Eurofighter Typhoon

Eurofighter Typhoon
Royal Air Force Typhoon F2 flying through the Mach Loop in Snowdonia National Park, Wales.
General information
Type	Multirole fighter, air superiority fighter
National origin	Multinational
Manufacturer	Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH
Status	In service
Primary users	Royal Air Force German Air Force Italian Air Force Spanish Air and Space Force See Operators below for others
Number built	592 as of November 2023[1]
History
Manufactured	1994–present
Introduction date	4 August 2003
First flight	27 March 1994[2]
Developed from	British Aerospace EAP
Variants	Eurofighter Typhoon variants

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter.^[3][4] The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter^[5] and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, manages the project and is the prime customer.^[6]

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. 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. A technology demonstration aircraft, the British Aerospace EAP, first flew on 6 August 1986; a Eurofighter prototype made its maiden flight on 27 March 1994. The aircraft's name, Typhoon, was adopted in September 1998 and the first production contracts were also signed that year.

The sudden end of the Cold War reduced European demand for fighter aircraft and led to debate over the aircraft's cost and work share^{[clarification needed]} and protracted the Typhoon's development: the Typhoon entered operational service in 2003 and is now in service with the air forces of Austria, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Kuwait and Qatar have also ordered the aircraft, bringing the procurement total to 680 aircraft as of November 2023^[update].^[1]

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly agile aircraft, designed to be an effective dogfighter in combat.^[7] Later production aircraft have been increasingly better equipped to undertake air-to-surface strike missions and to be compatible with an increasing number of different armaments and equipment, including Storm Shadow, Brimstone and Marte ER missiles. The Typhoon had its combat debut during the 2011 military intervention in Libya with the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Italian Air Force, performing aerial reconnaissance and ground-strike missions. The type has also taken primary responsibility for air-defence duties for the majority of customer nations.