Eurofighter Typhoon | |
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General information | |
Type | Multirole fighter |
National origin | United Kingdom European Union |
Manufacturer | Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH |
Status | In service |
Primary users | Royal Air Force |
Number built | 558 (as of January 2019) |
History | |
Manufactured | 1994–present |
Introduction date | 4 August 2003 |
First flight | 27 March 1994 |
Developed from | British Aerospace EAP |
The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service with nine nations: United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Austria, with orders for all nine customers still pending as of September 2017. The aircraft has, as of 2016, been provided in a basic air-defense form and has been upgraded to newer production standards which include internal IRST, air-to-ground precision strike capability (with Royal Air Force Typhoons participating in air strikes destroying tanks in Libya in 2011 as their combat debut),[1] and HMSS (helmet-mounted symbology system) helmets. Most of the major systems including the CAPTOR radar and the Defence Aids Sub-System (DASS) are expected to be improved and updated over time, with the radar being updated to an AESA, being the CAPTOR-E/CAESAR, of which the Kuwait Air Force will be the inaugural operator, with first deliveries of their 28 new-built aircraft to commence in 2019.[2]