The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine multi-role fighter built by a European consortium made up of the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy. With 4 countries involved it is necessary to have what they call Tranches (similar to contracts) that are broken down into batches and blocks. The development of the Eurofighter began in 1983 with the prototype maiden flight of the Eurofighter taking place on March 27, 1994. The first fully equipped Tranche 2 Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA7) took to the skies on January 16, 2008.
As a replacement for the Saab 35 Draken, Austria had originally agreed to purchase 18 Eurofighter 2000s but the number was reduced to 15. Just prior to the Austrian Air Force “Air Power 2019” air show held at Zeltweg AB, they unveiled 7L-WB as their first ever EF2000 Eurofighter to receive a special paint scheme. 7L-WB Tranche 1 c/n 5001/AS0002 was the second EF 2000 produced for Austria and completed its maiden flight on July 9, 2007 and soon after was based at Zeltweg AB. All Eurofighters are based at Zeltweg.
General Specifications Eurofighter Typhoon EF-2000
Production Consortium – UK, Germany, Spain and Italy
Role - air defense and ground attack with full multi and swing-role capabilities Production – Expected 623 / 9 Countries Length Of Time To Produce Each Aircraft – 9,500 Hours / 248 Days
Dimensions
Wingspan – 10.95 m (35 ft 11 in) Length – 14.96 m (49 ft) Height – 5.28 m (17 ft 4 in)
Weight
Empty – 9,750 kg (21,495 lb) Maximum Takeoff – 23,500 kg (51,808 lb) Maximum External Stores – 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) Internal Fuel – 4,000 kg (8,818 lb)
Performance
Power Plants – 2 X EJ200 Turbofans With Afterburner - 20,000 lbf (90 kN) Each Engine Without Afterburner – 13,500 lbf (60 kN) Each Engine Speed Maximum – 2,125 km/h (1,320 mph) Minimum – 203 km/h (126 mph) Rate Of Climb – 255 m/s (836 ft/s) Service Ceiling – 18,290 m (60,000 ft)
Weapons
1 Internal 27 mm Mauser Gun 13 External Hardpoints / 5 X Under Fuselage 4 X Under Each Wing Missiles Air-To-Air AIM-120 AMRAAM AIM-132 ASRAAM AIM-9 Sidewinder IRIS-T MBDA Meteor Air-To-Surface AGM-65 Maverick AGM-68 HARM Brimstone Taurus KEPD 350 Storm Shadow/Scalp EG SPEAR 3 (FUTURE) Marte ER Anti-Ship Joint Strike (FUTURE) Bombs Paveway II/II/Enhanced Paveway (LGB) Small Diameter Bombs (FUTURE FOR P2E) JDAM (FUTURE) HOPE/HOSBO (FUTURE) Spice 250 Extras Damocles (Targeting Pods) LITENING III Laser Targeting Pods Sniper advanced Targeting Pods Maximum 3 X Drop Tanks For Ferrying/ Extended Flights/ Loitering Time Conformal Tanks On Tranche 3 Or Later