Eurofighter Typhoon timeline

This is a timeline of the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon, a multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers, Eurofighter GmbH, formed in 1983.

1970s

*1972
**Royal Air Force (RAF) issues Air Staff Target 396 (AST-396), a requirement for a STOVL aircraft to replace the Harrier and Jaguar fleets.
**AST-403, specification revised for an air superiority fighter. STOVL requirement dropped and AST-409 lead to the development of Harrier GR5. [http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/FRHeft7X/FRHeft79/FRH7906/FR7906b.htm AST-403: ENGLANDS KAMPFFLUGZEUG-PROJEKT]
*Mid-1970s
**France, Germany and UK initiate the European Combat Aircraft programme (ECA).
*1979
**Following differing requirements (particularly French requirement for carrier compatibility,) BAe and MBB propose the European Combat Fighter (ECF)

1980s

*1981
**Development of different national prototypes and continued differences over specification lead to cancellation of ECF programme.
**Panavia partners (Germany, Italy and UK) launch Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) programme. Following failure of Germany and Italy to fund development the UK MoD pays £80m prototype, the Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP).
*1983
**May - Contract for production of EAP prototype signed.
**The UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain launch Future European Fighter Aircraft (F/EFA) programme. Aircraft to have Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) capabilities.
*1984
**France reiterates requirement for carrier capable version. The UK, Germany and Italy opt out and establish new EFA programme.
*1985
**France officially withdraws, commences ACX project.
**October 27 - EAP demonstrator rolled out at BAe Warton.
*1986
**June - Eurofighter GmbH established.
**August 8 - EAP makes its first flight. Configuration closely matches final Eurofighter design.
**Rolls-Royce, MTU Aero Engines, FiatAvio (now Avio) and ITP form EuroJet Turbo GmbH for development of EJ200.
*1988
**November 23 - Contracts signed for production of demonstrator engines and airframes.

1990s

*1990
**EuroRADAR formed for development of ECR-90 (CAPTOR) radar (right).
*1991
**May 1 - Last flight of EAP demonstrator.
*1992
**EuroDASS formed for development of Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS.) Initially only UK and Italy participate. When Eurofighter enters service only RAF aircraft will exploit all capabilities of DASS.
**July - Germany announces intention to withdraw from the DASS element. Negotiations begin to reduce costs. As a single engine aircraft is ruled out Germany decides to fit cheaper systems, e.g., F/A-18's APG-65 in place of ECR-90, and delay its service entry by two years. Germany eventually participates in all systems.
**December - Renamed Eurofighter 2000.
*1994
**March 27 - Maiden flight of first development aircraft, DA1 from DASA at Manching with RB199 engines.
**April 6 - Maiden flight of second development aircraft, DA2 from BAe Warton. DA2 also flew with RB199s.
*1995
**June 4 - Maiden flight of Italian DA3, the first with EJ200 engines.
*1996
**August 31 - Spanish DA6 becomes the first two-seater to fly.
*1997
**January 27 - First flight of DA7 from Turin.
**February 24 - Maiden flight of German DA5, first aircraft to be fitted with ECR-90.
**March 14 - Maiden flight of UK's DA4, the second two-seater and last of the seven development aircraft.
*1998
**January - First aerial refuelling trials, involving DA2 and an RAF VC10 tanker.
**January 30 - NETMA and Eurofighter GmbH sign production and support contracts for 620 aircraft.
**September - Typhoon name adopted, announced as strictly for export contracts. There is some controversy as the last aircraft to bear the name was the Hawker Typhoon, a World War II aircraft. [cite news | title = Storm over 'Typhoon' name for Eurofighter | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/163092.stm | publisher = BBC News | date = 1998-09-02 | accessdate = 2006-10-28]
**December 18 - Tranche 1 contract signed.
*1999
**Eurofighter International established as single contracting/management company to handle all export sales.

2000s

*2000
**March 8 - First export sale, 60 ordered and 30 options by Greece (but delayed, maybe cancelled).
**May 16 - UK commits to MBDA Meteor BVRAAM, leading to significant benefits for export prospects.
**July 7 - DA2 emerges from ten month stand down with latest avionics. Finished in black (see below) to reduce cosmetic effect of 490 pressure transducers applied to airframe.
*2002
**April 5 - Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA2) makes maiden flight from Turin.
**April 11 - IPA 3 makes maiden flight from EADS Military Aircraft, Manching, Germany.
**April 15 - IPA 1 makes maiden flight from BAE Warton.
**July 2 - Austria announces acquisition of 24 Typhoon's, later reduced to 18.
**July 23 - "Typhoon" name officially adopted as in-service name by four partner nations.
**November 21 - DA6, flying out of Getafe crashes. Twin engine failure is blamed. . [cite news | title = Eurofighter crashes in Spain | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2499783.stm | publisher = BBC News | date = 2002-11-21 | accessdate = 2006-10-26]
*2003
**February 13 - First Series Production Aircraft, GT001 flies from Manching. This is the first of Germany's 180 aircraft.
**February 14 - In the space of just over an hour Italy's IT001 and Britain's BT001 make their maiden flights.
**February 17 - Spain's ST001 flies from EADS Military Aircraft, Getafe, Spain.
**June 30 - "Type Acceptance" signed, marking formal delivery of aircraft to the partner nations.
**October - Integration of Meteor begins
*2004
**June 27 - Two RAF Typhoon T1s depart UK for Singapore for marketing and training
**December 15 - UK confirms purchase of second batch of 89 aircraft, the last nation to commit to "Tranche 2" production of 236 aircraft.
*2005
**April - Singapore drops the Typhoon from its shortlist to supply the country's next generation fighter.
**December 16 - The Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force) declares the Typhoon's Initial Operational Capability and sets it on Quick Reaction Alert from Grosseto Air Base.
**December 21 - Saudi Arabia agrees a purchase of an unspecified number of Typhoons with the UK Ministry of Defence.
*2006
**January - First AMI operational squadron formed
**February - First operational mission undertaken by the Italian Air Force as Eurofighter Typhoon defends the airspace over Turin during the 2006 Winter Olympics
**March 31 - First RAF operational squadron formed [cite news | title = Formation of first operational Typhoon squadron ushers in new era for the RAF | url = http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/news_0603_27.html | work = www.raf.mod.uk | publisher = Royal Air Force | date = 2006-03-31 | accessdate = 2006-10-26]
**August 18 - Announcement of Saudi Arabia signing a contract to buy 72 planes from the UK. [cite news | title = Saudi Arabia buys 72 Eurofighters | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5262120.stm?ls | publisher = BBC News | date = 2006-08-18 | accessdate = 2006-10-26]
**October 03 - 100th production aircraft delivered. [cite news | title = 100th Typhoon arrives at RAF Coningsby | url = http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/news_0610_08.html | work = www.raf.mod.uk | publisher = Royal Air Force | date = 2006-10-09 | accessdate = 2006-10-26]
*2007
**July 12 - The first Eurofighter for Austria is delivered to the Austrian Air Force [cite news | title = Eurofighter Typhoon Delivered To Five Nations | url = http://www.eurofighter.at/news/20070712AuHo.asp | work = www.eurofighter.at | publisher = Eurofighter GmbH | date = 2007-07-12 | accessdate = 2008-04-12]

*2008
**January 16 - The first Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon has made its first flight. [cite news | title = First Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon Has Flown | url = http://www.eurofighter.com/news/20080116_ipa7.asp | work = http://www.eurofighter.com | publisher = Eurofighter GMBH | date = 2007-01-16 | accessdate = 2007-01-16]

References