Eurofighter Typhoon reaches the 300.000 flight hours

17/07/15

From the date of entry into service, the worldwide fleet of Eurofighter Typhoon has reached over 300.000 flight hours. The Eurofighter consortium confirmed this result today by adding that, with 571 ordered aircraft and 438 delivered, the program has "achieved reliability levels never achieved before".

Alberto Gutierrez, managing director of the consortium, said: "Today there is another important milestone for the Eurofighter Typhoon. No other fighter in the world can match the reliability of this aircraft. We are particularly proud of the fact that, both in terms of planes based on advanced bases and those in Quick Reaction Alert (alarm service). Every day, 24 hours on 24, you can rely on Eurofighter ".

"Right from this time in the Baltic countries, Eurofighter are carrying out European protection activities on behalf of NATO. The UK, Italy, Spain and Germany aeronautics will rotate surveillance rounds in these areas, and we will continue to ensure that the Typhoon is ready and available for any mission. "

The Eurofighter Typhoon's performance has been confirmed by the recent "Whitehall Report" published by the Royal United Services Institute, which states: "the high push-to-weight ratio of the Eurofighter, its maneuverability at all speeds, the maximum operating quota of 65.000 feet, super-cruiser capacity, its powerful radar and high load capacity means that the Eurofighter can be considered superior to any other fighter operating in the world with the sole exception of the American F-22 Raptor ".

Gutierrez said: "Our program of gradual improvement of operational capabilities will continue to bear fruit when other aircraft on the market today will have exhausted their maximum potential for development. What really makes us excited is the fact that we now recognize that the Eurofighter Typhoon is able to offer a "force multiplier" capability in the context of combined operations. We have kinetic effect and flexibility to offer an excellent overall speed and power capacity. Add us our operational reliability record in over 300.000 hours of flight and you can therefore understand why we are confident in the future ".

In recognition of this important achievement, the CEO stated: "Our congratulations go to all the air forces that have achieved this goal, to the thousands of employees throughout Europe involved in development, production and logistics, as well as all companies that support us on a daily basis ".

Time history of flight

The first 5.000 flight hours were reached in November 2005. 10.000 hours in August 2006 and 20.000 in May 2007. In August, the 2008 fleet of Eurofighter Typhoon exceeded the 50.000 hours and the 100.000 flight hours were achieved in January 2011. In XulumX the Eurofighter consortium announced that the milestone of the 2014 flight hours had been reached while, simultaneously, Eurojet, the manufacturer of the Typhoon EJ250.000 engines, celebrated half a million flight hours on the plane.

During this flight activity, the Eurofighter has demonstrated availability close to 100% during numerous international risks including: Alaska, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, United States and India.

The global fleet of Eurofighter is in service with 22 operating units based in Europe, the South Atlantic and the Middle East.

Source: Alenia Aermacchi

(photo: Eurofighter consortium - Eurofighter GmbH)