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BAE SYSTEMS delivers front fuselage for first German air force Eurofighter

06 Mar 2002

BAE Systems has recently delivered the fully equipped front fuselage for the first Eurofighter that will enter service with the German Air Force.

The front fuselage of GT001 (German Twin Seat No.1) was successfully delivered to Manching, the final assembly line of BAE Systems German partner, EADS - Deutschland, following completion of systems testing at the BAE Systems Samlesbury site near Blackburn, Lancashire.

The fuselage was shipped at a higher specification than had previously been achieved and included fully fitted and tested systems such as hydraulics, fuel, environmental control systems and crew escape as well as brakes and parachute checks. Another first achieved on the delivery of GT001 was the fitting of the windscreen before shipping - this had previously been done as part of final assembly.

Jon Evans, Product Manager Front Fuselage at BAE Systems said: "The shipping of GT001's fuselage to the customer, is a major achievement. Thanks go to everyone involved in making this a success; a great deal of effort was put in by them all.""

"It is important that we continue up the curve in terms of specification and ensure that each fuselage that is delivered from Samlesbury improves. This requires everyone involved, both within BAE Systems and our suppliers, to continue to hit programme deadlines. It is a challenge that I am sure everyone is up to.""

The successful delivery of the fuselage also marks the successful achievement of one of this year's Customer Monitored Milestones.
About Eurofighter Typhoon:

The Eurofighter Typhoon is the world's most advanced swing-role combat aircraft, developed by the leading aerospace companies, BAE Systems, EADS Deutschland, Alenia Aerospazio, and EADS Spain, of the four partner countries, the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Eurofighter Typhoon features unrivalled technology, designed for the defence needs across the next forty years.

Agile, stealthy, twin-engined and designed to operate from hastily prepared bases and small runways and for worldwide operations. It is equipped with advanced multi-mode, pulse-Doppler Radar and an extensive range of sensors and electronic countermeasures.

The aircraft's ability to gain air superiority Beyond Visual Range (BVR) and in close combat, and at the same time deliver high sortie rates against naval and ground targets in all weathers with a variety of weapons, demands close attention to pilot workload. In Eurofighter the pilot flies through use of a computerised flight control system, which offers full carefree handling.

A strong emphasis has been placed on reducing cost of ownership in addition to outstanding performance and flight safety. Reliability, low cost of maintenance and a sophisticated on-board testing system ensure ease of day to day management and through life costs that make the Eurofighter Typhoon less expensive to run than the generation of aircraft it is designed to replace.

The Eurofighter partner nations will take delivery of 620 aircraft: 232 for the UK, 180 for Germany, 121 for Italy and 87 for Spain.

Marketing of Eurofighter Typhoon continues to draw strong interest around the world with active campaigns currently underway in South Korea, the Netherlands, Asia, Greece and Norway.