- Vie, 16 Feb 2007 16:50
#412516
15 February 2007 - Type Acceptance for Block 5 Standard Eurofighter Typhoon
Hallbergmoos – The Eurofighter Typhoon weapon system has received Type Acceptance from the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency NETMA for the final Tranche 1 standard, known as Block 5. These aircraft represent the last build standard in Tranche 1 and, with the R2 Retrofit programme ongoing across the four Partner Air Forces, will be the standard to which all earlier Eurofighter Typhoons are brought up to. This will also be the capability standard of the 18 aircraft on order to the Austrian Air Force.
The first Block 5 aircraft (Spanish Single-seater SS011) took off for its first flight already on 21 December 2006 from Getafe near Madrid.
Eurofighter GmbH CEO, Aloysius Rauen, comments:
“This Type Acceptance is the last step, before we close the first chapter of Eurofighter Typhoon development with achieving the final results of the Main Development Contract by the end of the year. As the aircraft will be facing continuous upgrades throughout its service life, developing Eurofighter Typhoon capabilities will be a major task for industry. The next steps are already in the planning stages, with the integration of a Laser Designator Pod into Tranche 1 aircraft of paramount importance to the Royal Air Force in 2008. In addition, discussions on the future capabilities, to be defined by the customer for the near and the long term, are drawing to a close.”
The Block 5 capabilities can be described as full air-to-air and initial air-to-ground capability with full carefree handling. The aircraft is cleared for the 9g envelope as intended, with additional features such as sensor fusion, the full Direct Voice Input, enhanced GPS, the DASS (Defensive Aids Sub-System) countermeasures including automatic Chaff and Flare dispensers, radar air-to-surface modes including ground mapping, and initial FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red).
In terms of weapons, the Block 5 Eurofighter Typhoon will be equipped with AMRAAM, ASRAAM, IRIS-T and the proven AIM-9L air-to-air missiles, plus the laser-guided bombs Paveway II and GBU-16. External fuel tanks are certified for supersonic flight, while air-to-air refueling is cleared for all customer specified tanker types.
Combined with the Type Acceptance of the Block 5 aircraft, the enhanced ground equipment for use with the Block 5 standard is now cleared for use, including a more capable version the Ground Support System.
The R2 Retrofit programme, to bring all the earlier Eurofighter Typhoons up to the Block 5 standard, is proceeding well with six aircraft now in retrofit (three in Germany, two in the United Kingdom and one in Spain) and a seventh (UK) soon to join the project. The first aircraft is expected to be finished and returned to the customer in the near future.
High Resolution images of the Eurofighter Typhoon can be downloaded from our web site. Hard Copy images are available on request.
http://www.eurofighter.com/News/Article ... ItemID=263
Hallbergmoos – The Eurofighter Typhoon weapon system has received Type Acceptance from the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency NETMA for the final Tranche 1 standard, known as Block 5. These aircraft represent the last build standard in Tranche 1 and, with the R2 Retrofit programme ongoing across the four Partner Air Forces, will be the standard to which all earlier Eurofighter Typhoons are brought up to. This will also be the capability standard of the 18 aircraft on order to the Austrian Air Force.
The first Block 5 aircraft (Spanish Single-seater SS011) took off for its first flight already on 21 December 2006 from Getafe near Madrid.
Eurofighter GmbH CEO, Aloysius Rauen, comments:
“This Type Acceptance is the last step, before we close the first chapter of Eurofighter Typhoon development with achieving the final results of the Main Development Contract by the end of the year. As the aircraft will be facing continuous upgrades throughout its service life, developing Eurofighter Typhoon capabilities will be a major task for industry. The next steps are already in the planning stages, with the integration of a Laser Designator Pod into Tranche 1 aircraft of paramount importance to the Royal Air Force in 2008. In addition, discussions on the future capabilities, to be defined by the customer for the near and the long term, are drawing to a close.”
The Block 5 capabilities can be described as full air-to-air and initial air-to-ground capability with full carefree handling. The aircraft is cleared for the 9g envelope as intended, with additional features such as sensor fusion, the full Direct Voice Input, enhanced GPS, the DASS (Defensive Aids Sub-System) countermeasures including automatic Chaff and Flare dispensers, radar air-to-surface modes including ground mapping, and initial FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red).
In terms of weapons, the Block 5 Eurofighter Typhoon will be equipped with AMRAAM, ASRAAM, IRIS-T and the proven AIM-9L air-to-air missiles, plus the laser-guided bombs Paveway II and GBU-16. External fuel tanks are certified for supersonic flight, while air-to-air refueling is cleared for all customer specified tanker types.
Combined with the Type Acceptance of the Block 5 aircraft, the enhanced ground equipment for use with the Block 5 standard is now cleared for use, including a more capable version the Ground Support System.
The R2 Retrofit programme, to bring all the earlier Eurofighter Typhoons up to the Block 5 standard, is proceeding well with six aircraft now in retrofit (three in Germany, two in the United Kingdom and one in Spain) and a seventh (UK) soon to join the project. The first aircraft is expected to be finished and returned to the customer in the near future.
High Resolution images of the Eurofighter Typhoon can be downloaded from our web site. Hard Copy images are available on request.
http://www.eurofighter.com/News/Article ... ItemID=263