Neuigkeiten vom Europäischen Krieger
17 July 2006 - Eurofighter Typhoon at SBAC Farnborough 2006
Farnborough/Hallbergmoos – 13th July 2006. As business deals and aircraft take off at Farnborough 2006 this week the emphasis for the Eurofighter Typhoon programme team is ‘delivering value’ to its customers. According to Eurofighter GmbH CEO, Aloysius Rauen, Eurofighter Typhoon is set to continue delivering value for decades to come.
‘So far we have delivered more than 80 aircraft to the four partner nations and the message from our customers is loud and clear… this is an outstanding aircraft which is set to dominate the battlespace as its capability develops over the coming years.
‘Already the air forces of Germany, Italy Spain and the UK have a formidable air-to-air fighter in Eurofighter Typhoon and as we move towards full swing-role capability this year we will see Eurofighter Typhoon distance itself from the competition on a number of levels.
‘With firm orders for 638 units and even more export orders on the horizon we are proud of the fact that we are offering potential partners the chance to join us in producing the world’s biggest selling new generation swing role aircraft.
The four air forces and industry have amassed over 10,000 flight hours with Eurofighter Typhoon. The aircraft featured prominently in security roles at a number of high profile events such as the Winter Olympics in Turin and more recently at the FIFA World Championship in Germany.
While the air forces get to grips with the new aircraft, the four partner industries are forging ahead with the delivery of future capabilities which will make Eurofighter Typhoon a technology leader in swing-role operations.
Aloysius Rauen explains: ‘Almost daily we are proving that Eurofighter Typhoon meets and exceeds the operational parameters demanded by our customer. Only recently Italian industry aircraft IPA2 fired an advanced medium range missile whilst pulling more than 8g. Such capability can only be dreamed of by some of our competitors and to my knowledge no other fighter aircraft has done this before.
‘With air-to-air carefree handling achieved and in service we continue to focus on delivering the air-to surface capability demanded by the customer. Air-to-surface carefree handling trials are underway and are progressing successfully.’
Since third Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA3) with EADS test pilot Chris Worning began the heavy loads trials campaign in February the Flight Test programme has been building momentum towards an air-to-ground weapon release.
In May this year, IPA1 took off from BAE Systems’ Warton facility loaded with six Paveway II, two AIM-9L Sidewinders and a centreline 1,000l fuel tank. The aim of the tests was to prove the aerodynamic stability of the aircraft in a heavy loads configuration. IPA1 successfully completed a series of ‘flutter trials’ during this first flight, ensuring that a major milestone was achieved by the team. Mark Bowman, BAE Systems Typhoon Project Pilot, commented:
‘The advanced flight control system of Typhoon means that even with this heavy load, the pilot is still able to manoeuvre the aircraft as a ‘carefree’ fighter, safe in the knowledge that the computers will be wringing out every last ounce of turning and rolling performance.’
Soon after the IPA1 flights, the EADS CASA-controlled IPA4 took off from Morón Air Force Base going for a programme-first release of an air-to-surface weapon. Accompanied by an F-18 chase aircraft from the Spanish Air Force, pilot Alfonso de Castro made several approaches to the planned impact point, checking release procedures and ensuring functionality of on-board cameras for the flight test documentation, before going for the hot-run and store jettison. The success of the GBU-16 release from the starboard wing centre pylon demonstrates Eurofighter Typhoon’s swing-role capability.
A second jettison was completed the following day, with both releases fully complying with all flight test objectives. Of utmost importance was the verification of safe separation of the stores from the pylons, and overall aircraft behaviour during and after the release sequences. Evaluation of the overall performance of the avionics and armament control system was also critical, and will contribute towards final GBU-16 clearance following further test sorties over the Summer months.
The GBU-16 is a 1,000 lbs. NATO-standard air-to-surface laser-guided precision bomb to be implemented by Eurofighter Partner Nations Spain and Italy. The Paveway II Enhanced store will be available to the United Kingdom as part of the ‘austere capability’ package. The weapon will enter into service with the Eurofighter Typhoon Block 5 aircraft.
The Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon has completed further GBU-16 release trials as part of the ongoing campaign. First, the air-to-surface store was jettisoned from the right centre-wing pylon, followed by a drop from the right in-board pylon the next day.
At the end of June 2006 BAE Systems’ IPA 1 aircraft successfully released Paveway II stores, Paveway IV trials are scheduled for early next year.
Aloysius Rauen confirms: ‘We are well on our way to achieving Full Operational Capability (FOC) for the system at Block 5 in line with our customer requirement.
‘It is a challenging and demanding programme for our people but they prove consistently that they are equal to the task. I think that this is because they recognize that by delivering Eurofighter Typhoon today, they are delivering operational capability, national security, technology and industrial partnerships for tomorrow and for decades to come.”
Quelle: http://www.eurofighter.com/News/
