FLUG REVUE September 2003: Eurofighter enters service

EUROFIGHTER ENTERS SERVICE

By Karl Schwarz

Assuming that no further delays have occurred since this issue of FLUG REVUE went to press, the Luftwaffe has genuine cause to celebrate. With the delivery of the first certified Eurofighter (production number GT003), training of the first ten instructors was expected to commence at the end of July or in early August in Manching. This signifies the start of the long-awaited entry into service of the new fighter aircraft, which for the next 30 to 40 years will constitute the backbone of the air forces of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and now also Austria.

Eurofighter at Manching

2,765 flights with 2,338 flying hours had been clocked up on the seven development aircraft (DA) and three instrumented production aircraft (IPA) by the middle of June. The first four production two-seaters had meanwhile flown with Alenia Aeronautica in Turin, BAE Systems in Warton, EADS Deutschland in Manching and EADS Casa in Getafe in mid-February. They all contributed to the extensive, almost ten-year test programme, which culminated in the signing of the Type Acceptance Certificate on 27 June.

However, according to the German Defence Ministry, the international type certification that was the subject of a great ceremony in Manching on 30 June only reflected “the target/actual status as of the procurement contract. With the type acceptance, the contractor is confirming to the customer that he has in essence provided the contractually agreed services.”

In detail, this type acceptance applies to two-seaters in production batch 1 of tranche 1 (the first 148 aircraft) with the CRR1 level of functionality, albeit with various “non-conformances”, areas of reduced performance, restrictions and operational limitations that are listed in five annexes. How the defects are to be cleared and the aircraft brought up to the standard specified in the development and production contract is set forth in Annex 6, a “commercial agreement”.

As far as the national military certification required in Germany was concerned, the type acceptance was a “vital precondition”. On this basis, the Bundeswehr Quality Testing Office together with WTD 61/ML (the Bundeswehr Test and Evaluation Centre for Aircraft) in Manching were expected to complete the Provisional Airworthiness Certificate of the Eurofighter by the end of July.

This means that the instructors, who have already been undergoing intense theoretical and simulator training since mid-June, will now be able to start the practical portion of the service instructor pilot training (SIPT), comprising ten flying hours per instructor. Depending on the available aircraft (EADS was planning to deliver seven Eurofighters by 31 October), the Luftwaffe is hoping have this part of the training completed in the fourth quarter of the year. The aircraft will then move to Laage, and flying operations will commence at Fighter Wing 73 “Steinhoff”.

According to a Defence Ministry spokesperson, “IOC status [Initial Operational Clearance] is expected to be achieved in May 2004. The assignation of the first Eurofighter squadrons in the air-to-air mission role is not expected before 2006.”

The Royal Air Force, which is having its flying instructors trained for 18 months directly at Warton under a support contract (“Case White”) with BAE Systems, has similar plans. Field trials are also being carried out there. 17(R) Squadron under Wing Commander David Chan has been established for this phase, following which it will be relocated to the first operational base, Coningsby.

In the RAF, the Typhoon T1/T1A (two-seaters) and F2 (first single-seaters) will initially replace the Tornado F3 in the air defence role, and then, later on, the Jaguars. Altogether, seven squadrons are to be established. The German Air Force plans to equip five wings with the Eurofighter. Under the present plans, the next fighter wing to be equipped after FW 73 will be FW 74 “Mölders” in Neuburg at the end of 2005, Fighter-Bomber Wing 31 “Boelcke” in Nörvenich commencing 2008, FW 71 “Richthofen” in Wittmund from 2011 and finally FBW 33 in Büchel from 2013. Italy and Spain are expected to take delivery of their first Eurofighters in the course of this year.

The start of flying operations in the field is accompanied by extensive preparations in the area of maintenance and logistics. To contain the costs, the Luftwaffe is introducing new practices for co-operation with industry. For example, on 1 April the System Support Centre (SSC) commenced operations in Manching. All national operational support for the Eurofighter is to be carried out by several hundred service personnel and civilian staff working side-by-side in the newly constructed SSC. Extensive test facilities, especially for the avionics, including a docking station for the aircraft itself, are to be shared.

A co-operative model has also been agreed for work on the airframe. In January, the first 15 service personnel from Luftwaffe Maintenance Group 14 joined the SSC. They are working with the EADS technicians to get everything ready for maintenance operations. The first scheduled inspections on the Eurofighter will be carried out in 2005.

While the Luftwaffe personnel involved on the programme can breathe a sigh of relief that their new aircraft are finally arriving after a delay of over one year, negotiations continue on the order for tranche 2. After the 148 aircraft in the first production order, this is expected to cover 236 aircraft.

Deliveries are currently planned to run from the start of 2007 (starting with BS037, a British single-seater) through to mid-2011 (GT05). However, this presupposes that the contractual negotiations are successfully completed by the end of the year and also that parliamentary approval is forthcoming and not the subject of prolonged haggling. The discussions, which were supposed to be completed by the middle of the year, appear to be proceeding slowly. Notwithstanding, a “framework agreement” was signed at the end of June – according to Eurofighter GmbH, “a first concrete result of the accelerated work recently started with regard to tranche 2. The agreement sets out the principles that will be applied in the forthcoming negotiations to resolve the outstanding issues.”

The discussions turn on transforming the Eurofighter, which up to now has been focused on air combat, into a truly multi-purpose fighter aircraft. This requires that the functionality of the systems is extended and new weapons are integrated. Then there is the question of replacing outmoded equipment (mainly computers) – all within the fixed cost framework. According to the Defence Ministry, the Boeing JDAM and GBU 24 precision weapons, the related laser targeting parts and the Taurus stand-off missile are to be integrated in several stages into the German tranche 2 Eurofighters.

The governments participating in the programme are exerting pressure, not least on the basis of past experience, which is manifesting itself, for example, in “payment retentions” due to late delivery. “We expect deliveries on schedule and to the agreed costs,” said Italian Undersecretary Fillipo Berselli at the celebrations in Manching on 30 June. The British Minister of State for Defence Procurement, Lord Willie Bach, and the Chief of Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence, Sir Peter Spencer, went as far as to demand price reductions of between ten and twenty percent at a press conference – without, however, explaining what these figures refer to.

Filippo Bagnato, CEO of Eurofighter GmbH, pointed out that his company had already made substantial progress towards improving efficiency. His company was in the process of transforming itself from a management company to a fully responsible prime contractor. Several initiatives that would benefit the customer had been launched.

On the customer side there is some work to do as well. “The principle of 'juste retour' [allocation of work share to reflect exactly the quantities ordered] is deeply ingrained, with all the inefficiencies that this entails... The decision processes are unbelievably complicated,” said Sir Peter Spencer, recalling previous experience. “No one is defending the status quo, but it is extremely difficult to carry out far-reaching changes without causing enormously damaging delays.”

From FLUG REVUE 9/2003

Last updated 11 August 2003

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