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Eurofighter single-seaters in operational service with the Luftwaffe

* Aircraft for wide-ranging air defence tasks
* Ramp-up of Eurofighter single-seater deliveries

Munich/Manching, 11 April 2005

EADS Military Aircraft has handed over the first single-seater operational Eurofighter aircraft to Fighter Wing 73 (JG 73) "Steinhoff" in Laage near Rostock. This is the first of a further ten single-seaters that are still to be delivered to the operational wing in the course of the year. In addition to these delivery quantities, this year a further twin-seater will also be put at the wing's disposal. This was announced by EADS, the German and Spanish partner in the four-nation European programme, on Monday.

Through the single-seaters, the German Air Force is now in a position to extend the ongoing Eurofighter operational evaluation to also include this configuration of the aircraft and conduct practical tests to confirm fulfilment of the specific air force requirements. Furthermore, the mission pilots can now continue their tactical training on the single-seater Eurofighters. The twin-seaters that have already been in operational service for some time mainly serve as a means of conversion training for pilots being instructed on this latest-generation advanced flying weapon system.

The Eurofighter that has just been handed over bears the production number GS004 (GS standing for German Single-Seater) and is already the second single-seater Eurofighter to be delivered to the Luftwaffe. The first Eurofighter in this configuration originating from final assembly at Manching and destined for the Bundeswehr was ferried to the Air Force School of Engineering No. 1 at Kaufbeuren on 14 February 2005. There, the aircraft is serving to train technicians and ground crews on this new model for the German Air Force.

The handover of the single-seater on Friday means that 35 Eurofighters in all have now been delivered to the four partner countries: 31 twin-seaters and now four single-seaters as fully operational aircraft. During the current year, it is planned to deliver a further 39 aircraft to the partner nations. At the moment, operational evaluation is getting underway in all the partner countries' air forces.

Additional to the Eurofighter aircraft already handed over to the customers, all 148 Tranche 1 production aircraft are currently in the process of construction. The production contract for the second tranche was signed by Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH and NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) on 14.12.2004.

The Military Aircraft Business Unit, which is an integrated part of the EADS Defence and Security Systems Division (DS), concentrates all the EADS capabilities in the areas of high-performance combat aircraft, unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs), manned mission aircraft and training aircraft and the ground support equipment for these systems.

EADS Defence & Security Systems, with revenues of about € 5.4 billion in 2004 and roughly 24,000 employees across ten nations, forms the defence pole within EADS. It offers integrated systems solutions to the new challenges confronting armed forces and homeland security units. It is active in the areas of military aircraft, missile systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems with manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), battlefield management systems, defence electronics, sensors and avionics, and related services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2004, EADS generated revenues of € 31.8 billion and employed a workforce of about 110,000.

Press contact:
Wolfram Wolff
EADS Military Aircraft
Tel.: +49-89-607 25711
Fax: +49-89-607 22455
mailto: wolfram.wolff@eads.com