The Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the European aviation industry’s pride. Despite its obvious
technical success, the commercial success of the aircraft on the global market is not
bright as expected. Preferred by many countries in the Middle East, the Eurofighter Typhoon
has not been able to become the fighter of the Europeans. Why? The answer is not simple.
As the Weapon Detective, we are investigating the Eurofighter Typhoon to find some sound
answers. Please don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
before we start, and give us a thumbs up if you like our video. To be notified of our
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our channel. Other than the programme partners, only one
European country has preferred the Eurofighter Typhoon. However, the name Eurofighter was
not given to the aircraft because the manufacturers were European. It was supposed to be the fighter
of Europe. When we look at the commercial success of the aircraft, we could say that
it has become the fighter of the Middle East. First thing first. Let’s look at the Eurofighter
Programme history and the aircraft. In 1982, British Aerospace launched a technology
demonstrator project called Experimental Aircraft Programme, shortly EAP. Actually, this company
had privately worked on new aviation technologies under the Agile Combat Aircraft Programme
since the late 1970s. In 1983, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain decided to join the UK to
develop the future fighter of Europe. However, one year later, France withdrew from
the project. Paris did not want to be dependent on other countries and decided to preserve
its national aviation industry. Besides, the French Navy needed a carrier-based
fighter, but the other four participant countries were not interested in this type of aircraft.
By using EAP experience, the UK, Germany, and Italy formed the Eurofighter Consortium
under the name of European Fighter Aircraft or shortly EFA Programme. The studies began
in 1986 on new aircraft. Time was against the Eurofighter. Before the
aircraft performed its first flight on March 27, 1994, the First Cold War had already ended.
On December 22, 1997, four partner nations signed the contract for the production of
the aircraft. Based on chancing threat perception, redefinition of operational demands and development
of the related subsystem began. The first aircraft, which now called the Eurofighter
Typhoon, was taken into the inventory of the Royal Air Force.
Originally, the Eurofighter Typhoon was designed as a pure air superiority fighter and interceptor.
After the First Cold War had ended, an aircraft that was designed for one specific mission
became a luxury. The era of multi-mission aircraft had been
rising. So, in the beginning, the Eurofighter Typhoon
could not gain success in the international market as expected.
So, the programme partners developed the Tranche 2 variant of that aircraft first and Tranche
3 later. The Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 2 Block 8 was developed based on the Tranche
1 model. It has the capability of firing the Storm
Shadow and Taurus air to ground missiles. The Block 10 version of the Tranche 2 is equipped
with the Litening II targeting pod. So, the aircraft can detect the ground targets and
perform an automatic cruise leaving a constant distance with the surface at low altitudes.
The Block 10s can launch the anti-radiation missile and laser-guided bombs such as GBU-24.
The Eurofighter Typhoon Block 15 can use the Brimstone missile, which is highly effective
against the armoured units. The Tranche 3 variant has fibre optic cabling.
Its mission computer and defensive system have been upgraded. Initially, this variant
would be equipped with the CAPTOR-E active electronically scanned array radar. But, the
radar was not ready for use at that time. So, the Tranche 3 Eurofighter Typhoons currently
have the CAPTOR-M mechanically scanned array radar. These aircraft will be equipped with
the CAPTOR-E radar gradually in the future. The latest Tranche 4 variant will have the
latest variant of the CAPTOR-E. The Typhoon ECR is the variant for the suppression
of enemy air defences missions. It was developed for the German Air Force's
Tornado ECR replacement tender. The aircraft is competing with the EA-18G
Growler in this tender. Austria, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Spain, and the UK are the current users of the aircraft.
The Eurofighter Typhoon has a length of 15.96 metres, a wingspan of 10.95 metres, and a
height of 5.28 metres. The maximum take-off weight is 23.5 tons. Thanks to its two 90
kiloNewton EJ200 turbofans, aircraft can reach a maximum speed of Mach 2. Although the producer
claims that the Eurofighter Typhoon can reach a speed of Mach 1.5 without using its afterburner,
the Royal Air Force has declared that the maximum supercruise speed of the aircraft
is Mach 1.1. It can climb an altitude of over 19,800 metres. In addition to a 27mm BK-12
gun, the Eurofighter Typhoon can carry a 9-ton ordinance. The aircraft has nine pylons and
four semi-recessed bays. It has super cruise capability. Its aerodynamic
structure enables it to carry the mission equipment right under its fuselage.
Thanks to this design and whisker-like canards placed immediately front below the cockpit,
the aircraft has high manoeuvrability. Although the Eurofighter Typhoon has turned
into a swing-role fighter in time, the aircraft has preserved its interception capability,
thanks to the Meteor long-range air to air missiles.
Unlike 5th generation fighters, the Eurofighter Typhoon is not a stealth aircraft. However,
the composite materials, which are used to reduce weight, also reduce the radar cross-section of
the aircraft, especially from the frontal aspect.
Some significant reflector areas, such as the wing leading edges, the intake edges and
interior, the rudder surrounds, and strakes, are coated with radar-absorbent materials.
As you know, the stealth aircraft design could cause some aerodynamic limitation. The designer
of the Eurofighter Typhoon preferred agility over stealth.
The main idea of the Eurofighter Typhoon's design is to close this deficit by using a
powerful electronic warfare suite and countermeasure systems. This approach gives the aircraft
superior dogfight ability. For further agility, Eurojet, which is responsible
for the EJ200 engines of the aircraft, also developed a thrust vectoring control nozzle.
Yet, no user country has chosen this system. The pilots of the Eurofighter Typhoon use
the helmet-mounted display and direct voice input system, which provide a short reaction
time during the dogfight. As we mentioned before, the Eurofighter Typhoon
will be equipped with the CAPTOR-E active electronically scanned array radar. Also known
as CAESAR, this radar provides the all-weather ground attack and the low probability of intercept
radar capabilities. Some sources claim that the CAPTOR-E can detect the F-35 at a range
of nearly 60 kilometres. Besides the radar, the Eurofighter Typhoon
is equipped with the PIRATE infrared search and attack system, which has a maximum range
of about 150 kilometres. We looked at the general information about
the Eurofighter Typhoon. Now, let’s get back our question at the beginning. Why has
the aircraft not achieved commercial success as expected on the global market, especially
in Europe? And, why have the Middle East countries chosen it?
To answer this question, we have to look at the untold story of the 1960s and 1970s, that
the western world does not want to talk about it.
As you know, the nickname of the 3rd generation F-4 Phantom II is the MiG killer. Is it true?
Partially. But, the highly decorated veteran F-4s were not that successful in the Vietnam
War. The 2nd generation MiG-21, whose NATO reporting
name is Fishbed, was a very tough adversary for the Phantom II. According to western sources,
during the war, the Vietnamese MiG-21s had won 121 aerial victories, and the US aircraft
could shot down only 92 of them. Of course, the Russian and Vietnamese sources claim that
the Fishbeds had more aerial victories and fewer losses.
But, we have to add that the success of the MiG-21 was not only about the aircraft.
The US pilots had served in rotation. Yet, the Vietnamese pilots had fought from
the beginning to the end. This long-term fight had sharpened their skills.
The Israeli Air Force had managed to overcome the MiG-21s.
But, until the F-15s and F-16s arrived, the Arab Fishbed pilots had been one of most respectful
rivals for the Israeli pilots. The 3rd generation fighters of the west relied
on their radars and air-to-air missiles, not their agility. But, these systems were still
in infancy. So, an agile 2nd generation fighter, like
the MiG-21, in the hands of skilful pilots, had an advantage in the dogfight.
In the early 1970s, the Soviet Air Force had more MiG-21 than NATO’s total combat aircraft
in Europe. This was a nightmare for the military planners in Brussel.
So, the USA developed the 4th generation F-16 to encounter the MiG-21.
But, there had been a real MiG killer before then. The Mirage IIIs, in the hand of Israeli
pilots, had been successful against the Fishbeds. Thanks to their tailless delta-wing designs,
the Mirage IIICJs of the Israeli Air Force had higher horizontal manoeuvrability than
the MiG-21s. However, due to their high power-to-weight
ratio, the Fishbeds had better vertical manoeuvrability. Also, the Saab 37 Viggen had proved that the
canards make the delta wing aircraft perfect. So, the Israelis decided to develop a new
tailless delta-wing aircraft with a more powerful engine and the canards.
The result was the Kfir, which was basically a Mirage III with a single General Electric
J79-J1E turbojet engine of the F-4 and the canards. If you look at carefully the new
fighters developed in the 1980s, you can find the trace of the Kfir.
Many aircraft, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, JAS-39 Gripen, J-10, and Lavi, have
tailless delta wings, canards, and powerful engines.
The engineers, who worked for the EAP technology demonstration project, had applied the fly
by wire, advanced electronics and composite materials on an aircraft, which has a similar
design to the Kfir. But, they had been late. The NATO members
and other allies of the USA had needed a 4th generation aircraft urgently. These countries
could not wait for another decade. Therefore, before the Eurofighter Typhoon was ready,
the F-16 and F/A-18 had dominated the market. France had also managed to get a big share
in the market by the Mirage 2000. Even worse, the USSR had developed highly
impressive 4th generation fighters, like the MiG-29 and Su-27, before the Eurofighter Typhoon.
In fact, the Eurofighter Typhoon was superior to 4th generation US aircraft.
But, before the Eurofighter Typhoon performed its first flight, the USA began the 5th generation
fighter programme. After the First Cold War ended, the political
uncertainty and changing military demands hit the Eurofighter Programme second time.
For a long time, the participant countries did not want to spend more money on a new
fighter. So, the programme had delayed several times.
And, the F-16 gained more time to find new costumers.
The third problem is that the Eurofighter Typhoon had been developed for the First Cold
War needs of the participant countries. It had been designed to intercept the bombers
and attackers of the Warsaw Pact. In the new world, no one needed that. Multi-role fighters
have been a more suitable and economical choice. The pure interceptor variant of the Eurofighter
Typhoon, the Tranche 1, was only adopted by participant countries and Austria. Because
of its very limited ground attack capability, the aircraft failed many international tenders.
Except for Austria, all new users of the Eurofighter Typhoon have chosen the Tranche 2 and Tranche
3 versions. All Tranche 1 users decided to retire or upgrade their fleets.
The Eurofighter Typhoon failed to achieve the expected commercial success in Europe.
Those who wanted a high-tech fighter acquired the F-35.
Those looking for a cost-effective solution preferred the JAS-39 Gripen.
So, why is the Eurofighter Typhoon so successful in the Middle East market? Although it is
a good aircraft, the main reason is the Israeli pressure on the USA not to sell the F-35 to
the Arabs. Together with the Rafale, the Eurofighter
Typhoon is the best high-tech fighter for countries that could not acquire the Lightning
II. Another example is Turkey. In the early 2000s,
Ankara had played all its cards on the Lightning II.
Turkey had even rejected the offer to become the fifth partner of the Eurofighter Programme.
Yet, because of the S-400 crisis, it excluded from the F-35 Programme.
Now, there are strong rumours that Turkey will acquire the Eurofighter Typhoon.
This aircraft is the only chance of the Turkish Air Force, whose inventory is critically ageing
and becoming obsolete, against Greece's new Rafales.
As you can see, the Eurofighter Typhoon's success in the international market is not
because it can compete with the F-35, but it's one of the second-best options after
the Lightning II. For this reason, the Eurofighter Typhoon is not as commercially successful
as it was initially intended. The Eurofighter Typhoon was born too late
for the international market. Today, the European aviation leaders are working
on developing a 6th generation fighter to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon.
They realized that they have to skip a programme for 5th generation fighter programme to catch
up with the global market’s need. They don’t want to make the same mistake again. Yet,
until then, the Eurofighter Typhoon will be a strong competitor in the market.
Thanks for watching our video. And please don't forget to subscribe to our channel and
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