Eurofighter Nations Place Order for Third Production Tranche

- Defence & Security CEO Stefan Zoller: "A good day for Europe's defence capability"
- Planning certainty for air forces and industry ensured


(31 July 2009) -- "Today's official order by the four partner nations for the third production batch of the joint combat aircraft Eurofighter Typhoon is a good day for the defence capability of Europe's armed forces and for the military aviation industry in Europe," stressed Dr. Stefan Zoller, EADS Board member in charge of Defence & Security (DS) on the signing of the contract between Eurofighter GmbH and the customer organisation NETMA. "With the decision to split the procurement into two partial tranches, the governments of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain have given a clear vote for the sustained success of the programme. For us and for our partner companies working in the Eurofighter consortium, this agreement means planning certainty and continuity of production," said Zoller.

The Business Unit responsible for development, production and support for the European high-performance military jet in Germany and Spain, Military Air Systems (MAS), can now make the technical preparations for the production of assemblies for the 112 Eurofighters of Tranche 3A and for the final assembly of 31 aircraft for the German Air Force and 20 for the Spanish Air Force," stated MAS CEO Bernhard Gerwert.

"In addition, the official commissioning gives Europe as a high-tech and business location greater export potential for the Eurofighter," said Gerwert. Following the basic agreement between the governments in April 2009 and the subsequent initialling and approval phases at national level, the contract for Tranche 3A has now been signed by the negotiating partners, NETMA as the customer organisation representing the four core nations, and Eurofighter GmbH on behalf of the European industrial consortium.

The Eurofighter programme embodies the very best technological and operational achievements in European military aircraft production. With a current total of 707 aircraft ordered for six customers, Eurofighter has the largest order book of all advanced multi-role combat aircraft. Tranche 3A, which has now been commissioned, will enable Eurofighter to consolidate its leading role in the global market.

Source : Eurofighter