The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft. It is being designed and built by a consortium of three separate partner companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and EADS working through a holding company Eurofighter GmbH which was formed in 1986. The project is managed by NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) which acts as the prime customer.
The series production of the Eurofighter Typhoon is underway, and the aircraft is being procured under three separate contracts (referred to as "tranches"), each for aircraft with generally improved capabilities. The Eurofighter Typhoon has entered service with the British Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe, the Italian Air Force, the Spanish Air Force and the Austrian Air Force. Saudi Arabia has signed a £4.43 billion (approx. €6.4 billion c. 2007) contract for 72 aircraft.Eurofighter Typhoon Specifications
General characteristics- Crew: 1 (operational aircraft) or 2 (training aircraft)
- Length: 15.96 m (52 ft 5 in)
- Wingspan: 10.95 m (35 ft 11 in)
- Height: 5.28 m (17 ft 4 in)
- Wing area: 50 m² (538 ft²)
- Empty weight: 11,000 kg (24,250 lb)
- Loaded weight: 15,550 kg (34,280 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 23,500 kg (51,800 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofan
- Dry thrust: 60 kN (13,500 lbf) each
- Thrust with afterburner: 90 kN (20,000 lbf) each
Eurofighter Typhoon Performance
- Maximum speed:
- At altitude: Mach 2+ (2,495 km/h, 1550 mph)
- At sea level: Mach 1.2
- Supercruise: Mach 1.1-1.5
- Range: 2,900 km (1,840 mi)
- Combat radius:
- Ground attack, lo-lo-lo : 601 km (373nm)
- Ground attack, hi-lo-hi : 1389 km (863 nm)
- Air defence with 3hr CAP : 185 km (115nm)
- Air defence with 10-min loiter : 1389 km (863 mi)
- Ferry range: 3,790 km (2,300 mi)
- Service ceiling: 19,812 m (65,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: >315 m/s (62,000 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 311 kg/m² (63.7 lb/ft²)
- Thrust/weight: 1.16
Eurofighter Typhoon Armament
- Gun: 1x 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon with 150 rounds
- 13 weapons hardpoints
- Air-to-Air missiles: AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-132 ASRAAM, AIM-120 AMRAAM, IRIS-T and in the future MBDA Meteor
- Air-to-Ground missiles: AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-88 HARM, ALARM, Storm Shadow (AKA "Scalp EG"), Brimstone, Taurus KEPD 350, Penguin and in the future AGM Armiger
- Bombs: Paveway 2, Paveway 3, Enhanced Paveway, JDAM, HOPE/HOSBO
- Laser designator, e.g. LITENING pod
| Eurofighter Typhoon | |
|---|---|
| Role | Multirole fighter |
| Manufacturer | Eurofighter GmbH |
| First flight | 27 March 1994 |
| Introduced | 4 August 2003 |
| Status | Operational |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force Luftwaffe Italian Air Force Spanish Air Force |
| Number built | >260 as of January 2011 471 ordered (as of January 2009) |
| Unit cost | €90 million (system cost Tranche 3A) £125m (including development + production costs) |
| Developed from | British Aerospace EAP |
EuroFighter Typhoon Design
EuroFighter Typhoon Airframe and avionics
The Eurofighter Typhoon features foreplanes, and lightweight construction (82% composites = 70% carbon fibre composites + 12% glass reinforced composites).
The Eurofighter Typhoon achieves high agility at both supersonic and low speeds by having a relaxed stability design. It has a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire control system providing artificial stability, as manual operation alone could not compensate for the inherent instability. The fly-by-wire system is described as "carefree" by preventing the pilot from exceeding the permitted maneuver envelope.
Roll control is primarily achieved by use of the wing flaperons. Pitch control is by operation of the foreplanes and flaperons, the yaw control is by rudder. Control surfaces are moved through two independent hydraulic systems that are incorporated in the aircraft, which also supply various other items, such as the canopy, brakes and undercarriage. Each hydraulic system is powered by a 4000 psi engine-driven gearbox.
Navigation is via both GPS and an inertial navigation system. The Eurofighter Typhoon can use Instrument Landing System (ILS) for landing in poor weather.
The Eurofighter Typhoon employs a sophisticated and highly integrated Defensive Aids Sub-System named Praetorian. Threat detection is provided by a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), a Missile Approach Warning (MAW) and a Laser Warning Receiver (LWR). Protection is provided by Chaff and Flares, Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) and a Towed Radar Decoy (TRD).
Praetorian monitors and responds automatically to the outside world. It provides the pilot with an all-round prioritised assessment of Air-to-Air and Air-to-Surface threats. It can respond to single or multiple threats.
The Eurofighter Typhoon also features an advanced Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) based on the TERPROM Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN) system used by Tornado but further enhanced and fully integrated into the cockpit displays and controls.
EuroFighter Typhoon Cockpit
General features
The Eurofighter Typhoon features a "glass cockpit" without any conventional instruments. It includes: three full colour Multi-function Head Down Displays (MHDDs) (the formats on which are manipulated by means of softkeys, XY cursor and voice (DVI) command), a wide angle Heads Up Display (HUD) with Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR), Voice & Hands On Throttle And Stick (Voice+HOTAS), Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS), Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS), a Manual Data Entry Facility (MDEF) located on the left glareshield and a fully integrated aircraft warning system with a Dedicated Warnings Panel (DWP). Reversionary flying instruments, lit by LEDs, are located under a hinged right glareshield.
The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a centre stick and left hand throttles. Emergency escape is provided by a Martin Baker Mk.16A ejection seat, with the canopy being jettisoned by two rocket motors.
Voice control
The Eurofighter Typhoon DVI system utilises a Speech Recognition Module (SRM), developed by Smiths Aerospace (now GE Aviation Systems) and the then Computing Devices (now General Dynamics UK). It was the first production DVI system utilised in a military cockpit. DVI provides the pilot with an additional natural mode of command and control over approximately 26 non-critical cockpit functions, to reduce pilot workload, improve aircraft safety, and expand mission capabilities. An important technological breakthrough during the development of the DVI occurred in 1987 when Texas Instruments produced their TMS-320-C30 Digital Signal Processor (DSP). This greatly advanced the packaging of DVI from large complex systems to a single card module. This early advance allowed a viable high performance system. The project was given the go ahead in July 1997, with development and pilot assessment carried out on the Eurofighter Active Cockpit Simulator at BAE Systems Warton.
The Eurofighter Typhoon DVI system is speaker-dependent, i.e. requires each pilot to create a template. It is not used for any safety-critical or weapon-critical tasks, such as weapon release or lowering of the undercarriage, but is used for a wide range of other cockpit functions. Voice commands are confirmed by visual or aural feedback. The system is seen as a major design feature in the reduction of pilot workload and even allows the pilot to assign targets to himself with two simple voice commands, or to any of his wingmen with only five commands.
g protection
In the standard aircraft, g protection is provided by the "Full Cover Anti-g Trousers" (FCAGTs). This specially developed g suit provides sustained protection up to 9 g. The Typhoon pilots of the German Air Force and Austrian Air Force, however, wear an improved hydrostatic g-suit called "Libelle" (Dragonfly) Multi G Plus, which also provides protection to the arms, reducing arm-pain and theoretically allowing for more complete g tolerance.
Design process
The Eurofighter Typhoon design of the cockpit had involved the inputs from both test and operational pilots from each of the four partner nations from the feasibility and concept stage and throughout the design process. This has necessitated the use of specially commissioned lighting and display modeling simulation facilities and the extensive employment of rapid prototyping techniques.
PIRATE Infrared Search and Track
The Eurofighter Typhoon starting with Tranche 1 Block 5 have the PIRATE (Passive Infra-Red Airborne Track Equipment) IRST (Infrared Search and Track System) mounted on the port side of the fuselage, forward of the windscreen. The PIRATE system was developed by the EUROFIRST consortium. Galileo Avionica (FIAR) of Italy is the lead contractor, Thales Optronics of the UK (system technical authority) and Tecnobit of Spain make up EUROFIRST.
PIRATE operates in two IR bands, 3-5 and 8-11 micrometres. When used with the radar in an air-to-air role, it functions as an Infrared Search and Track system (IRST), providing passive target detection and tracking.
In an air-to-surface role, it performs target identification and acquisition. It also provides a navigation and landing aid. PIRATE is linked to the pilot’s helmet mounted display.
The first Eurofighter Typhoon with PIRATE-IRST was delivered to the Italian Aeronautica Militare in August 2007.
EuroFighter Typhoon Performance
The Typhoon's combat performance, compared to the new F-22 Raptor and the upcoming F-35 Lightning II fighters being developed in the United States and the Dassault Rafale developed in France, has been the subject of much discussion.
Further, "The Eurofighter is certainly, as far as smoothness of controls and the ability to pull (and sustain high g forces), very impressive," he said. "That is what it was designed to do, especially the version I flew, with the avionics, the color moving map displays, etc. — all absolutely top notch. The maneuverability of the airplane in close-in combat was also very impressive".The Eurofighter Typhoon is capable of supersonic cruise without using afterburners. This is referred to as "supercruise". According to the official German Luftwaffe and Austrian Eurofighter website, the maximum speed possible without reheat is between Mach 1.2 and Mach 1.5. Air Forces Monthly gives a maximum supercruise speed of Mach 1.1 for the RAF FGR4 multirole version.
In 2002, the MBDA Meteor was selected as the long range air-to-air missile armament of Eurofighter Typhoon. Pending Meteor availability, Typhoon will be equipped with the Raytheon AMRAAM. The current in-service date for Meteor is predicted to be August 2012.
The Eurofighter consortium claims their fighter has a larger sustained subsonic turn rate, sustained supersonic turn rate, and faster acceleration at Mach 0.9 at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) than the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, Mirage 2000, Rafale, the Su-27, and the MiG-29.
In 2005, a trainer Eurofighter T1 was reported to have had a chance encounter the previous year with two U.S. Air Force F-15Es over the Lake District in the north of England. The encounter became a mock dogfight with the Eurofighter allegedly emerging victorious.
In the 2005 Singapore evaluation, The Eurofighter Typhoon won all three combat tests, including one in which a single Typhoon defeated three RSAF F-16s, and reliably completed all planned flight tests. Singapore still went on to buy the F-15 due to uncertainty over Typhoon tranche 2 delivery dates.
During the exercise "Typhoon Meet" held in 2008, Eurofighters flew against F/A-18 Hornets, Mirage F1s, Harriers and F-16s in a mock combat exercise. It is claimed that the Eurofighters won all engagements (even outnumbered 8 vs 27) without suffering losses.
The aviation magazine "Flug Revue" reports that in 2008 German Typhoon were pitted against French Rafales. The results are said to be "extremely gratifying", the main difference being the "much greater thrust of the EJ200 engine".
EuroFighter Typhoon Air-to-ground capabilities
The Eurofighter Typhoon has been planned to be a multi-role fighter with air-to-ground capabilities. Earlier than scheduled, the RAF integrated the air to ground capability, based on the Rafael/Ultra Electronics Litening III laser designator and the Enhanced Paveway II/III laser guided bomb under the "Austere" programme. A more comprehensive air-to-ground attack capability including Paveway IV, EGBU-16 bombs and a higher degree of automation will be achieved for all partner nations with the Phase 1 Enhancements currently in development.
The absence of such a capability is believed to have been a factor in the type's rejection from Singapore's fighter competition in 2005. At the time it was claimed that Singapore was concerned about the delivery timescale and the ability of the Eurofighter partner nations to fund the current capability packages. With the planned Phase 2 Enhancements Eurofighter GmbH hopes to increase the appeal of Typhoon to possible export customers and to make the aircraft more useful to partner air forces.
EuroFighter Typhoon Radar signature reduction features
Although not designated a stealth fighter, measures were taken to reduce the Typhoon's radar cross section (RCS), especially from the frontal aspect. An example of these measures is that the Typhoon has jet inlets that conceal the front of the jet engine (a strong radar target) from radar. Many important potential radar targets, such as the wing, canard and fin leading edges, are highly swept, so will reflect radar energy well away from the front sector. Some external weapons are mounted semi-recessed into the aircraft, partially shielding these missiles from incoming radar waves. In addition radar absorbent materials (RAM) developed primarily by EADS/DASA coat many of the most significant reflectors, e.g. the wing leading edges, the intake edges and interior, the rudder surrounds, strakes, etc. The Typhoon does not use internal storage of weapons. External mounting points are used instead, which increases its radar cross section but allows for more and larger stores. The Typhoon's current Euroradar CAPTOR radar is relatively easy to detect when operating, unlike a few more advanced radars. For that reason the Eurofighter operates automatic Emission Controls (EMCON) to reduce the Electro-Magnetic emissions of the Radar. The German BW-Plan 2009 indicates that Germany will equip/retrofit the Luftwaffe's Eurofighters with the AESA Captor-E from 2012.
According to the RAF, the Eurofighter's RCS is better than RAF requirements. Comments from BAE Systems suggest the radar return is around one quarter of that of the Tornado it replaces. The Eurofighter is thought to have an RCS of less than one square meter in a clean configuration by author Doug Richardson, although no official value is available. This compares with the estimated RCS of the Rafale of 2 square metres, and the American F-117 of 0.025 square metres. The manufacturers claim the RCS of the Eurofighter to be the smallest of all aircraft currently in production. The manufacturers have carried out tests on the early prototypes to optimize the low observability characteristics of the aircraft from the early 1990s. Testing at BAe's Warton facility on the DA4 prototype measured the RCS of the aircraft and investigated the effects of a variety of RAM coatings. Another measure to reduce the likelihood of discovery is the use of passive sensors, which minimises the radiation of treacherous electronic emissions. While canards generally have poor stealth characteristics, the flight control system is designed to minimise the RCS in flight, maintaining the elevon trim and canards at an angle to minimise RCS.
