Douglas Barrie/LONDON
THE FIRST Eurofighter 2000 will not enter front-line squadron service with the Royal Air Force until 2005-6, with the aircraft's introduction in the ground-attack role being delayed considerably beyond this date.
Whitehall and industry sources confirm that the RAF's planning date for fielding an operationally capable fighter squadron is now 2005, at the earliest.
The Ministry of Defence declines to say when the first Eurofighter squadron will begin to replace Tornado F3-equipped units at an operational level. It says only that it will receive its first Eurofighter at the turn of the decade.
With the production-investment phase for the project (financed by Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) continuing to be delayed, the RAF is being forced to run its Tornado F3 and Sepecat Jaguar GR1A/B fleets for longer than previously planned.
The F3 is the focus of a weapons and radar upgrade project to fit the aircraft with the Hughes AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile and the British Aerospace advanced short-range air-to-air missile (ASRAAM).
The Jaguar was originally intended to be replaced by the Eurofighter from 2001. The RAF's priority has since shifted to replacing the F3s first. It is possible that the Jaguars will now remain in RAF service until 2010.
The Eurofighter PI (procurement) phase was begin in 1995, but this is not likely until 1996.
A combination of delays in resolving the debate between the UK and Germany over workshare, coupled with industry's failure to demonstrate maturity milestones on certain sub-systems, such as the radar, have caused the slippage.
Germany and the UK are now attempting to resolve the dispute over workshare at an industrial and political level.
Senior German Government officials say that they are proposing to curtail the procurement period under consideration, from 25 to ten years with a German order for 140 aircraft complemented by an RAF order for 170. Workshare would then be ascertained on these planning figures.
The UK Ministry of Defence maintains that its planning figure of 250 remains firm. Some options, however, are understood to be being examined in an attempt to resolve the impasse on the workshare issue.
Source: Flight International
