Copyright Eurofighter Eurofighter marked 20th anniversary of the first flight of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft on 27th March 1...
 |
Copyright Eurofighter
|
The maiden flight of the Development Aircraft 1 (DA1) was flown by Test Pilot Peter Weger from Manching, Germany.
The milestone was celebrated this week at Munich, where Test Pilots from all the four nations joined together to re-live the maiden flights made in Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain. They were joined by the General Manager of NETMA, Air Vice-Marshal Graham Farnell, the Chief Executive Officer of Eurofighter, Alberto Gutierrez, Board Members of both organisations and Eurofighter employees.
British DA2 aircraft flew later on 6th April. Italy followed in June 1995 and Spain in August 1996.
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.
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.
NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) was formed on 1 January 1996 by the merger of two previously separate NATO Agencies which had been established to manage Tornado and Eurofighter aircraft development, production and in-service support.
With 719 aircraft under contract and 571 on order, Eurofighter Typhoon is currently the largest military procurement programme in Europe.
Seven nations Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia and Oman have already ordered the Eurofighter Typhoon.
In total worldwide Eurofighter fleet has accumulated more than 225,000 flying hours.
The Phase 1 Enhancement like the integration of the METEOR air-to-air missile, the new E-Scan AESA radar and additional weaponry will further increase the capabilities of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
