F R 1 2 - 9 7

Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 12/97 GERMAN CABINET APPROVES EUROFIGHTER by Karl Schwarz For German minister of defence, Volker Rühe, the answer to the need for a new fighter is "absolutely clear". There is every good reason for this European product. We owe our soldiers a next-generation aircraft. And this is the Eurofighter", Rühe stated in parliament. Thus, on October 8, the cabinet has unanimously decided to procure 180 Eurofighter systems. Rühe's position regarding the EF2000 has not always been like that. Shortly after taking over the responsibility as minister of defence in the spring of 1992, he put a lot of effort in canceling the project which was also known as "Jäger 90" at that point in time. Today, he explains these intentions as necessary steps to redirect the development program - in order to reach a new definition of military requirements (following the end of the cold war), as well as, to reach a price reduction. The numbers he presented are as follows (price level 12/96): DM63,4 million fly-away price for the aircraft itself (1992: 68 million), DM99,1 million price per unit, including aircraft, production investment and VAT (1992: 95 million), DM125,4 million system price: aircraft, division of the production preparation costs among the partners, system surcharge, and VAT (1992: 133,9 million). According to Rühe, the Eurofighter has become 20 to 50 million Marks cheaper over the past five years, depending on which inflation rates one applies to the 1992 numbers. However, a major part of the price reduction is due to a reduction of the system surcharge which was simply reduced from 41 to 27 percent. Furthermore, the EF2000 has become a fighter "light" as far as the equipment is concerned. A modern electronic self-defence system is missing entirely, as is the MITS (multi-function information distribution system) or the originally planned infrared sensor. There are no guided weapons integrated except for AMRAAM and Sidewinder and the Mauser guns are supplied from existing stocks of the German air force (Alpha Jet and Tornado). All other planned air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons will also be charged extra. The defence ministry says that development programs have been initiated: "We have earmarked funds in the 1998 budget for the future short-range missile Iris-T, and, beginning in 1999, for the medium-range FMRAAM", Rühe declared. With this background, it is no surprise that the total procurement costs of DM23,16 billion (as estimated by the German defence ministry) are skeptically assessed. The German audit office's recent report estimates the costs, including weaponry and full equipment, to be approximately DM30 billion. The operational costs (which however would also be generated with every other aircraft) will supposedly sum up to DM27 billion over a period of 25 years. Some kind of a predatory competition over funds between the forces seems inevitable. Defence minister Rühe admitted to having other projects, which he evaluates as not having the same priority, canceled in order to save funds for the Eurofighter. He furthermore said: "The programs that I have shelved (for example the Navy troop supply vehicle by one year) have a much lower employment effect as the investment into the Eurofighter program, which not only has an importance to security politics but, which also has a significant value for the European aerospace industry." Of course, the industry had to agree with this statement: "The commitment of the German cabinet is an important signal for the predictability and cooperation capability of German activities in the frame of demanding international large-scale projects", was heard from Dasa. According to British Aerospace, The Eurofighter program is "an important cornerstone of the aerospace branch's future European integration process." Indeed, the industry will look different in the year 2001/2002, when the first EF2000 are delivered to Great Britain (232 aircraft), Germany (180), Italy (121), and Spain (87). Still, there is lot of work to be accomplished until then. Should the German parliament agree to the program, as expected, in November, the MoU No. 6 is scheduled to be signed by the participating governments in mid-December. At the beginning of next year, the contracts for the production preparation could be signed with industry. First deliveries are currently projected for the second half of the year 2001. At the end of the same year, the Royal Air Force is planning to begin with the equipment of its first Eurofighter wing. The production of the 620 aircraft will stretch until the year 2014. According to the industry, the project will secure 18000 jobs in Germany at the peak of the production cycle. From page 60 of FLUG REVUE 12/97 See also the latest status of flight tests with the seven prototypes! Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 12/97 Copyright 1997 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated November 7, 1997 FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany