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First Eurofighter from second production batch starts flight operations in Manching

• Support for practical demonstration of enhanced Tranche 2 capabilities

16 January 2008

The first Tranche 2 Eurofighter took off on its first acceptance flight this Wednesday from the EADS Flight Test Centre in Manching. As announced by EADS Defence & Security, the instrumented production aircraft IPA 7 will be available as a test aircraft after subsequent official entry into service. With EADS Eurofighter Project Pilot Chris Worning at the controls, the flight time was 64 minutes.

IPA 7, the first of a total of 251 aircraft from the second production batch, will be used for tests to achieve certification of the Tranche 2 aircraft. Here, the German test aircraft supports IPA 6 from BAE Systems, which is a single-seater from the first production series delivered and equipped with Tranche 2 avionics.

The main difference between Tranche 2 and Tranche 1 production Eurofighters is their new avionics computer suite, which distinguishes itself through its higher processing speed and memory capacity. The superior computer performance is needed among other things for the enhanced aerial combat capabilities of the Tranche 2 aircraft, for air-to-ground operations and for the use of long-range guided weapons.

The performance of the IPA 7 in flight will enable Military Air Systems to confirm what the engineers in the Eurofighter development community have developed and calculated for the avionics and weapons system of Tranche 2 aircraft.

Military Air Systems (MAS) as an integrated part of the EADS Defence & Security Division (DS) is the centre of competence for all manned and unmanned flying weapon systems within EADS.

DS is a systems solutions provider combining military air systems, missile systems, communications and intelligence systems, global security solutions as well as sensor and avionics systems into a single effective network. In 2006, DS – with its around 23,000 employees – achieved revenues of € 5.9 billion. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2006, EADS generated revenues of € 39.4 billion and employed a workforce of about 116,000.

Contact:

Wolfram Wolff
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 607 25711
mailto: wolfram.wolff@eads.com