With the resources of four companies and the backing of four countries behind it, and a competitive specification, the Typhoon has stronger export prospects than any previous collaboratively developed European combat aircraft.
Strong enough, Eurofighter believes, to capture half of the 800-aircraft global fighter market it forecasts for 2005 to 2025. The Typhoon will be competing against the Boeing F/A-18E/F, Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin F-16, Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 and Saab/British Aerospace Gripen.
Eurofighter argues that the Typhoon's combination of beyond visual range and close-in combat effectiveness, intercept performance, combat persistence and availability makes the aircraft almost as effective in the air defence role as the considerably more expensive F-22 - and substantially more effective than either the F/A-18E, Rafale C or F-16C.
Changes are being made to the production aircraft to boost its multi-role capability, which will be at least as great as the F-16's and F/A-18's and substantially more than the initial F-22's. The demands of the four customer air forces mean that a wide range of advanced air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry will be cleared early in the Eurofighter's operational life.
With Greece having selected the Typhoon for a 60- to 80-aircraft order, and Norway having shortlisted the aircraft for a 20- to 30-aircraft requirement, the export prospects look encouraging. Sales campaigns are also under way in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Eurofighter has tapped the partner companies' experience and influence to market the Typhoon. Alenia is leading efforts in Brazil and the Philippines; British Aerospace in Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates; Casa in Chile, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey; and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland.
In each country, one company will be responsible for negotiating and signing a contract for the entire weapon system, with support from Eurofighter and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA). After signature, Eurofighter will award subcontracts to the partner companies and Eurojet to fulfil that contract.
With the Eurofighter programme set to secure over 150,000 jobs at peak production, the four partner nations are keen to encourage exports and to remove any obstacles to the Typhoon's success in the global market. So they have agreed that no government can block export of the aircraft, NETMA says.
Export aircraft can be supplied from any one of the final assembly lines, and arrangements are in place to guarantee that the partners can continue to supply parts to the seller. There will be no restrictions either on technology transfer, says NETMA.
Any equipment on the aircraft not supplied from within the four nations has been used with the understanding that there will be no restrictions on its export. An exception is the US-built AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, but this is widely exported already - and a European alternative is in the pipeline.
The four customer air forces have also agreed to facilitate exports, Eurofighter says, by making training and maintenance resources available to buyers. Export availability is planned for 2005, but some potential customers want aircraft earlier. The ability to offer training with one of the air forces will enable Eurofighter to offer early access to the aircraft.
The support capability to be established within the four partner nations, either by industry or the air forces themselves, will also be offered to export customers. For smaller nations, this could avoid the expense of having the create an indigenous support capability, and so reduce the life cycle cost of the aircraft.
Cost is an issue, as the Typhoon is not a cheap aircraft - although it is likely to be in the same export price bracket as the F/A-18E/F, Rafale and Lockheed Martin's advanced Block 60 F-16C/D. The training and support initiatives are among efforts under way to reduce costs.
Discussions are also under way with NETMA on the development recoupment levy that adds about 7% to the Typhoon's price. Eurofighter wants this waived or reduced. NETMA says the issue is negotiable between the partner nations and export customers.
Both Greece and Norway are being offered membership of Eurofighter and NETMA if they buy the Typhoon. This would give them full access to the programme, equivalent to that enjoyed by the four partner nations.
Norway has been offered such largesse, despite the small number of aircraft it requires, because it is an entree to the European Participating Group of F-16 operators. The others are Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. Together they represent a potential market of perhaps 300 aircraft.
Greece, its requirement for up to 80 aircraft approaching that of Eurofighter partner nation Spain, is likely to demand that a final assembly line be established in country. Dasa, leading the Greek sales effort, already has close links with Hellenic Aerospace Industries.
Offsets are likely to be a major factor in any export deal, and Eurofighter is emphasising the industrial resources of its partner companies and major suppliers. Together this makes a powerful combination.
Source: Flight International
