Germany to Suspend Production of Eurofighter Jets
19:16 04.10.2016(updated 22:40 04.10.2016)
After twenty years in service, the Eurofighter aircraft may be temporarily or permanently withdrawn from the German market, German newspaper Die Welt wrote.
The final assembly of Eurofighter jets that once were considered a prestige project is likely to be suspended in Germany at least until 2018. The main problem is the lack of contracts and the complexity of the production process.
The components of the aircraft are manufactured at four plants in Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, which makes the production very complicated and expensive.
"It resembles a huge puzzle: all right wings are produced in Spain, the left ones in Italy and parts of the fuselage in Germany, to name just a few examples," the newspaper wrote. "The components are then assembled in four final plants [located in the four countries] to manufacture models ready for the flights."
According to Die Welt, the final assembly of the fighter jets might also be suspended in Spain. However, Italy and the UK are likely to continue the production of the jets in the near future. The Italian authorities have signed an agreement with Kuwait to export 28 Eurofighter jets in 2018. The UK, for its turn, hopes to sign a contract for the supply of the aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
The Eurofighter managers had once hoped for a great order from India, but French Rafale jets were chosen instead.
Last year, a total of 41 Eurofighter jets were delivered to various customers. By comparison, Airbus builds more commercial aircraft in one month than the Eurofighter consortium in four locations throughout the year, the newspaper noted.
© Sputnik
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