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issue 2 - 2006 eurofighter review
� NETMA: Managing the Programme
� Production Exchange Workshops
� Air-to-Ground Weapon Release
p r o g r a m m e n e w s a n d f e a t u r e s
A review of ILA 2006
Eurofighter Typhoonin Berlin
Visitors to the Eurofighter Typhoon pavilion at the Farnborough International 2006 Airshow in July will be greeted by some freshand exciting imagery promoting the world's best-selling next gen-eration fighter aircraft. The current set of promotional materialsand advertising copy has been refreshed to develop the public'sawareness towards Eurofighter Typhoon as a world-leading
product that is already delivering value to the four Partner Nationsand Export customers alike.New images and messages reinforce the strengths that EurofighterTyphoon will bring to customers throughout its service life. Andnot just operationally, but through shared technology, industrialpartnerships and skills development.
n o t h i n g c o m e s c l o s e
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Representing the next step towards swing-role capability, Instrumented ProductionAircraft One (IPA1) took off from BAE SystemsWarton loaded with Phase 5 Flight ControlSoftware (FCS). This inaugural flight, on 24May, marks the first time that EurofighterTyphoon has flown carrying a softwarepackage dedicated to handling an air-to-sur-face payload.
The aircraft was fitted with six PavewayII weapons, with pilot Will Jonas comment-ing that the aircraft “handled beautifully!”
The Phase 5 FCS represents the Final Operational Clearance standard of the air-craft control laws and will enter into servicein 2007. The new software introduces, forthe first time in a production standard soft-ware package, the ability to fly all air-to-airand air-to-ground store configurations to es-sentially the full flight envelope, and allowsthe aircraft's full 'swing role' capabilities tobe explored.
Whilst air-to-ground stores have beenflown with earlier standards of control laws,they were limited either in terms of flightenvelope or store carriage capabilities, as
these earlier software standards were de-signed specifically to allow rapid turnaround from start of design to end of flighttesting, and to allow specific risk reduction activities to be performed. Phase 5 FCShowever, builds upon that earlier experienceand adds considerable additional capabili-ties. In particular, it allows two major areasof development flight testing to be progressedwith air-to-ground stores fitted, namelystores release and jettison, and carefreehandling. Both of these sets of trials will begin shortly as the pace of Phase 5 flighttesting picks up.
Although the major capability increaseintroduced with Phase 5 FCS relates to air-to-ground stores, air-to-air aspects willalso be improved. Air-to-air configurationshave already been extensively tested, fullyproven, and cleared for carefree service use,but Phase 5 software will build upon thatand see further increases in air-to-air agility.
Dear Reader,
The first half of 2006 is now behind us and ithas already been quite a year.
The testing of air-to-ground capabilities ismoving at a tremendous rate, the UnitedKingdom forming their first operationalsquadron, and the start of the Summer exhibi-tions calendar putting a renewed emphasisinto Export, are just some of the highlights ofthe year so far.
At the ILA Berlin Airshow, in particular, theevent gave us the opportunity to meet withhigh-ranking customer representatives topromote the successes that are elevating ourprogramme to new levels. We also held gooddiscussions with our Austrian customerofficials, and welcomed important delegationsfrom the other Nations where we are activelymarketing Eurofighter Typhoon.
This year we will see the decisions of someNations outside of the Eurofighter community,for example Turkey, Denmark or Norway, whoare assessing their participation in variousother aircraft projects. The outcomes of thesedecisions could have a very positive impact onour programme.
The US analysts’ assessment in ForecastInternational, declaring Eurofighter Typhoonthe international Market Leader in the globalfighter business, emphasised that the potentialis there to record further Export contracts inthe future. This statement will be a welcomeboost to our Marketing colleagues in thePartner Companies and at Eurofighter HQ.
A lot of work still has to be done, but progressin the programme is good and the better weperform, the easier it will be to agree theFuture Capability Programme with our corecustomer. This represents the next majorchallenge in the programme and we all hopefor contract signature this year.
Aloysius RauenCEO Eurofighter GmbH
Aloysius Rauen
CEO Eurofighter GmbH
First Flight Success
Phase 5 Flight Control Software Airborne
03 Editorial
Welcome note from Aloysius Rauen, Chief Executive Officer
04 News
Latest developments
06 ILA 2006 Review
Eurofighter Typhoon in Berlin
08 Checking for a Pulse
Eurofighter Typhoon comes through EMP testing
09 Tertius Primus Erit
First operational RAF Typhoon Squadron formed
10 Simulation Specialists
Reiser Systemtechnik GmbH
12 NETMA: Managing the Programme
NATO Eurofighter Tornado Management Agency
14 Production Exchange Workshops
Establishing a best practice across the Eurofighter community
16 Improved Vision
AESA promises increased capability for Eurofighter Typhoon
18 Press Briefing
Austrian media invited to EADS Manching
19 ILS Innovation
A new support concept for the EJ200
20 High Definition
Eurofighter Typhoon on the big screen
21 Air-to-Ground Weapon Release
A step closer to multi-role capability
22 ASTA
Progress in the advanced simulation training programme
23 Tranche 2
Progress with the second Production Contract Phase
Eurofighter Review is published by
Eurofighter GmbH, PR & CommunicationsAm Söldnermoos 17, 85399 HallbergmoosTel: +49 (0) 811-80 1587
Editorial representative
Wolfdietrich HoevelerVP PR & Communications
Editor
Phillip Lee
Photography
Eurofighter GmbH, Eurofighter Partner Companies,Geoffrey Lee, Planefocus
Design & Production
images.art.design.Andreas Westphalwww.iad-design.de
Printed by
ESTA Druck GmbHwww.esta-druck.de
Eurofighter Review on the Internet
www.eurofighter.com
If you would like to request additional copies ofEurofighter Review, please contact the PR &Communications Department at Eurofighter GmbH
06The Airshow calendar began inBerlin
16Improved vision for
Eurofighter Typhoon
Contents
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May 2006: A Royal Air Force EurofighterTyphoon from 29 (F) Squadron, ona training sortie over East Anglia,UK. 29 (F) Sqn are based at RAFConingsby.
IPA1 has begun flight testing with
Phase 5 FCS
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Headed by President Panagiotis Kammenos(6th from left), members of the StandingCommittee for National Defence and ForeignAffairs of the Hellenic Parliament visitedEADS Military Air Systems in Manching on15 May. The visit was centred around theEurofighter Typhoon, with Erwin Obermeier,Campaign Director for Greece, delivering acomprehensive briefing on the status of theprogramme. The group was also given an
Cleared for Refuelling
Green light for the IFRP
The latest version of Fuel System software,designated PSP 3a, has now started flighttesting on IPA1.
The updated software, incorporating ad-ditional functionality, will allow an upgrad-ed version of external fuel tanks to be flownlater this year. Modifications are also in-cluded to deal with fuel system control andmonitoring issues identified during earlierrig and flight testing.
4
The teams are competing for the Eurofighter Trophy, to be handed out to thewinners at the end of their Cranfield excur-sion, following the judging process takingplace throughout July. The purpose of thecompetition is to increase the level of interestin professional aerospace engineering as apotential career. Industry across Europe islooking for the next generation of talent todrive the aerospace sector forward into thenext decade and beyond.
The winning entry will be published inthe next issue of Eurofighter Review.
The twelve teams from across the globecompeting in the Eurofighter sponsored In-ternational Aerospace Summer School havesubmitted their final proposals.
The teams, representing the EurofighterNations of Germany, Italy, Spain, UnitedKingdom and Austria, plus entrants fromDenmark, Greece, Norway, Singapore, SouthAfrica, Switzerland and Turkey, deliveredtheir suggestions, for a stealthy transportaircraft for military use, at the end of May,and now progress to a “week of aerospace”at Cranfield University, England, in August.The stay will consist of briefings on a vari-ety of aerospace topics, plus allowing thestudent the opportunity to fly light aircraftand helicopters. The groups will also be givena special guided tour of the Eurofighter Typhoon Main Operating Base at RAF Con-ingsby during their week-long visit.
International Aerospace Summer School
Competition moves into final stages
Latest Fuel Software
Flight testing for the new system
to power this agile aircraft produces around40lb of thrust, so its power to weight ratio isawesome! The airspeed has not been mea-sured but it is thought to be in excess of200mph. The gas turbine engine is a MerlinMKII engine, and uses A1 jet fuel (identicalto that of full size turbine engines). The idleRPM (revolutions per minute) of this engineis 35000, however at max power the RPM isin the region of 117000! Exhaust gas tem-perature is approximately 575°C.
Steve will be display flying his EurofighterTyphoon at many of the UK model airshowsthroughout the 2006 season, and will alsobe displaying at the Belgium Jets over Pam-pa airshow in July 2006.
Eurofighter Typhoon Miniature
Model enthusiast and his200mph aircraft
insight into the capabilities of the BusinessUnit and the Manching site. After the brief-ing, Kammenos and the delegation took theopportunity to visit the Eurofighter final assembly line and to talk to pilots regardingthe ongoing flight test activities. The GreekDelegation encompassed members of bothparties, NEA Dimokratia and PASOK, as wellas the Hellenic Consul General in Bavaria.
Steven Moore has been flying radio-con-trolled model aircraft in the UK for nearly
11 years, havingflown all sorts of air-craft, from smallsports models all theway up to multi-en-gine large scale air-craft. His latest modelis the Eurofighter Ty-phoon - a 1:6 scalereplica constructedusing fibreglass andcarbon fibre materi-als. The model itselfweighs around 26lb,but the engine used
Steven Moore and his Eurofighter
Typhoon miniature
The programme status was presented to the Greek
Delegation at EADS Manching
A Hellenic Arrival
EADS welcomes Greek Delegation to Manching The Eurofighter Typhoon In-Flight Refuelling
Probe (IFRP) has successfully completed itsfull life 6,000 cycles / 6,000 hour clearancetest.
The IFRP is a complex mechanism. Con-trolled and monitored by relay logic, the deployment and retraction are controlled bya hydraulic actuator, and achievement offull life is particularly significant becausethe design of the probe has been extremelydemanding due to the intricate movementsrequired during deployment and retraction,as a result of the limited storage spaceavailable. Consequently, a number of issueswere experienced during developmentwhich forced several design iterations demanding significant effort from areas including General Systems, Front Fuse Inte-grated Project Team, Air Vehicle team, Envi-ronmental Test Laboratory and DevelopmentManufacturing Workshop, as well as supportfrom a number of other teams across the organisation.
The concluding design solution successfullycompleted:
• Over 12,000 test cycles on the EnduranceTest Rig in 23 Hangar at Warton.
• Over 6,000 flying hours clearance on theVibration Test Rig - conducted at theEnvironmental Test Lab on Southside atWarton.
• Successful flight testing on IPA5.
The competition winner will be
announced in August
6,000 hrs clearance milestone
achieved with the IFRP
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above: The German Air Force formed a huge part of the Static Display at ILA
6
A Review of ILA 2006
Eurofighter Typhoon in BerlinSurpassing its own records in terms of attendances, ILA 2006 firmly
positioned the Berlin-based airshow as one of the most important European
and international aerospace events on the exhibitions calendar.
Over a quarter of a million visitors de-scended onto the southern section of Berlin-Schönefeld airport, and for those looking foroutstanding capability, the Eurofighter Typhoon exhibition did not disappoint. Thecentrepiece of the Eurofighter presencetook to the skies daily to perform a breath-taking aerial display, effortlessly pullingmanoeuvres demonstrating the tremendousagility and awesome power of the jet. Theaircraft at ILA were a mixture of single-seatand twin-seat German Air Force EurofighterTyphoons out of Jagdgeschwader 73 “Stein-hoff”, with the flying display aircraft flownout of Laage by EADS Test Pilots ChrisWorning and Heinz Spoelgen alternatively.Additionally, enthusiasts were given thechance for a close-up view of the world’sbest-selling next generation combat aircraftat the German Air Force static park, wherea second jet from JG73 was stationed along-side Tornado and the C-130 transport aircraft.
German Minister of Defenceand Chief of Air Force visitEurofighter
The 2005 Election victory for the CDU partybrought several new faces to key positionswithin the German Ministry of Defence. Mak-ing his first ILA appearance in his new role,Franz-Josef Jung, accompanied by GeneralKlaus-Peter Stieglitz, German Chief of AirForce, Aloysius Rauen, Eurofighter CEO (far left), and Tom Enders, EADS Co-CEO (far right), was keen to show his support forindustry while highlighting the benefits of theEurofighter programme to the end-user. Dr. Jung made a full tour of the EurofighterPavilion, taking in the cockpit demonstrator,while finding time for the assembled media infront of the Eurofighter Typhoon Full ScaleReplica.
above: EADS pilots Chris Worning and Heinz
Spoelgen alternated in flying the German Air Force
aircraft for the ILA Aerial Display
below: The Eurofighter exhibition attracted VIPs
and public alike
Dr. Franz-Josef Jung, Minister of Defencefor Germany (centre left), General Klaus-Peter Stieglitz, Chief of German Air Force (centre right)
More ILA VIPs on the next page...
On the public weekend, two EurofighterTyphoon aircraft formed part of a combinedLuftwaffe display together with reconnais-sance and fighter bomber Tornados, plus F-4 Phantoms.
As the Eurofighter Typhoon dominatedthe skies over ILA, the VIP Business Pavil-ion offered the Official Delegations the opportunity to be briefed on the force-multi-plying benefits that the aircraft delivers.The central theme running through the presentation in the Pavilion highlighted Eurofighter Typhoon’s role in Combined AirOperations. This Network-Centric approachwas supported by a three-screen cinema,wall graphics, and the Eurofighter CockpitDemonstrator. On hand to brief the Delega-tions were representatives from the PartnerAir Forces of Germany, Italy and the UnitedKingdom.
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PK Mehra, Air Marshal Indian Air ForceAs Eurofighter Typhoon is officially regis-
tered in the procurement competition in India,Mr Mehra’s visit to ILA gave Industry achance to promote the aircraft direct to theend-user. Mat Molineaux of the Royal AirForce, guided Air Marshal Mehra through asimulated mission scenario, demonstratingthe key discriminators that have made Eurofighter Typhoon the best-selling next generation combat aircraft.
Markus Gygax, Chief of Air Force OperatingStaff and Deputy Commander of the AirForce, Switzerland
Switzerland’s plans for fleet modernisationhave yet to reach full speed, but talks are ongoing with a variety of potential candidates,including Eurofighter Typhoon through EADS.At ILA, Aloysius Rauen briefed Mr Gygax onthe capability and industrial benefits of theprogramme, before German Air Force pilotsRalf Brandis and Georg Pepperl talked himthrough the aircraft’s cockpit functionality.
Antonio Purini, Italian AmbassadorThis was Mr Purini’s first visit to ILA since
becoming Ambassador in 2004. Guidedthrough the Eurofighter exhibition by RoccoOrtuso, Eurofighter Procurement Director, MrPurini was briefed on the aircraft’s capabili-ties, before Italian Air Force pilot Max Federicoshowed him a simulated mission in the cock-pit demonstrator.
Phillip Lee
year stay, the Squadron flew Woodcocks,Gamecocks and Bulldogs and also deployedto Sudan during the Abyssinian crisis in1935. Upon its return, No.3 Sqn introducedthe Gladiator into RAF service and just asthe Second World War started received Hurricanes at Biggin Hill.
A brief stint as part of the BEF in Francewas followed by relocation to Scotland onnight-patrol duties. During 1943, theSquadron replaced the Hurricanes with Typhoons and switched to the anti-shippingand intruder roles. A switch to Tempests in1944 saw No.3 Sqn destroy 288 V1 flyingbombs, and move on to the Continent aspart of the advance towards Germany. TheSquadron remained in Germany, convertingto Vampires in 1948, Sabres in 1953 and theHunter in 1956. A short time with Javelinfighters was followed by a long period ofCanberra flying, before the Squadron re-ceived Harriers in the early 1970s. In 1977the unit moved to Gütersloh near the oldEast German border, before relocating toLaarbruch with Harrier GR7s. Following thedecision to close Laarbruch, No.3 Sqn re-turned to the UK in the Spring of 1999, tobe based at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland.
Since then, the squadron - along with itssister RAF Harrier and Royal Navy Sea Har-rier units - combined to form Joint ForceHarrier and has undertaken a number of deployments on board aircraft carriers in-cluding an operational tour to Sierra Leoneas part of Operation Basilica. Most recently, elements of No.3 Squadron were involved in Operation Telic.
No.3 Sqn is now based at RAF Coningsbyas the first operational Typhoon squadron.
© British Crown Copyright/MOD, Reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office”.
Taking place the day before the Royal AirForce celebrated its 88th Anniversary, a ceremony marking the formation of the firstoperational Typhoon squadron was held atRAF Cottesmore, UK.
No.3 (F) Squadron, whose motto is “Tertius Primus Erit – The third shall be thefirst”, completed the handover from Harrierto Typhoon in a change that marks a keymilestone in the transition of the Royal AirForce to a more agile, capable and flexibleexpeditionary force, better equipped to meetthe operational demands of the future.
No.3 (F) Squadron will operate from RAFConingsby and will be assigned Quick Reac-tion Alert duties from the Tornado F3 force,while leading the work-up towards the decla-ration of a deployable air defence capability.
Defence Secretary, John Reid, said: "Theintroduction of Typhoon today marks ourcommitment to invest in effective fightingpower, and to keep the British Armed Forcesat the forefront when it comes to militarycapability.”
Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal SirJock Stirrup, said: "Tomorrow marks 88years of the RAF, and it is fitting that thechanges being implemented across the Ser-vice… will bring into service one of the mostpotent aircraft that has ever flown.”
History of No.3 Squadron
No.3 Squadron, RFC, was formed atLarkhill on 13 May 1912 from No.2 (Aero-plane) Company. It deployed to France aspart of the BEF in August 1914 on spottingduties. Late in 1917, Camels were receivedand the Squadron became a fighter/scoutunit. After the Armistice in 1918, theSquadron disbanded and through the 1920sspent many short-lived periods at a varietyof locations before arriving at Upavon in1924 with Sopwith Snipes. During their ten
Tertius Primus Erit
First Operational RAF Typhoon Squadron Formed
Checking for a Pulse
Eurofighter Typhoon comes through EMP testingIn October last year, the first of two trialswas conducted in order to gauge the air-craft’s behaviour when subjected to strongelectromagnetic pulses.
The equipment, loaned from the Germanmilitary, was erected close to the north run-way of the Military Technical Centre WTD61 at Manching. Two wooden supports,
between which the pulse generator was suspended, were positioned approximately30m apart. The generator then delivered numerous very strong yet short pulses, thetype of which occur after nuclear explosions,to examine the aircraft’s resistance to jam-ming. In a major part of the tests, measure-ments were taken of the current injected
into the wiring har-nesses of the aircraftwith electrical powerdown. For this pur-pose, before thestart of testing, spe-cial clamp-on amme-ters were installedin the jet, giving avisualisation of thecurrent injected intothe wiring harnesson a measuring
unit, allowing conclusions to be drawn aboutpossible jamming effects.
Measurement results from past EMPtests were made available by QinetiQ andBAE Systems, which allowed direct on-siteplausibility checks to be made on the newlyacquired data and, where necessary, mea-surements to be repeated at short delay.
This method of conducting the test hasbeen unique in Europe up to now. The involvement and coordination of a widerange of experts, companies and authoritiesin such a complex test sequence requiredenormous effort, but was in the end worth-while. Along with the Eurofighter PartnerCompanies and those responsible in Manch-ing, QinetiQ and WIS – the latter represent-ing the Customer – provided support for thetests. The experience gathered will form thebasis for a second test, which is due to beheld in Manching in the Summer of 2006.
The aircraft will undergo a series of EMP tests
top: Eurofighter Typhoon in RAF No.3 (F)
Squadron markings
above and top right: In formation with two GR7
Harriers from No.3 Squadron
2 - 2006 eurofighter review2 - 2006 eurofighter review - r e i s e r - - r e i s e r - 1110
Company Profile
The forerunner to Reiser Systemtechnik,Elektrotechnik Wolfgang Reiser, was found-ed in February 1980 and prospered as acompany dealing with cable packing,mounting of heat exchangers and producingthe controls for laser equipment. In 1988,Elektrotechnik Wolfgang Reiser expandedby adding the production of mechanicalcomponents for heat exchangers, mechanicsfor control units and front panels, while theexpansion of facilities allowed for all designand development to be completed in-house.
The company, and it’s workforce of six,relocated to Höhenrain, 25 km south of Mu-nich, in 1990 and, as expected the companycontinued to prosper over the followingyears. This steady growth presented thecompany with the opportunity for expan-sion, with the up and coming fields of simu-lation techniques and test systems becom-ing new additions to the company portfolio.In 1993, the Bavarian Ministry of State forEconomic Affairs and Transportation be-stowed upon Elektrotechnik Wolfgang Reis-er the Innovation Prize for EnvironmentalTechnology, and in May 1997, the companywas certified, and continues to be re-certi-fied, according to DIN ISO 9001.
Today, Reiser Systemtechnik GmbH em-ploys 40 specialists in serial, mechanicaland technical production and design, withsimulation technology and test equipmentmanufacturing accounting for 75% of busi-ness volume. The remaining 25% are earnedby the production of laser systems for in-dustrial applications.
Modern technologies are implementedthrough the networking of CAD work sta-tions with the in-house production as wellas with an inscription laser used for panelfront face production. Additionally, an elec-tronic laboratory for development, and atesting station, are at hand.
Reiser Systemtechnik GmbH supplies toall leading aircraft manufacturers in Europeas well as customers in the United Statesand Australia.
Reiser Systemtechnik’s involvement withthe Eurofighter programme lies with theprovision of training equipment to both thepilot and groundcrew training programmes.
Interim Training Device (ITD)
The company has manufactured four Interim Training Devices prior to the com-pletion of the full Eurofighter Typhoonflight simulators for ASTA. Two cockpits arelocated at EADS facilities for developmentpurposes, with the remaining two havingbeen in service for the purpose of Air Forcepilot training for more than two years inLaage and Manching.
Simulation Specialists
Reiser SystemtechnikGmbHPrecision training is essential in being able to pilot one of the most advanced
cockpits in the world. Reiser Systemtechnik GmbH, through their key contri-
butions to the Eurofighter programme, is providing exactly that.
Maintenance SimulatorTrainer (MST) with HOTAS
In parallel to the Interim Training De-vice, Reiser Systemtechnik have manufac-tured highly sophisticated and realisticreplicas of the Eurofighter Typhoon cockpitto serve as training aids for the mainte-nance personnel of the German and ItalianAir Forces.
As a spin-off of the Eurofighter Simula-tion Programme, the company has equippedseveral classrooms with stick and throttle(HOTAS) units. This Computer Based Train-ing (CBT) equipment has been delivered toall nations participating in the Eurofighterprogramme.
Demo-Cockpit
For demonstration and teamwork train-ing purposes, Reiser Systemtechnik devel-oped a replica of the cockpit with an obsta-cle-free architecture incorporating an opti-mal view for spectators and students whilemaintaining the complete functionality. Oneof the major advantages of this architectureis the simplicity of its connectivity. Thetraining device, as a self-contained element,does not require any additional construc-tional installations and therefore can be de-ployed in any classroom with a 230V busbar. Additionally, its lightweight construc-tion allows for single-person handling andpositioning.
The obstacle-free Demo Cockpit
combines optimal spectator viewing
with complete functionality
The MST offers the Air
Force maintenance
personnel a realistic
replica of the actual
cockpit
The Weapon Loading Simulator was designed in
cooperation with EADS
Company Fields ofExpertise
Specialised technical productionDevelopment and design of mechanicaland electronic components and systemsfor simulation technology of vehicles andaircraft
Manufacturing of test facilitiesModification and construction of instru-ments for simulation applications
Serial productionManufacturing of laser components e.g.heat exchangers, panels and power dis-tributions
MechanicsManufacturing of prototypes and limitedseries items
Laser markingMarking of front panels, operating con-soles and other devices
Weapon Loading Trainer(WLT) Eurofighter
In cooperation with the Eurofightermaintenance teams of the German Air Forceand with EADS, Reiser Systemtechnik devel-oped a Weapon Loading Training (WLT) device, comprising a 1:1 full scale mock-upof the aircraft (length 16m, wingspan 11m)together with an external cockpit incorpo-rating replicas of all elements needed tocontrol the weapon system. Sensors built into the device provide the status of theweapon loading and is displayed in the exter-nal cockpit. This cooperation between a Federal Government enterprise and civil industry turned out to be a successful pilotproject for both parties. The training deviceis ready for service at the Kaufbeuren AirForce Maintenance School.
The ambition that drives Reiser System-technik is their desire to become a majorcontributor to the aerospace industry interms of simulation and avionics testing.The company is currently involved in severalnegotiations concerning panels and simula-tor shells for the NH-90 NATO Frigate heli-copter. Further talks concerning simulatorsfor the Pilatus PC-21 Training Aircraft, theSikorsky CH53 helicopter and the LockheedMartin P-3 Orion, will look to cement a posi-tion for Reiser Systemtechnik in the futureof the aerospace simulation industry.
Wolfgang Schlederer, Reiser Systemtechnik GmbH
2 - 2006 eurofighter review2 - 2006 eurofighter review - N E T M A - - N E T M A - 1312
left: Peter Worrall following a rear seat flight in
Eurofighter Typhoon
below: NETMA work closely with Industry to deliver
world class capability
NETMA: Managing the Programme
NATO Eurofighter and Tornado
Development, Production and
Logistics Management Agency
Formation of NAMMO - Tornado
In 1967, the Nations of Germany, Italyand the United Kingdom identified a re-quirement to replace some of their older in-service aircraft. After concept studies atboth Government and Industry level, theconclusion was drawn that the different requirements of the three Nations were rec-oncilable and a single design for a MultiRole Combat Aircraft (MRCA) was viable.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)to collaborate on a joint Programme to develop and produce a totally new combataircraft was signed in 1969 but, as neitherthe Governments nor industry had workedon such a collaborative programme before,the Nations agreed that no single Nation orCompany would lead it, and that all signifi-cant project decisions would require tripar-tite agreement.
The formation of NAMMO, the NATOMRCA Management Organisation, dedicatedto coordinate the customer requirements,place contracts and manage the programmenow known as Tornado, soon followed. Asthe Tornado programme evolved, the Char-ter that regulates the agency organisationwas also amended to reflect the extra
As a key stakeholder in the Eurofighter programme, there is a temptation to
assume that their history, reasons for formation, and role in the wider
Eurofighter programme, are common knowledge. This is not always the norm.
In a special article for Eurofighter Review, NETMA unveils the significant part
it plays and answers the question: What is NETMA?
responsibilities of the newly-named NATOMRCA Development, Production and In-Service Support Management Agency.
Formation of NEFMO - Eurofighter
Based on this challenging but successfulexperience, the Ministers of Defence fromFrance, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UnitedKingdom, agreed to work together on a 1984joint feasibility study for a new EuropeanFighter Aircraft (EFA) to meet their futurerequirements for a high performance air superiority aircraft.
The study concluded that a common fiveNation solution was not possible and, in1985, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UnitedKingdom decided to cooperate on EFAwhilst France withdrew to pursue a nationalprogramme.
Formation of NETMA
Since the initial EFA General MoU wassigned by the four Partner Nations in 1986,a number of other MoUs have been signedto cover different phases of the Programme,and it’s reorientation with newly definedmilitary requirements (including Air-to-Ground capabilities).
In 1987, NEFMO (NATO European Fight-er Aircraft Development, Production and Logistic Management Organisation) wasfounded to manage the procurement of theEFA aircraft, engines, logistic support andsystem enhancements in accordance withthe Nations’ requirements.
In 1995, NAMMA and NEFMA, the twoformerly separate NATO agencies, based onNAMMO and NEFMO, were merged to formNETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Development, Production and LogisticsManagement Agency) for improved efficiencyand effectiveness.
NETMA is responsible to the Partner Na-tions for all aspects of Tornado and
Eurofighter Typhoon procurement. Pro-gramme management responsibilities areallocated on the Partner Nations’ side toNETMA, who ensure that Industry fulfilltheir contracted responsibilities throughagreed systems of maintained close controland guidance.
The operation of the Agency and itsstructure are prescribed in an MoU signedbetween the four Nations in 1995. This is reflected in a NATO Charter for the Agencyapproved by the NATO Council, and theGeneral Manager’s contract makes him per-sonally responsible for the operation of theAgency and the day-to-day management ofthe two programmes.
The governing organisation is headed bya Joint Steering Committee (JSC), composedof a senior Two-Star representative fromeach Partner Nation, ensuring decisions aretaken unanimously. The JSC has delegatedthe responsibility for the daily oversight ofthe two programmes to the two Boards ofDirectors (BoDs) at One-Star level, with eachBoD representing the Partner Nations. TheAgency GM reports formally to the BoDs, inaddition to the JSC. The Partner Nations areresponsible for defining their requirementsfor each task and authorising the projects toproceed. They also provide funding neededto pay for work carried out by Industry andtheir share of the Agency running costs.
The BoDs meet several times a year toaddress all major issues concerning the pro-gramme, advise the JSC and direct NETMAin the management of the programme.
The General MoUs for the Tornado andEurofighter programmes define the princi-
ples which NETMA must apply in managingthe projects and the formal relationshipsbetween the national Governments and theAgency. NETMA’s role is reflected in anAgency Management Plan which is approvedannually by the BoDs. This sets the objec-tives or performance goals which NETMA isrequired to achieve in the years ahead.
Structure
To strengthen the management of theTornado and Eurofighter programmes, NETMA was recently reorganised with sepa-rate divisions now responsible for eachfunction and for each of the Programmes inrelation to its relevant phase. Co-ordinationbetween these functions is achievedthrough integrated working procedures atdesk level and central control at GeneralManager/Deputy General Manager/Directorlevel. The Agency Management Plan objec-tives are also reflected in the division levelManagement Plans for internal progressmonitoring.
Since its creation, NETMA has been partof NATO. This status enables NETMA, as alegal entity, to place contracts on behalf ofthe Partner Nations.
Apart from this relationship in practicalterms, it is important to highlight the im-portance attached to the fact that NATO hasan Agency responsible for the control andmanagement of two of the most importantarmament programmes providing signifi-cant capability that supports the major European Air Forces. In this way, NETMAdirectly contributes to NATO’s goals.
The industrial counterparts of NETMA in the Eurofighter programme are two inter-national consortia, Eurofighter GmbH and Eurojet GmbH, who are the co-signatorieswith NETMA of the two main developmentcontracts.
Both consortia are linked together withan associated contractor’s agreement andan interface control document, ensuring theinter-relationship of both development pro-grammes to achieve the weapon system design and performance specification as awhole.
Anyone who has worked on a collabora-tive project will vouch for the challenges itpresents. However, despite the challenges,collaborative projects can work successfullyand provide cutting-edge capability, at reduced cost per Nation, with improved interoperability compared to a single Nationprogramme. For more than 30 years agroup of like minded European Nations, firstwith Tornado and later with the EurofighterTyphoon, have been working very closelytogether with their industries to overcomethe challenges and deliver world class capa-bility. NETMA are proud to have been partof this success and will continue to strive toensure that such success continues into thenext decade.
Peter Worrall OBENETMA General Manager
In support of NETMA’s Mission to
“Deliver and sustain Tornado and
Eurofighter Typhoon Capability”, the
agency’s roles are:
• Harmonisation of Nations’ requirements
• Preparation and signature ofProcurement Contracts
• Programme management
• Workshare monitoring
• Budget planning and commitment control
• Payments and accounting
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Production and Final Assembly of EurofighterTyphoon is a complicated and logistically-challenging process. A new initiative isseeking to build a greater understanding ofthe differences of the national processes.
In January, the senior Final Assembly man-agers met to discuss ways to improve the cooperation between the Eurofighter Part-ner Companies (EPCs). Over the course ofthese discussions, the idea of ‘Operator
Exchanges’ was developed, where the pro-duction teams from each of the EPCs aregiven the chance to work alongside theirprogramme counterparts from other na-tions, looking at the methodology and
tooling used by other teams. Upon agreeingthe project outlines, a mission statementwas formulated collectively: “Reduce Cost,Lead-Time and Improve Product Quality inFinal Assembly.”
The start-up meeting for the exchangeprogramme was held at Getafe, Spain, inMarch, where the project managers agreedthe Terms of Reference. The productionprocess was divided into three stages, withteams assigned to oversee the exchanges ateach stage of aircraft production. Team One,headed by Phil Jeffrey, dealt with structuralbuild, focusing on how each of the EPCscomplete the ‘marry-up’ process – frontfuselage, to centre, to rear fuselage, plusright and left wing installation. The objec-tive for Team Two, coordinated by ManfredMehr, was to look at Stage B System Inte-gration Testing, while the attention of Jür-gen Herold´s Team Three was centred on
Stage C Production Flight Acceptance Tests(PFATs) and Aircraft Acceptance.
In the first exchange, a team from EADSDeutschland visited the Final Assembly facility at EADS CASA’s Getafe plant, Spain.The aim, as with all of the planned exchanges,was to compare methods and to try and es-tablish best practices that could be adoptedby all EPCs. The results and feedback wereextremely encouraging, with the experi-ences from the exchange having led to the
14
engineers involved advising managementon improvements to existing wing installa-tion tooling.
One of the critical factors in ensuringsuccess for the Operator Exchange pro-gramme is the availability of feedback fromthose involved. Although the central pro-gramme language at senior managementlevel is English, many of the hands-on engi-neers at the national Final Assemblyhangars speak only their native language.To overcome this barrier and to encouragemore feedback, the check sheets used bythe visiting personnel were issued in theirmother tongue, offering more flexibility indetailing their experiences.
The exchanges themselves are scheduledto run throughout the Summer, ending inSeptember, but further trips will be organ-ised on request.
The whole Operator Exchange programmehas been well supported by the EPCs fromconception to implementation, and has sofar proved to be very successful. The bene-fits to the Eurofighter programme can onlybe positive as the initiative seeks to fulfilthe promise laid out in the mission statement.
For more information, contact:
Philip Jeffrey, Senior Project Leader, Production
Phillip Lee
The first exchange took EADS-Deutschland engineers to the final assembly hangar at Getafe, Spain
Establishing a best practice across the Eurofighter community
Production ExchangeWorkshops
The exchanges will look to compare methods in order to find a best practice
Eurofighter Typhoon in final assembly at Alenia
BAE Systems’ final assembly facility at Warton, UK
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improvement in performance, in particularwith regard to multi-target capabilities, canonly be achieved by progressing to radarsystems with an Active ElectronicallyScanned Array (AESA) radar system.
European AESA TechnologyBase
As early as 1995, a European programmefor developing an AESA radar demonstratorfor combat aircraft was initiated in the UK,France & Germany. Since then, a consor-tium comprising the companies SELEX,Thales and EADS, has been working on theAMSAR (Airborne Multi-mode Solid stateActive array Radar), which is a genericdemonstrator for developing the technologyrequired for an AESA radar and finally forproving the relevant AESA capabilities. AMSAR has an array with a diameter of 60cm equipped with some 1,000 Transmit/Re-ceive/Modules (whose key components areGallium-Arsenide semi-conducters)
Airborne Radar in Europe
CAPTOR is the first combat radar developedand built in a European co-operation. TheEuroradar consortium, made up of SELEXSensors & Airborne Systems (UK), EADS Defence Electronics (Germany), INDRA(Spain) and Galileo Avionica (Italy), havedeveloped a radar that represents the pin-nacle of performance that can be achievedfrom a system which utilises a mechanicallyscanned antenna and Travelling Wave Tube(TWT) transmitter.
The basic functional requirement for advanced airborne radars is the scanning ofthe airspace in front of the aircraft to detectand track multiple air and ground targets.For this purpose, a mechanically scannedantenna must follow a predefined searchpattern and very quickly cover, at regularintervals, the identified spatial positions ofthe targets to be tracked. The accelerationrequired for this puts extremely high demands on the servo motors used to drivethe antenna. This involves very high me-chanical stress for the antenna and the sup-porting aircraft structure. An additional
AESA Promises Increased Capability for Eurofighter Typhoon
Improved Visionoperating in the X band range. As part ofthe current programme phase, ground andflight tests are scheduled after completionof the antenna and systems integration.
In addition to AMSAR, a number of government and industry funded technologyprogrammes have been underway in each ofthe four Eurofighter Partner Nations to de-velop and de-risk key elements of AESAtechnology ranging across systems concepts,processing algorithms and critical compo-nents.
In the AESA Radar, the central transmit-ter is replaced by transmitting and receiv-ing amplifiers distributed throughout theantenna and connected one-to-one to the antenna radiating elements. Adding variablegain and phase shifting elements to ampli-fiers and encapsulating them, produces acomplete, self-contained Transmit/ReceiveModule (TRM). In functional terms, theycontain the power amplifier of the transmitpath, a low-noise preamplifier for the receivesignal, the phase and amplitude actuatorsfor both paths together with the electronicsrequired for their activation, and finally, theradiator element behind the transmit/receivefilter. Such TRMs only generate a relativelylow output power, but the entire radiatedAESA energy results from the total of theindividual output of 1,000 or more suchmodules. An electronic antenna control unit(ACU) activates each of these TRMs with a
CAESAR completed its maiden flight
in February 2006
The graphic shows how CAESAR will
fit into the aircraft
Simultaneous tracking of multiple
targets is fulfilled to a higher
peformance level with an AESA radar
phase and amplitude input signal in accor-dance with the predefined antenna viewingdirection. In the AESA far field, a radiationdiagram is generated that is directed at thedesired space angle.
The Need For AESA Radar
The AESA radar on board a combat air-craft offers capabilities that could not bereached up to now. This means, for example,that the search process is no longer depen-dent on a pre-determined search pattern butcan take place using freely selectable se-quences of beam positions, making own-shipdetectability considerably more difficult.The tactical requirement for simultaneouslyscanning a certain volume of space in frontof the aircraft and tracking the trajectoriesof as many identified targets as possible(known as Track-while-Scan or TWS) can befulfilled to higher performance levels by anAESA radar than by a conventional radar.Its beam lobe can be switched to a targetand the target’s coordinates identified with-out the search process being interrupted. Inaddition, almost simultaneous surveillanceof air and ground sectors is possible.
The full flexibility with regard to spatialand temporal performance management ofthe AESA radar is achieved by partitioningthe antenna into sub-arrays together with acorresponding multi-channel receiver. Thisenables a technique known as adaptivebeam forming (ABF) to, for example, create
a null on the radiation pattern in the direc-tion of a jammer, thus “gating” it out. More-over, various different and independentlobes can be created simultaneously or sequentially concurrent with primary radaroperation. These lobes can provide datalinks to launched missiles or even to otheraircraft. It is also possible to emit signalswith a wide azimuthal lobe while they arebeing received with several narrow lobeswhich are optimised for detecting fast movingtargets crossing the trajectory of the aircraft,such as helicopter rotors or stealth targets.By using state-of-the-art data processing,previously unknown potential for the sup-pression of confusing clutter or jammerscan be realised.
As to the reliability of an AESA radar,the large number of TRMs deployed in con-nection with one central transmitter offersan enormous advantage. Even in the eventof failure of 5 to 10% of the modules, the pilot will not perceive any restriction in theradar performance. This inherent feature ofan AESA radar, which is called “GracefulDegradation”, allows much longer servicingintervals than with TWT based transmitters.
From Demonstrator toProduct
In April 2002, the Euroradar consortiumstarted developing an AESA radar designat-ed “CAESAR“ (CAPTOR Active Electronical-ly Scanned Array Radar). The companies
pooled their expertise and funding in orderto demonstrate that the path from a me-chanically scanned CAPTOR to an electroni-cally scanned CAPTOR derivative could bereadily accomplished in a fast, low risk programme.
The design focus was that, on the onehand, CAESAR should be fully adapted to theinstallation environment of the EurofighterTyphoon platform and, on the other hand,should keep essential components of the existing CAPTOR radar in view of constantsystem evolution. To achieve this, CAESARuses the Receiver and Processor of the CAP-TOR and, in addition, has a new power sup-ply adapted to the AESA, an ACU (AntennaControl Unit) and the actual AESA antenna.In a period of slightly more than three years,the new LRIs (Line Replaceable Items) havebeen developed, tested and integrated intothe overall system. There followed the installation in the BAC 1-11 trials aircraftand the ground testing of the system.
February through April 2006 the practi-cal test took place: CAESAR completed itsmaiden flight on board the trials aircraftflying over the South-West of the UK. During the following flight campaign last-ing five weeks and involving seven individ-ual flights, CAESAR spent more than 20hours in the air without registering any fail-ures. After comple-tion of the flighttests, an enormousquantity of data isundergoing evalua-tion. The initialanalysis shows thatCAESAR by far ex-ceeded expectations.For the remainder of2006, a further testseries is plannedwith the BAC 1-11 and also several flightson board the Eurofighter Typhoon – thisevent is being eagerly awaited, and not onlyby the radar development team.
This success of CAESAR has paved theway for using an AESA radar in the Eu-rofighter Typhoon. Euroradar has laid thefoundations for further evolution of theCAPTOR, through the productionisation ofCAESAR, which will give front-line pilotsradar capability which will match all futurerequirements and threats.
Carl Graham, SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems
AESA is the future for
Eurofighter Typhoon
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procurement decision, while the Undersec-retary of State for Transport, Innovation andTechnology, Eduard Mainoni, highlightedthe advantages that Eurofighter Typhoonwill bring to Austria’s industrial capabilityby the already accepted 400 million euro ofoffset agreements out of the 2 billion eurototal.
The main presentations began with PeterMaute, Austria Programme Director at Eurofighter GmbH, focusing on the status ofboth the core and Austria programmes, followed by EADS Senior Vice President forEurofighter, Berndt Wünsche, briefing thegathered journalists on the milestonesachieved in the final assembly of the firstAustria-bound aircraft. The presentations continued with the Head of the EurofighterProgramme in the Austrian Ministry of De-fence, Karl Hofer, talking the media throughthe preparations for entry in to service andhow Eurofighter Typhoon will be incorpo-rated into the military infrastructure.
The Chief of the Austrian Air Force, Major General Erich Wolf, made a surprisevisit to Manching, in which he described hismany flights in Eurofighter Typhoon as “to use the language of the youth, awesome!”.Chris Worning, EADS Test Pilot, deliveredhis verdict on the aircraft’s capabilities, before the journalists were allowed to seefor themselves the first Austrian aircraft inthe final assembly hangar.
The news reports the following day inAustria reflected the event in a positivemanner, with the final assembly progressthoroughly highlighted across the media.
Since the Austrian Government signed theprocurement contract for the purchase of 18Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft in Summer2003, the agreement has been the source ofconsiderable political and media debate inAustria. With the 2007 delivery deadline onthe horizon, delegations from the AustrianGovernment, Air Force and media, were invited to EADS Manching to see for them-selves the progress that has been made.
Leading the welcoming committee fromIndustry, Eurofighter CEO, Aloysius Rauenand EADS Military Air Systems CEO, Johann Heitzmann, re-emphasised the importance of Austria as the first Exportcustomer, and how the success of their procurement programme will deliver credi-bility to the core programme and will becrucial in securing future Export contracts.Günther Platter, Minister of Defence forAustria, re-iterated his confidence in the
Austrian Media Invited to EADS Manching
Press BriefingA New Support Concept for the EJ200
ILS Innovationconcept as the most economic solution forengine support. This concept replaces thetraditional practices whereby engine main-tenance was broken down into four levels[see Figure 1]. Whereas the customer wasresponsible for on-aircraft and off-aircraftmaintenance, the new concept only requirescustomer tasks at Maintenance Level One.
The application of a two–level Mainte-nance model compared to a traditional concept involves significant cost savingswith respect to the In-Service Support infra-structure and resources, and avoids the requirement for an engine test cell at the Cus-tomer’s facilities. This new maintenancephilosophy has been selected by three of thePartner Nations (Germany, UK, Italy).
Principle of a CooperativeModel in Germany
In Germany, the support concept for theEJ200 is within the so-called cooperativemodel. Under this practice, maintenance activities are co-located at industry, whereindustry personnel, military staff and civilianAir Force employees are working shoulder-to-shoulder. The cost benefit gained by in-dustry in using military personnel for enginerepairs will be credited to the customer. Inthis way, the Air Force retain their mainte-nance knowledge and a duplication of resources and personnel is avoided.
The EJ200 engine was designed to giveequal priority to performance and life cyclecost, therefore high attention was given toreliability, maintainability and testability.
It’s modular design, comprised of 15 fullyinterchangeable modules, allows the appli-cation of “on condition maintenance”. TheEJ200 engine also provides comprehensiveaccess for boroscopic inspections and, in order to make maximum use of life limited
parts, the Engine Monitoring system calcu-lates cyclic life consumption related to mis-sion profile and engine usage.
Eurojet Turbo GmbH, the European mili-tary engine consortium, offers Integrated Logis-tic Support (ILS) con-cepts for the EJ200 en-gine through the provi-sion to the customer ofinformation and ser-vices to address thefollowing elements:spares, support and testequipment, technicaldocumentation, trainingand repair service.
Eurojet are propos-ing to implement atwo-level maintenance
The German Air Force staff are workingat the MTU Aero Engines facility, an eco-nomically advantageous partnership for theGerman military in that indispensable mili-tary skills are preserved and help to secureemployment for the Air Force. This modelfocuses on resources, reduces inventory requirements and shortens lead times, savingthe German Air Force some 40 million eurosover the next ten years.
In contrast to the German approach, theSpanish support tasks are entirely performedby the Air Force in the traditional method.The United Kingdom and Italy have adoptedsimilar approaches to Germany, however theproportion of maintenance work performedby their Air Forces is higher.
The UK EJ200 SupportConcept
In the UK, support is provided by Rolls-Royce under a Mission Ready ManagementServices (MRMS) contract ,where Rolls-Royce and the RAF (Royal Air Force) workin partnership to minimise the overall sup-port cost. Under this arrangement, Rolls-Royce guarantees availability of serviceableengines to the RAF fleet and is responsiblefor the management of all off aircraft main-tenance activities, whether these be per-formed within industry or on the RAF base.This model provides similar benefits com-pared to the German approach, but alsotransfers much of the responsibility for thesupport activities to Rolls-Royce.
Product Support in Italy and Spain
In Italy, the Air Force performs all ‘onaircraft’ and some ‘off aircraft’ maintenanceat the Squadron level. All other maintenanceis carried out by Industry (Avio).
In Spain, the Air Force maintenancework covers levels one and two, and levelthree for some modules. All other mainte-nance work is carried out by ITP.
Günther Platter, Minister of Defence for Austria,
welcomes the journalists to Manching
EJ200 Support Concept Overview for the Core Programme
above: Günther Platter with Industrial and Air Force figures present AS001, the first Eurofighter for Austria
right: (from left to right) J. Heitzmann, G. Platter, E. Mainoni, A. Rauen
The new support concept allows for closer
working relations between Air Force and Industry
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Alenia Chief Test Pilot, Maurizio Cheli, tookto the air with Development Aircraft Seven(DA7) and the team gathered all the requiredfilm in just one 50 minute sortie.
In the UK, RAF Spadeadam is where Impact Image were able to source workingSAM 8 and SAM 6 launchers. To simulate amissile launch, computer-generated imageswere used to complete the sequence. Thespecial effects team also relied on comput-ing power in constructing the scenes featur-ing aircraft other than Eurofighter Typhoon.The A-50 Airborne Early Warning Aircraftand Su-35 Flankers, that were engaged bythe Eurofighter Typhoon force, were digital-ly created. So too was the terrain over whichthe Storm Shadow stand-off weapon flies.“Computer-generated effects and computingpower which five years ago were the preserveof Hollywood are now far more available”says Hayes.
Impact Image used specialist trackingsoftware that tracks over 2,000 points everyframe enabling overlaid foreground imagesto take on exactly the same camera move-ments as the background.
All in all the project took six months,with the early version making its debut atthe Le Bourget airshow in Paris, in 2005.The updated version was presented to bothVIPs and public at the ILA exhibition inBerlin in May this year, and will be screenedin the United Kingdom at Farnborough Inter-national in July.
“Technology is always the driving forcebehind pushing the boundaries of productionvalues”, says Hayes. “We thrive on it andit’s a privilege to work with such a greatproduct.”
“In An Uncertain World…” is available fordownload on:
www.eurofighter.com/MediaLibrary/Video
Phillip Lee
An important strategic trans-nationalpipeline has become vulnerable in an in-creasingly unstable region. A former super-power breakout state with suspected back-ing, has illegally taken control of thispipeline by invading its neighbouring country.A coalition task force has been sent to theregion…
This is the situation facing the squadroncommanders in the latest Eurofighter Typhoon mini feature film. “In An Uncer-tain World…” emphasises the aircraft’s abilityto operate in combined air operations usingNetwork-Centric technology, i.e. the Multi-functional Information Distribution System(MIDS).
The film is the second installment show-ing Eurofighter Typhoon in an operationalenvironment, following the award-winningsuccess of “Nothing Comes Close” in 2004.Produced by UK-based Impact Image Ltd,the scale of the promotional films hasevolved from their early material in 2002.“We have always tried to keep Eurofighterat the cutting edge of what we call ‘info-tainment’ “ says Bob Hayes, Production Director at Impact Image. “We were the firstto film in-cockpit and air-to-air in 3D, em-bracing new camera technology at the time.”Impact Image were among the first to useHigh-Definition TV to produce cinema typeimages which were packed with special effects, winning them a Gold award at theUSA film festival.
The storyboard for “In An UncertainWorld…” demanded the inclusion of multi-ple Eurofighter Typhoon squadrons, satel-lites, E-3 Airborne Early Warning and Con-trol Systems (AWAC), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Surface-to-Air Missile(SAM) launchers, hostile aircraft and high-octane explosions. The film is presented ina three-screen format, shot with High-Defin-ition cameras, and the multi-national themecalled for on-location filming at the MainOperating Bases of the four Partner Nations.
The majority of the air-to-air footage wasrecorded using a modified Learjet with anunder-body periscope camera system, atDecimommanu Air Force Base, Sardinia.
20
High Definition
Eurofighter Typhoon on the big screen
Air-to-Ground Weapon Release
A Step Closer to Multi-Role Capability
Since Instrumented Production AircraftThree (IPA3) began the heavy loads cam-paign in February (EF Review: Issue1), theFlight Test programme has been buildingmomentum towards an air-to-groundweapon release.
In early May, IPA1 took off from BAESystems’ Warton facility loaded with sixPaveway II, two AIM-9L Sidewinders and acentreline 1,000l fuel tank. The aim of thetests was to prove the aerodynamic stabilityof the aircraft in a heavy loads configura-tion. IPA1 successfully completed a series of‘flutter trials’ during this first flight, ensur-ing that a major milestone was achieved bythe team at BAE Systems. Mark Bowman,Typhoon Project Pilot, commented: “The advanced flight control system of Typhoonmeans that even with this heavy war load,the pilot is still able to manoeuvre the air-craft as a ‘carefree’ fighter, safe in theknowledge that the computers will bewringing out every last ounce of turningand rolling performance.”
Just a few days after the IPA1 flights, theEADS CASA-controlled IPA4 took off fromMorón Air Base going for a programme-firstrelease of an air-to-surface weapon. Accom-panied by an F-18 chase aircraft from theSpanish Air Force, pilot Alfonso de Castromade several approaches to the planned im-pact point, checking release procedures andensuring functionality of on-board camerasfor the flight test documentation, before
going for the hot-run and store jettison. Thesuccess of the GBU-16 release from the star-board wing centre pylon demonstrates Eurofighter Typhoon’s swing-role capability.
A second jettison was completed the fol-lowing day, with both releases fully comply-ing with all flight test objectives. Of utmost
importance was the verification of safe sep-aration of the stores from the pylons, andoverall aircraft behaviour during and afterthe release sequences. Evaluation of theoverall performance of the avionics and armament control system was also critical,and will contribute towards final GBU-16clearance following further test sorties overthe Summer months.
The GBU-16 is a 1,000 lbs. NATO-stan-dard air-to-surface laser-guided precisionbomb to be implemented by EurofighterPartner Nations Spain and Italy. The Pave-way II Enhanced store will be available tothe United Kingdom as part of the ‘austerecapability’ package. The weapon will enterinto service with the Eurofighter TyphoonBlock 5 aircraft.
Phillip Lee
Recent flight testachievements
IPA4
The Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon
has completed further GBU-16
release trials as part of the
ongoing campaign. First, the air-
to-surface store was jettisoned
from the right centre-wing pylon,
followed by a drop from the right
in-board pylon the next day.
DA2
The British Development Aircraft
completed key sorties aimed at
clearing the towed decoy
throughout the full range of the
flight envelope. Two successful
flights at the end of May took in
testing at supersonic speeds,
examining the functionality and
aerodynamic behaviour of the
defensive aid component, with a
fully active campaign due to
start over the coming weeks.
IPA2
Operating out of Decimommanu,
Sardinia, the second
Instrumented Production Aircraft
carried out an AMRAAM firing
from the outboard station.
Scenes out of the new Eurofighter Typhoon
mini-film “In An Uncertain World...”
The first GBU-16 release on IPA4
below: IPA4 taxiing prior to take-off
at Morón Air Base, Spain
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Enhanced laser guided
weapons will be a feature
on Tranche 2 aircraft
With a contract value of 13 billion euros,the December 2004 signature of theTranche 2 Supplement 3 contract representsa significant investment in European defencecapability.
In addition to the 236 aircraft and roleequipment on order for the four Partner Nations, the contract allows for the produc-tion of the Eurofighter Typhoons bound forAustria, whilst also retaining a capacity toaccommodate production of aircraft for future export customers. The Tranche 2 con-tract also focuses on the redesign of obso-lete equipment, while huge sums are to beinvested in ensuring Eurofighter Typhoonhas the potential for future growth in termsof hardware capability and computation capacity. This will be an enabler for the integration of new weapons as required bythe customer.
In the 19 months since contract signature,tremendous effort has been placed into converting plans into reality. In terms of tan-gible results, all four sub-contracts betweenEurofighter GmbH and the Eurofighter Part-ner Companies have been signed. Compo-nents for over 35 Tranche 2 aircraft are inbuild, including 24 Front Fuselages and 28Centre Fuselages which are already in theAssembly Jigs. Equipment assets for both theDevelopment and Production Programmesare ordered with more than 600 Tranche 2equipments delivered onto the developmentrigs and many more to production.
Tranche 2
Progress with the Second Production Contract Phase
Significantly, the bench-testing of thesoftware for the seven individual aircraftsub-systems has reached an adequate levelof maturity to be able to begin the SystemIntegration Risk Reduction phase. Com-mencing this phase before the full comple-tion of the bench-testing demonstrates theavailability of software functionality, and allows for more time to monitor the behaviourof the sub-systems’ software as they beginto communicate with one another. The bene-fit of this approach is that should any com-munication problems arise during Risk Reduction, they can be investigated andsolved prior to entering the formal qualifi-cation and certification phases.
The first Series Production Tranche 2aircraft will be Block 8, with initial deliver-ies due in January 2008. In terms of FlightTest, the Supplement 3 contract provisionsfor the conversion of two Series ProductionAircraft, BS031 (UK Tranche 1 aircraft) andGS029 (German Tranche 2 aircraft), to an
Instrumented Production Aircraft status,and designated IPA6 and IPA7 respectively.Whilst IPA6 will be used to support theBlock 8 Entry into Service Clearance, IPA7will be available as a backup aircraft. Theseaircraft, together with the IPA2 (Italian),and IPA4 (Spanish), which will be upgradedto a Block 8 equivalent Standard within2008, will be available to the Flight Testprogramme for the progression of future enhancement flight test activities.
IPA6 is already in Final Assembly andit’s first flight is on schedule for May 2007.
Phillip Lee
type of the Air Force pilots. It is anticipatedthat the signature from the Italian Ministryof Defence will follow in due course withthe ECT having successfully completed thetechnical elements of the Individual Accep-tance at the Ronchi facility.
Dr. Matthias Hammer, ASTA Joint TeamLeader, heralded the acceptances and stated:“This is a significant achievement for all involved in the ASTA Contract and I believethat the acceptance of the Eurofighter Cock-pit Trainer will be a springboard for deliv-ery of future devices and full functional capabilities.”
In terms of capability, the ECT was conceived as a stand-alone skills trainer, enabling the student to apply classroom-based training knowledge and develop thenecessary procedural skills in advance offull training in the Full Mission Simulator(FMS) or the Cockpit Trainer / InteractivePilot Station (CT/IPS-E).
To fly a highly complex fighter aircraft likethe Eurofighter Typhoon demands progres-sive and fully integrated pilot training. The
Aircrew SyntheticTraining Aids(ASTA) pro-gramme, as one ofthe largest airsystems simula-tion and trainingprogramme in theworld, is rising tomeet this chal-lenge.
In April, Eurofighter GmbH announcedthe acceptance of the ASTA EurofighterCockpit Trainer (ECT) by NETMA, and twoof the partner Air Forces. The devices, installed at the Main Operating Bases ofLaage (Germany) and Morón (Spain), will beused primarily for procedural and basicflight training as part of the conversion to
The functionality available in the ASTAECT covers all basic flight systems, includ-ing the aerodynamic model, sufficient tosupport normal and emergency procedurestraining, and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)training.
The acceptance in to service of the ECTis the start of the ramp-up towards full ASTA capability. At operational peak, ASTAwill be at the cutting edge of advancedtraining technology. The ASTA programmeoffers a “train while fight” principle, withfeatures such as networked multi-aircraftmission training and the integration of theEurofighter mission planning tools. Thissynthetic training capability will lead to areduction in the flight hours dedicated fortraining, saving costs while ensuring ahigher level of aircraft availability.
Andrew Leighton
The ECT has been accepted by the German and Spanish Air Forces
Components for over 35 Tranche 2 aircraft
are in build
Progress in the Advanced Simulation Training Programme
ASTA
issue 2 - 2006 eurofighter review
� NETMA: Managing the Programme
� Production Exchange Workshops
� Air-to-Ground Weapon Release
p r o g r a m m e n e w s a n d f e a t u r e s
A review of ILA 2006
Eurofighter Typhoonin Berlin
Visitors to the Eurofighter Typhoon pavilion at the Farnborough International 2006 Airshow in July will be greeted by some freshand exciting imagery promoting the world's best-selling next gen-eration fighter aircraft. The current set of promotional materialsand advertising copy has been refreshed to develop the public'sawareness towards Eurofighter Typhoon as a world-leading
product that is already delivering value to the four Partner Nationsand Export customers alike.New images and messages reinforce the strengths that EurofighterTyphoon will bring to customers throughout its service life. Andnot just operationally, but through shared technology, industrialpartnerships and skills development.
n o t h i n g c o m e s c l o s e
