German Eurofighter “Quadriga” Typhoon |
Airbus said that the order for the Quadriga project was the largest order in the defense program in Europe. Of the 38 Typhoon units for the German Air Force, three Kabarya units will be equipped with the Instrumented Test Aircraft for further development of the future Typhoon program.
Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space said, “The German Air Force will receive the Typhoon Tranche 4, which is the most modern European-made fighter aircraft with a service life of more than 2060. Typhoon Trench 4 is also designed with technical capabilities that allow full integration into European Future Combat Air System (FCAS). "
For Airbus, the new order from Germany will secure the production line until 2030. The first unit of the German Typhoon is scheduled to be delivered starting in 2025. As well as working on the German-ordered Typhoon, Airbus also expects an order from Spain to replace its fleet of F / A-18 Hornets. old. Meanwhile, procurement decisions in Switzerland and Finland will be announced in 2021.
The variant offered for Switzerland matches the configuration of the German Quadriga project. The equipment installed on the Typhoon Trench 4 includes the latest radar installations - the CAPTOR-E. Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA), future-proof hardware and software, as well as multi-role capabilities to deal with air and ground targets.
In addition to purchasing 38 Eurofighter Typhoons, Germany is also planning to purchase an additional 55 fighter jets as part of a plan to replace the Panavia Tornado fleet. Germany chose the F / A-18E / F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler, due to a commitment from Boeing that these manufacturers would receive nuclear bomb carrier certification for the Super Hornet. Boeing spokesman Justin Gibbons said that the F / A-18 Super Hornet is capable of being certified to meet the requirements of bringing the B61 below its timeline.
As is known, Germany has a mandate from NATO to field a fighter capable of dropping the B61 nuclear gravity bomb. Historically, as part of NATO's nuclear sharing agreement, Germany has kept a portion of its Tornado fleet configured to use US-made nuclear bombs.
Germany is currently also in the process of developing a new AESA radar for the Eurofighter. German sensor systems supplier Hensoldt is leading the effort in collaboration with Airbus. While the Eurofighter is the largest defense program in Europe, involving Britain, Spain, Italy and Germany, the fighter jet program involves more than 100,000 jobs in Europe.