Hello everyone, welcome back again with us at Military TV. In this episode, we are going to
talk about the world’s most advanced swing-role combat aircraft, here comes “Eurofighter Typhoon”.
Eurofighter Typhoon is the world’s leading air defence and ground attack aircraft with full multi
and swing-role capabilities. It has ‘supercruise’ capability, which enables high-speed flight at
sustained speeds of over Mach 1 without the use of afterburner. The combination of the airframe
performance, advanced human-machine-interface, powerful engines and ground-breaking technology
gives Eurofighter Typhoon pilots the edge in today’s competitive digital battlefield.
The interoperability, durability, resilience, safety record, reliability and enhancements
of the platform ensure that both performance and value are delivered without compromise.
In another word, Eurofighter Typhoon is the only fighter available on the market
able to offer such wide-ranging operational capabilities, while at the same time delivering
unparalleled fleet readiness. The ability to simultaneously support both Air-to-Air and
Air-to-Surface scenarios allows the fleet to be used for the widest range of operations.
At the same time, the design focus on high reliability, low maintenance and the ease
of upgrading systems means the aircraft have the maximum possible availability.
The aircraft also has demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate, high reliability across the globe
in all climates. It has been combat-proven during operations in Libya, Iraq and Syria.
Before talking further about the specifications, It’s better to look at the history.
The aircraft's development effectively began in 1983 with the Future European Fighter Aircraft
programme, a multinational collaboration among the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. The
development of the aircraft has been carried out by Eurofighter GmbH, based in Munich, Germany,
and wholly-owned by BAE Systems of the UK, Alenia Aeronautica of Italy and the EADS
Deutschland (formerly Daimler Chrysler) and EADS Spain (formerly CASA), both of which are managed
by Airbus Military. Previously, Germany, Italy and the UK had jointly developed and deployed
the Panavia Tornado combat aircraft and desired to collaborate on a new project, with additional
participating EU nations. However, disagreements over design authority and operational requirements
led France to leave the consortium to develop the Dassault Rafale independently.
The first prototype of the finalized Eurofighter made its first flight in Bavaria
on 27 March 1994 and flown by DASA chief test pilot Peter Weger. The aircraft's name, Typhoon,
was adopted in September 1998 and the first production contracts were also signed that year.
The aircraft will remain in service until 2040. About its design, The aircraft is constructed of
carbon-fiber composites, glass-reinforced plastic, aluminum lithium, titanium and aluminum casting.
Stealth technology features include low frontal radar cross-section,
passive sensors and supercruise ability. The Typhoon features lightweight construction (70%
carbon fiber composites, 15% of metals, 12% of Glass Reinforced Plastics, and 3% other materials)
with an estimated lifespan of 6,000 flying hours. The foreplane/delta configuration is
intentionally aerodynamically unstable which provides a high level of agility (particularly
at supersonic speeds), low drag and enhanced lift. The pilot controls the aircraft through
a computerized digital fly-by-wire system which provides artificial stabilization
and gust elevation to give good control characteristics throughout the flight envelope.
Besides the airframe design, we need to see other important parts of this combat aircraft, such as
cockpit, weapons, radar and sensors, and engine. We start with the cockpit.
The pilot’s control system is a voice throttle and stick system (VTAS). The stick and throttle tops
house 24 fingertip controls for sensor and weapon control, defence aids management, and inflight
handling. The direct voice input allows the pilot to carry out mode selection and data entry
procedures using voice command. The quadruplex fly-by-wire flight control system has an automatic
low-speed recovery system which provides the pilot with visual and audio low speed warning and will,
if necessary, automatically take control of the aircraft and return to safe flight. In addition,
The BAE Systems striker helmet-mounted symbology system and head-up display show the flight
reference data, weapon aiming and cueing, and the FLIR imagery. BAE Systems TERPROM ground
proximity warning system is being fitted. The cockpit has three multifunction color head-down
displays which show the tactical situation, systems status and EADS digital map displays.
The next part, we are going to show you its weapons.
The Eurofighter Typhoon has 13 hardpoints for weapon carriage,
four under each wing and five under the fuselage. An armament control system manages weapons
selection and firing and monitors weapon status. Depending on role, the fighter can carry
the following mix of missiles: • Air-superiority: six BVRAAM or
AMRAAM air-to-air missiles on semi-recessed fuselage stations and two ASRAAM short-range
air-to-air missiles on the outer pylons. • Air interdiction: four AMRAAM, two ASRAAM,
two cruise missiles and two anti-radar missiles. • SEAD (suppression of enemy air defenses)
with four AMRAAM,
two ASRAAM, and six anti-radar missiles. • Multirole: three AMRAAM, two ASRAAM,
two ARM and two GBU-24 Paveway III/IV • Close air support: with four AMRAAM,
two ASRAAM, and 18 Brimstone anti-armor missiles • The last one, Maritime attack with four AMRAAM,
two ASRAAM, and six anti-ship missiles. Furthermore is about radar and sensors
The aircraft is equipped with a CAPTOR (ECR 90) multimode X-band pulse Doppler radar, developed
by the Euroradar consortium. The Eurofighter operates automatic Emission Controls to reduce the
electro-magnetic emissions of the current CAPTOR mechanically scanned radar. The Captor-M has three
working channels, one intended for classification of jammer and for jamming suppression.
A succession of radar software upgrades have enhanced the air-to-air capability of the radar.
While its sensor, the aircraft is equipped with passive infrared airborne track equipment or
(PIRATE). It is mounted on the port side of the fuselage, forward of the windscreen.
The sensor has been developed by the EUROFIRST consortium which comprises Galileo Avionica of
Italy as lead contractor, Thales Optronics of the UK as (system technical authority)
and Tecnobit of Spain. The PIRATE operates in both 3-5 and 8-11 micron spectral bands.
When used with the radar in an air-to-air role, it functions as an infrared search and track system,
providing passive target detection and tracking.
PIRATE also provides a steerable image to the pilot’s helmet-mounted display.
And the last part that we want to show you is about the engine.
The Eurofighter is equipped with two Eurojet EJ200 engines that have been developed by Eurojet,
in Munich, each delivering thrust of 90kN in full reheat and 60kN in dry power mode.
Single-stage turbines drive the three-stage fan and five-stage HP compressor. This allows
Eurofighter Typhoon to cruise at supersonic speeds without the use of reheat for extended periods.
The engines deliver 1,000 flying hours without needing unscheduled maintenance
through the use of advanced integrated Health Monitoring for class-leading reliability,
maintainability and Through Life Cost. The Typhoon is capable of supersonic
cruise without using afterburners (referred to as supercruise). Air Forces Monthly
gives a maximum supercruise speed of Mach 1.1 for the RAF FGR4 multirole version,
however in a Singaporean evaluation, a Typhoon managed to supercruise at Mach 1.21 on a hot
day with a combat load. But Eurofighter states that the Typhoon can supercruise at Mach 1.5.
In short, the combat-proven Eurofighter Typhoon is the world’s most advanced new
generation swing-role combat aircraft available on the market and is in successful operation
in nine nations: Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
the Sultanate of Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Thank for watching. And as always if you
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