with ongoing support deals, it could be worth more than £10 billion. If Eurofighter wins, it would...

Saudi weighs Eurofighter, F-15 for new jet deal Reuters, Thursday June 18 2009 * Saudi Arabia steps up efforts to renew combat jet fleet * Saudi Arabia may double Eurofighter purchase - sources * Talks held with Boeing over more F-15s - sources By Tim Hepher and Andrea Shalal-Esa PARIS, June 18 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is stepping up efforts to acquire advanced fighter jets to renew its combat fleet amid growing security concerns in the Gulf region over Iran, two sources following the matter said on Thursday. Riyadh is in talks with Britain over possibly doubling a recent purchase...

Britain unlikely to meet Eurofighter commitment - MoD LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - Britain is unlikely to buy all of the remaining 48 Eurofighter Typhoon jets it has signed up for, a source at the Ministry of Defence confirmed on Thursday. The contract was originally conceived 25 years ago and involves Germany, Spain, Italy and Britain building more than 600 of the high-performance combat jets. Last month, Britain recommitted to the contract, despite cost concerns, but said the final number of aircraft it would buy in the third tranche was still under negotiation [ID:nLE901359]. On Wednesday Germany's Defence Ministry said...

Boeing, Eurofighter bid to usurp F-35 for Canadian fighter deal By Stephen Trimble Boeing and Eurofighter have launched a public challenge to Lockheed Martin's widely presumed control of a next-generation fighter contract in Canada. Both challengers unveiled the outlines of a new push to respectively market the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Typhoon to Ottawa as replacements for the Canadian air force's Boeing CF-18 (F/A-18A/B) Hornets by the end of the next decade. As a member of the nine-nation Joint Strike Fighter programme since 2002, Lockheed executives have described Canada as a likely buyer for up to 80 F-35s, although the...

German Eurofighter transports sweet mustard to Croatia Croatian Times Sausage-noshing German ambassadors used a 67 million GBP Eurofighter warplane to fly emergency supplies of mustard to a VIP party. Diplomats in Croatia wanted to serve traditional white bangers at the bash to celebrate Germany's 60 years as a democracy but couldn't get the right mustard anywhere locally. So they called in air support from the Luftwaffe who sent pilot Norbert Biehler with a case of the special sweet mustard for the party, reports Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List. Now the extravagant use of military funds in under investigation in Germany. "It's...

AERO INDIA: Eurojet offering thrust-vectoring EJ200 for LCA By Andrew Doyle Eurojet is to propose a thrust-vectoring version of the Eurofighter Typhoon's EJ200 powerplant to meet India's requirement for up to 150 engines to equip the first squadrons of its indigenously developed Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA). The Aeronautical Development Agency - which is leading development of the Tejas - is expected to issue a request for proposals in the next few weeks, pitching the EJ200 against General Electric's F414. The Eurojet partner companies have been working on thrust vectoring nozzle technology for several years, lead by Spanish manufacturer ITP,...

UK declares Eurofighter Typhoon ready for multirole use By Craig Hoyle The UK Royal Air Force has formally cleared some of its Eurofighter Typhoons as ready to perform air-to-surface operations, following the 1 July declaration of the type's multirole employment date. Achieved through a so-called "austere capability" upgrade to some of the RAF's Tranche 1 Typhoons, the ground-attack mission will be performed using 455kg (1,000lb) Raytheon Paveway II laser- and Enhanced Paveway II laser/GPS-guided bombs (test release pictured below) and the Rafael Litening III targeting pod. The modifications were successfully demonstrated during 11 Sqn's participation in a recent Green Flag...

ILA 2008: Indian bids add spice With India prominently labelled as the show’s ‘official partner country’, the importance of the Indian market, and the growing power of India’s aerospace industry is being underlined and highlighted at Schoenefeld. Jon Lake reports With the recent, long awaited release of a $10 billion request for proposals (RFP), India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition is hotting up, and the main contenders are all present at Berlin, doubtless hoping to impress and persuade India that theirs is the best choice as India’s next fighter. Originally launched as the Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) requirement, the...

A controversial British deal to supply Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia may have hit an obstacle. It appears that the Eurofighter - long touted as proof that the UK and its continental partners can make serious combat kit without American help - actually contains significant amounts of US technology, and that Washington may not permit the Saudi sale. The revelations come in an article in today's Financial Times. It appears that the British government's application to export American tech on 72 Eurofighters to the desert princes is the subject of some debate both among Capitol Hill politicos and at the...

Eurofighter Meltdown Struggling against rising costs and American competition. by Reuben F. Johnson 02/07/2008 12:00:00 AM Kiev If you think the United States has problems with the constant price increase of new-generation programs like the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), take a look at the situation with the four-nation consortium Eurofighter program. Several news reports, including a January 26 story in the Washington, D.C. based Defense News, state that the bill for the Eurofighter is going to now cost some €10 billion ($15 billion) more than the most recent cost estimates had previously projected. The Defense News report...

Combat aircraft engine: Eurojet ready to help Ravi Sharma Willing to transfer technology for developing engine for Tejas Eurojet has signed a non-disclosure agreement with ADA India should become a partner not just a customer BANGALORE: As India tries to break into the elite group of countries that have designed and developed combat aircraft engines, Eurojet Turbo GmbH the European consortium that builds and maintains the advanced military turbofan Eurojet EJ200 says it is ready to assist India: either by developing an engine together or transferring technology on the EJ200. The EJ200 is the power plant of the Eurofighter Typhoon,...

Fit for the fight: Competition in the fighter market By Craig Hoyle Competition in the fighter market is as keen as ever, with rivals vying to fill big-ticket programmes. But will US Congress clip the F-22's export wings? The high-profile fighter sector has grabbed many of the headlines during 2007. India at last launched a contest for 126 aircraft, while the subject of stealth - primarily in the form of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, but also through the company's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter - has exercised nations including Japan and South Korea, and prompted the US Congress to address...

Saudi may order 24 Eurofighter jets Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:46am EST DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia could order 24 Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets from BAE Systems (BAES.L: Quote, Profile, Research) for about 1.5 billion pounds ($3.06 billion), the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) reported on Friday. Saudi Arabia and Britain announced in September a 4.43 billion pound deal for 72 of the Eurofighters. "The kingdom is set to decommission a number of aircraft and is thinking about a possible order for 24 more Eurofighters," MEED quoted an adviser to the Saudi government, that it did not identify, as saying....

RIYADH (AFP): Saudi Arabia announced on Monday it has signed a 4.43 billion pound (8.86 billion dollar) deal to buy 72 Eurofighter planes, after tortuous negotiations on one of the largest ever British export orders. "The two governments on Tuesday (September 11) signed the contract for the acquisition of (72) planes for a cost of 4.43 billion pounds," a defence ministry spokesman told the state news agency SPA. He said the deal follows an August 2006 agreement in principle and "a memorandum of understanding between the London and Riyadh governments to modernise the Saudi armed forces as part of their...

UK and Italy weight Eurofighter options Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:41am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Defence officials from Britain and Italy have asked the Eurofighter consortium for information on their options as they weigh budgets to buy fighter jets from both Europe and the United States. A spokesman for the Eurofighter consortium said it was working on implementation of an existing plan for the sale of 236 planes to four countries. This proposal is due by the end of the year. These make up the last tranche of 620 ordered under the four-nation programme involving Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain....

Saudi-UK’s US$8bn fighter aircraft deal close to completion by Christina Corbett on Thursday, 06 September 2007 The Saudi Arabian defence force is on course to become one of the world's top three military powers with the signing of the controversial US$8bn Typhoon fighter aircraft deal this week, Arabian Business can reveal. The document agreed upon by both the British and Saudi governments that details the terms of the supply of the aircraft, and initial support, was signed last week by British defence secretary Des Browne. Upon its immediate return to Saudi Arabia, the document will be signed by the Kingdom's...

It was a close encounter with echoes of the Cold War. Now the UK's Ministry of Defence has released pictures showing one of two Royal Air Force jets sent to intercept a Russian bomber as it approached British airspace. Friday's incident in which two of Britain's new RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled comes amid already strained relations between the two countries, in the wake of the Alexander Litvinenko affair. Flexing its military muscle, Russia has recently revived the Soviet-era practice of sending bomber aircraft on long-range patrols. The move is seen as part of Vladimir Putin's efforts to show off...

RAF fighter jets were sent to intercept a Russian bomber which was heading towards British air space over the North Atlantic, it emerged this evening. Two Typhoons were sent from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to meet the Bear-H aircraft after the early warning radar system detected it heading towards UK territory, according to the Ministry of Defence. It is the first time the Typhoon Eurofighters have been scrambled since they took on operational duties on June 29.

Typhoon delivers the fright stuff By Adam Lusher, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 1:35am BST 29/04/2007Page 1 of 3 Some joker has got his hands on of one of our aircraft. Unfortunately, that joker is me. I am at 36,000ft in an RAF Typhoon (aka the Eurofighter, cost £66.7 million), "flying" the result of Britain's most expensive and probably most controversial weapons project at almost the speed of sound above an unsuspecting part of Lincolnshire. What is truly alarming is not the speed or the altitude or the cost, or even that I have just been asked to execute a turn,...

Boeing Left as Sole Bidder for Fighter Contract U.S. aerospace company Boeing will likely be the sole bidder to participate in the second phase of Korea’s F-X fighter jet procurement project. Korea will purchase 20 F-15K fighter jets in the second phase of the defense project between 2010 and 2012. Originally three bidders were expected to compete to win the contract: U.S. defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin, European consortium Eurofighter International and Boeing. Lockheed Martin recently withdrew its bid and now Eurofighter has also decided not to participate. According to a military source, Eurofighter’s agent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co....

April 5, 2007 Saudis hold back on signing BAE deal until Brown in No 10 David Robertson, Business Correspondent Saudi Arabia will wait for Gordon Brown to become Prime Minister before signing a £20 billion deal to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets from BAE Systems, The Times has learnt. Negotiations for the sale of 72 fighter jets are believed to be progressing well but the Saudis want the deal endorsed by Britain’s next Prime Minister. The contract between the two governments is expected to be signed in late June or early July once a new leader is chosen by the Labour...

Japan considers the Eurofighter By Mariko Sanchanta and David Pilling in Tokyo Published: March 18 2007 22:01 | Last updated: March 18 2007 22:01 Japan’s defence ministry is considering adopting the Eurofighter as its next- generation fighter jet, a potentially momentous move for a country that has until now only purchased fighters from the US, its closest military ally. A decision could be made within the next six months, people familiar with the negotiations said, and the pro­curement deal could run to tens of billions of dollars as Tokyo is looking to replace 250-300 ageing aeroplanes. “We are looking at...

Eurofighter faces new challenger Putin to lead business delegation Russia will pitch its new combat jet for a $9 billion (£4.5 billion) Indian defence contract, adding to fierce competition among European companies for one of the largest orders by any air force. Sergei Ivanov, the Defence Minister, said that Russia would submit the MiG-35, an advanced version of the MiG-29, to the tender for 126 light fighter aircraft as the Indian Air Force seeks to upgrade its ageing fleet of Russian-made MiG-21s and British Jaguars. India’s military, the world’s third-largest with 1.3 million active personnel, plans to buy new fighters...

Ministers have been urged to scrap the multi-billion-pound Joint Strike Fighter project unless the US agrees to share its sensitive technological specifications. Sky Defence Correspondent Geoff Meade says the UK badly needs a replacement for the ageing Harrier - whatever it gets called. Although the Falklands veteran jump jet has proved valuable beyond its years, flying mission after mission in support of ground troops in Afghanistan, the fierce tempo of operations is taking a toll on the lifespan of ageing airframes. The problem is nobody knows yet if the new US-designed jet will be bought, or even what it will...

US arms firms in talks over Saudi jets · Boeing and Lockheed ready to exploit row · Fraud Office inquiry threatens BAE deal David Gow, David Leigh and Mark Milner Tuesday December 5, 2006 The Guardian The US defence groups Boeing and Lockheed Martin are in long-established talks with the Saudi authorities about supplying new fighter aircraft, industry sources indicated yesterday. Boeing has already provided just under 200 F-15s for the Royal Saudi Air Force. There have been suggestions that the US could join France in pitching to provide an alternative to the Eurofighter Typhoon if the Saudis cancelled an...

French angle for Saudi billions By Helen Power and Sylvia Pfeifer, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 2:00am GMT 27/11/2006 The government of Saudi Arabia is set to tear up its £76bn agreement with Britain for Eurofighter Typhoons and hand the contract to France if the Serious Fraud Office opens up secret Swiss bank accounts allegedly linked to members of the Saudi royal family. Senior British government sources last night predicted that the Saudi authorities would stand by their promise to cancel the recently signed order for 72 Eurofighter Typhoons if the SFO goes ahead with plans to open up potentially embarrassing...

The Government threw down the gauntlet to the makers of the Eurofighter yesterday, warning that it would no longer tolerate industrial inefficiencies that had effectively turned the project into a "charity". The cost of a single Eurofighter: £66.7 million The attack came as new figures suggested that the cost of buying 232 Eurofighters for the RAF is set to top £20 billion — making it far and away the most costly weapons project ever undertaken by Britain. Figures released by the National Audit Office, the official spending watchdog, put the current price of a single Eurofighter, known as Typhoon in...

November 2006 - Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft from 3Sqn, 17Sqn and 29Sqn of the Royal Air Force take to the skies over the Lincolnshire coast to perform a ’Diamond Nine’ formation. It is the first time that only single-seat aircraft are used in this formation, with the lead aircraft piloted by Group Captain Bob Judson. All three squadrons are based at RAF Coningsby, UK

Austria prepares to dump Eurofighter order · New government to examine 'senseless' deal · British firm insists it is delivering on contract Ian Traynor and Mark Milner Friday October 6, 2006 The Guardian Europe's ill-starred fighter aircraft project was facing a further major blow yesterday when Austria's newly elected centre-left government threatened to scrap the purchase of 18 planes. The social democrats made cancelling the €2bn (£1.4bn) Eurofighter order a centrepiece of their campaign and signalled yesterday they would table a motion as soon as the new parliament convenes to bin the contracts. The move would be a further blow...

Taurus Systems seeks enhanced cruise missile Less than a year after entering operational service with the German air force, Taurus Systems’ KEPD 350 cruise missile is being lined up for capability enhancements. Future develoments of the 1,400kg (3,100lb) weapon now under consideration include a reduced mass 350L version suitable for carriage by small fighter aircraft such as Lockheed Martin’s F-16, and a containerised variant intended for booster-assisted launch from ships, fixed land sites or trucks, says Taurus Systems business development executive Ulf Albinsson. The EADS LFK/Saab Bofors Dynamics joint venture has identified as near-term growth priorities the addition of a...

The Eurofighter has taken more than 20 years to design and build Saudi Arabia has confirmed it is to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from the UK, in a deal that could be worth more than £6bn ($10bn). The contract, brokered between the Saudi government and the Ministry of Defence, will safeguard thousands of jobs at UK defence firm BAE Systems. Saudi Arabia is buying the Eurofighters to replace its range of Tornado jets which were also made by BAE. The Eurofighter was developed by BAE with European firms EADS and Alenia. Confidential figure "The required commercial principles have now...

Turkey Requests New Bid from Eurofighter By Ibrahim TUrkmen, London Published: Friday, July 21, 2006 zaman.com The Turkish Air Force requested a new bid from Eurofighter as part of efforts to strengthen its forces by replacing its planes with a new generation of jet fighters. In response to the Turkish Ministry of Defense’s decision to increase the number of jet fighters it will purchase, Eurofighter’s producer, Aeronautica, began to prepare lower prices for the tender. The company will also issue a response to Turkey regarding its demands for partnership, technology transfers, and industrial participation. Authorities evaluate Turkey’s new demand about...

LITENING for UK's Eurofighters Posted 20-Jul-2006 07:31 Ultra Electronics Holdings announces that its Sonar & Communication Systems business, based in Greenford, Middlesex, has been selected by the UK Ministry of Defense to supply and support "LITENING EF 3rd generation airborne surveillance & targeting pods" for the RAF's Eurofighter aircraft. Ultra will act as the prime contractor and assemble the pods in the UK, with its Sonar & Communication Systems business unit running the project. LITENING designer RAFAEL of Israel will act as the principal sub-contractor. The Eurofighter has initially been produced and delivered in its air defense version; full muti-role...

(Most of the article consitsted of Q and A in English afer a Norwegian-language introduction. I informally translated the introduction. This is the Eurofighter programs representative answering Norwegian public questions regarding his fighter. It follows an earlier article in which a USAF Colonel did the same re. JSF) The Eurofighter is Europe's largest defense industry cooperation project. Aughorities and industry in Germany, Itlay, Spain and England have developed the figher they hope will give air superiority in Europe or decades to come. David R. Hamilton, marketing director for Eurofigher has deliverdthe following offer to Norway: 48 planes for approximately 35...

(Note: This article was mostly in English with a short Norwegian introduction) WHY SHOULD NORWAY CHOOSE AMERICAN FIGHTERS? (Dagbladet.no): Officials in the USA are Noway's negotiating partners in the Joint Strike Fighter-project. The aircraft, still under developent and not having yet taken wing, will be the new backbone in the USA's combat aircraft fleet. It benefits from stealth and other super-technologies developed for the world's most advanced (and expensive) combat aircraft, the F-22 Raptor. - It is for this reason we can offer Norway 48 JSFs for 20 billion Norwegian Crowns. Much of the technology is already developed for the...

NATO member Turkey plans to buy 100 new-generation combat aircraft under a $10 billion (8.3 billion euro) project over the next 20 years, Anatolia news agency quoted a senior official as saying March 28. By the end of the year, Ankara will make a choice between the U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, whose construction is led by Lockheed Martin, and the Eurofighter, being built by a European consortium, the head of the defense industries undersecretariat, Murad Bayar, said in Washington.

A ROYAL Air Force Eurofighter crashed on landing in eastern England when its front wheel failed to descend properly, the Ministry of Defence in London said. The Typhoon jet suffered damage following a malfunction of its landing gear as it touched down at the RAF Coningsby base in Lincolnshire, eastern England, on Monday, an MoD spokesman told AFP. No one was hurt and an investigation was now under way into what caused the problem, he said. The Typhoon Eurofighter is produced by a consortium of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), BAE Systems and Italy's Alenia/Finmeccanica. It is...

In view of the budgetary miseries SPD undertakes a new approach to shed one of the most expensive German armament projects SPD-defensive expert Hans-Peter Bartels said to the Berlin newspaper, it is sensible to renounce the last Tranche of the Eurofighter Besides, it is about the delivery of 68 airplanes for a total of 2.5 billion euros. " There are other plans which are more important ", said Bartels.

BAE signs landmark Eurofighter contract with Saudis By Angela Jameson, Industrial Correspondent BAE SYSTEMS was celebrating the first big export order for the Eurofighter last night after Britain and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding that could secure £10 billion of work for the British firm and its sub-contractors. It is thought that up to 72 Typhoon jets will be delivered to the kingdom from 2008, but neither government would confirm the size of the order. The agreement to replace British-made Tornados and other jets with Eurofighter Typhoons is seen as a significant breakthrough for the Eurofighter, which so...

FRANCE is seeking to usurp Britain as favourite to win air defence contracts with Saudi Arabia worth up to £40bn (€59bn, $72bn) to British defence contractor, BAE Systems. President Jacques Chirac has had face to face meetings with King Abdullah and was the first foreign dignitary to visit the desert kingdom after the funeral of King Fahd in August, The Business has learned. Saudi Arabia is looking to upgrade some of its ageing 96 Tornados, supplied by BAE Systems, but also to buy new fighter jets in a bid to bolster its air power. The UK is offering the Eurofighter...