BAE SYSTEMS Bids Farewell To 29 Squadron
01 Jul 2005
To celebrate the on-schedule achievement of a vital milestone in the Typhoon programme, a Typhoon display and a formation flypast of four Typhoons marked the departure of the second Royal Air Force Typhoon squadron from Warton for their permanent base at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire today.
29(R) Squadron, which has been based at Warton for the past eighteen months under the Case White Entry Into Service programme, is responsible for the Operational Conversion of the RAFs newest combat aircraft.
Commenting on the achievement Air Chief Marshal, Sir Jock Stirrup said: "Case White has been a tremendous achievement. The programme has demonstrated the benefits of working in partnership and has achieved the end goal of getting the Typhoon where it belongs - in service with the RAF."
Sir Jock added: "Typhoon will be the cornerstone of the RAFs airpower capability for the next half century. It will swiftly take its place in our operational inventory, where it will represent a very significant enhancement. With further developments already in the pipeline, Typhoon is set to become the defining standard in terms of airpower capabilities."
Todays event also marked the conclusion of the Case White contract, a partnered programme which has seen Typhoon delivered to the RAF at Warton, in order to ease the aircrafts entry to service. The partnership has been a resounding success achieving the contracted 1040 sorties eight weeks ahead of schedule.
Wing Commander Al Mackay, who is Officer Commanding 29 Squadron and who flew one of the aircraft this morning said: Case White has been a successful way of introducing the Typhoon into RAF service. Typhoon is really exceeding our expectations. We always knew the aircraft had potential and it is now clearly demonstrating that in spades. There is still a lot to do, a lot of capability to come, but in terms of where we are with the aircraft and where we take it in terms of the platform, a lot of the avionics and radar, we are really happy with it.
Wing Commander Mackay added: Its been a great time at Warton, but Im really looking forward to getting Typhoon to its new home at RAF Coningsby. Case White has been a means to an end, but just the end of the beginning of Typhoon operations.
Chris Boardman, BAE Systems Managing Director, Typhoon said: Case White is the culmination of a huge effort from lots of people across the four nation European collaboration and the respective Air Forces. This has been a great programme, weve achieved everything we said we would and in the timescale. Weve now got a customer whos happy with the product and who has encouraged us to take the capability even further. The umbilical between Warton and Coningsby will go from strength to strength and the Typhoon programme will go on for 20 30 years.
About BAE SYSTEMS
BAE SYSTEMS is an international company engaged in the development, delivery and support of advanced defence and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea and in space. The company designs, manufactures and supports military aircraft, surface ships, submarines, radar, avionics, communications, electronics and guided weapon systems. It is a pioneer in technology with a heritage stretching back hundreds of years. It is at the forefront of innovation, working to develop the next generation of intelligent defence systems.
About Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is the world's most advanced swing-role combat aircraft, developed by the leading aerospace companies, Alenia Aeronautica, BAE SYSTEMS and EADS, of the four partner countries, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. Eurofighter Typhoon features unrivalled technology, designed for the defence needs of the 21st Century.
Agile and highly manoeuvrable, the twin-engine Eurofighter Typhoon is designed to operate from hastily prepared bases and small runways for worldwide operations. It is equipped with an advanced multi-mode 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 air, 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. Eurofighter Typhoon is less expensive to run than the generation of aircraft it is designed to replace.
The Eurofighter partner nations will take delivery of 620 aircraft: 180 for Germany, 121 for Italy, 87 for Spain and 232 for the United Kingdom. Over 40 aircraft have been delivered and are in service around Europe
Austria recently confirmed its contract for the purchase of 18 aircraft, and Eurofighter Typhoon has also been selected by Greece to meet its requirements for a future fighter. The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence has agreed an industrial participation programme with Eurofighter for the future enhancement of the weapon system.
For further information, please contact:
Emma Wilkins, Communications Manager (Typhoon), Warton, Lancs, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1772 852714 Mob +44 (0) 7736 810609
Debbie Stott, Communications Advisor
Tel: +44 (0) 1772 852995
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