035687 - EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON (Kagero Monograph 87)

By Salvador Mafe Huertas

The Eurofighter program is the most important military and industrial collaboration project that has ever been carried out in the Old Continent. Originally born as an air superiority fighter, intended to counteract the numerical superiority of the Warsaw Pact air forces, after the end of the Cold War it has gradually become a true multi-purpose fighter, possibly the most advanced that exists nowadays, with the possible exception of the North American F-35 Lightning II. It is true that its entry into service was extended over time, there were many new technologies applied in which the European companies involved in its development had to start from scratch: electronic equipment, pilot equipment, etc. But this has been, within its difficulty, the least problematic. The really difficult thing has been that the four partners agreed to go overcoming the milestones that the program was presenting as the months and years passed. Spain has always shown itself to be a very reliable partner and its industry, led by EADS-CASA (now Airbus Defense & Space), has been able to respond effectively and decisively to the challenges that continually presented themselves. We can not say the same of Germany, where the Eurofighter issue became an internal domestic political argument, with ongoing debates in the Federal Parliament, but today these debates have already been largely overcome, although its operational availability rate is the most low of all users.