Eurofighter Reports Tranche 2 Deliveries / Tranche 2 Deliveries

Eurofighter Reports Tranche 2 Deliveries / Tranche 2 Deliveries (NSI News Source Info) January 15, 2009: Whilst 2008 saw the start of Tranche 2 deliveries to nations - 16 aircraft delivered in total -, 2009 started with GS032 (Germany) delivered on Monday the 12th January and BS043 (UK) handed over today. Eurofighter Typhoon F2, RAF single-seat fighter variant. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft. It is being designed and built by a consortium of three separate partner companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and EADS working through a holding company Eurofighter GmbH which was formed in 1986. The project is managed by NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) which acts as the prime customer. The series production of the Eurofighter Typhoon is underway, and the aircraft is being procured under three separate contracts (referred to as "tranches"), each for aircraft with successively greater capabilities. The aircraft has entered service with the UK Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe, the Italian Air Force, the Spanish Air Force and the Austrian Air Force. Saudi Arabia has signed a £4.43 billion (approx. €6.4 billion c. 2007) contract for 72 aircraft.

Just to summarize, the first aircraft delivered to the nations were:

-- BS040 (UK) on 10 October 2008 followed by SS012 (Spain) on 24 October and IS020 (Italy) on 13 November.

-- The first Tranche 2 aircraft for the German Air Force was AS008, handed over on 18 December 2008.

-- With revision of the Austrian contract, nine Tranche 2 aircraft originally planned for Austria will go to Germany and keep their designation, as the German aircraft in service with the Austrian armed forces.

At this point we think a brief explanation is appropriate, what delivery or handover for us on the industrial side in the Eurofighter consortium really means.

After a thorough and detailed check procedure for each individual aircraft a special form is signed by the partner company delivering the aircraft and the air force taking it. With this signature the air force takes ownership of the aircraft. This for us means handover or delivery. There can be discrepancies in dates, when an air force sets up a handover/delivery event or flies the aircraft out of the industrial facility at a later time and these dates then are being communicated or looked at as the actual handover dates.

Nevertheless, we at PR & Comms in Eurofighter and the Partner Companies actually do rather care about the fact as such: Another aircraft delivered!!! So have a good new year 2009 and let's continue counting.