Thu, Jan 17, 2008
The first Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon has made its first
flight at EADS Military Air Systems' site in Manching. Instrumented
Production Aircraft Seven (IPA7) was piloted by EADS Test Pilot
Chris Worning.
The aircraft, a German single seat variant, represents the full
Tranche 2 build standard and its first prominent task will be to
accomplish Type Acceptance for Block 8, the first capability
standard of Tranche 2, in April 2008. This work will be carried out
together with the BAE Systems-operated IPA6 based at Warton. IPA6
(BS031) is essentially a Tranche 1 standard aircraft but utilises
the full Tranche 2 mission computer suite and avionics features.
The first series of EJ200 engine flight testing for Tranche 2 was
successfully concluded at the end of November with IPA2 in
Italy.
The significant Tranche 2 capabilities focus mainly on the new
mission computers which deliver the higher processing and memory
capacity required for the integration of future weapons such as
Meteor, Storm Shadow and Taurus. Differences in the build standard
to Tranche 1 are related to changes in production technology or
obsolescence.
Based on the Tranche 2 production contract, signed on 14
December 2004, and the original export contract with Austria, the
Eurofighter consortium will deliver 251 Tranche 2 weapon systems:
91 to the United Kingdom, 79 to Germany (including 15 aircraft
originally contracted by Austria), 47 to Italy and 34 to Spain.
Deliveries of Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoons to all four Partner
Nations will begin in Summer 2008 and are scheduled to run until
2013. 32 aircraft are already in final assembly at the partner
companies Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, EADS CASA and EADS
Deutschland.
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