Eurofighter Seeks Increased Funding

Eurofighter has sought increased funding to optimize its multi role capabilities.

Eurofighter’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alberto Gutierrez said that a report by the UK’s Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) to be launched today in London as ‘positive and encouraging’.

The RUSI ‘Whitehall Report’ entitled, ‘Maximising European Combat Air Power: Unlocking the Eurofighter’s Full Potential’, proves the case for further investment in the aircraft programme to bring out the full potential of the Eurofighter Typhoon, Gutierrez said.

The Report also states that the Eurofighter’s combination of high thrust-to-weight ratio, manoeuvrability at all speeds, 65,000-foot service ceiling, supercruise capability, powerful radar and large missile load ensures that it outclasses any currently operational fighter aircraft in the world with the exception of the US F-22 Raptor.

Further, the Report emphasizes the fact the Eurofighter Typhoon will provide the backbone of Europe’s combat air power for at least a decade on from 2020 and makes clear that the aircraft is expected to be ‘more than a match for any enemy aircraft well beyond 2030’.

Gutierrez said that at the heart of the report is a call for a continued “relatively modest level of sustained funding’ in the Programme to ‘fully optimise the aircraft’s multirole capabilities”.

“We believe this report is positive and encouraging because it makes such a strong case for the aircraft.” He added. Further, it also demonstrates the value of investing in Eurofighter which is a long-term investment in the defence and security of those nations who operate the combat aircraft.

Recent investments in the Eurofighter Programme around E-Scan radar, Brimstone, Storm Shadow and Meteor missiles and new launcher systems, have all been well-received.