Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH
Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) and the German defence ministry have rejected sharply a report from the federal audit office criticising the Eurofighter programme.
The ministry describes the study as "-groundless, contradictory in content, as well as out of touch with reality".
It adds that the report's questioning of procurement numbers, technical maturity and price of the Eurofighter indicates a "-failure to appreciate defence policy and technical reality".
Dasa has also accused the report of being "factually wrong or self-contradictory" in its key points.
The report suggests that elements of the aircraft's development, and the associated costs, have been shifted and hidden in the programme's production-investment phase, and that extra costs will arise from the development of a strike variant of the aircraft. Dasa denies both charges, and says that the requirements for the strike role have already been met in the development contract.
The report, not yet formally released, also criticises the technical maturity of elements of the aircraft such as the ECR 90 radar and the aircraft's digital flight-control system, claiming these could also incur additional costs in the future, and points out that the aircraft's technology will no longer be state-of-the-art when it goes into service.
Dasa says that all of the maturity criteria laid down by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency have been met in time for a production go-ahead, while the defence ministry points out that the aircraft also has strong development potential after entry into service.
Dasa says that the audit office is proposing that industry should initially fund production investment itself. It further proposes that Germany should initially order 100 aircraft instead of 180, with the option of ordering a further batch later.
Both of these moves would lead to an increase in system price, say Dasa and the defence ministry. Such measures would "-torpedo that which has been achieved [in negotiations with industry], and dupe the partner nations".
The audit office issues reports analysing defence programmes from a financial standpoint every year. The latest report comes at a sensitive time, however, as the Government prepares finally to clear the procurement proposal at the end of this month.
It will then present this to parliament for approval in the days following, in time for the signature of a production memorandum of understanding with the partner nations on 12 December.
Source: Flight International
