On the Record with
BOB HASLAM, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EUROFIGHTER GmbH

From his office in Halbergmoos, near the Munich airport, Eurofighter GmbH Bob Haslam is counting down the days.

"There were 611 when I began this job. Today (July 24) there are 402. I keep track of every one," he told Show News.

And so the tension builds daily as the countdown for Eurofighter's entry into service ticks relentlessly by. Haslam's primary task is to manage the core Eurofighter program with a focus on development, production and support.

"Everything has to be ready on Day One. At that point Eurofighter goes straight into active service, and it is most important everything we said we would do gets done," he said. "It's not just an aircraft; there's the weapons systems, the support..."

So while Haslam is making sure production remains on track in locations in four different countries (the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain), against a background of industrial consolidation and changing air force requirements as new missions and weapons are found for Eurofighter, he must also drive the development of the aircraft and its systems in parallel with early production.

"This is a massive program, and a massive challenge," he said (the four nations ordered 620 Eurofighters in the world's biggest-ever military program). The first Instrumented Production Aircraft will fly in August next year, and aircraft will be rolling off the production line for initial operational clearance just one year later.

The decision to start production before development was complete was taken to reduce costs and speed entry into service. This would have been unthinkable with earlier programs, but has been made possible through advances in software development tools and the fact that Eurofighter is so software and systems intensive.

Technology is advancing so rapidly that a program would be obsolete on delivery if its parameters were to be set in stone before production began.

"Yes, this is inherently risky," admitted Haslam. "The art of succeeding is to be able to manage the risks with best value for money. My main task is to de-risk the program.
"We analyze the total program, assess the risks, and prioritize them, putting in place action plans to mitigate them. We have sorted a path and the actions needed all the way to first delivery."

This experience will enable Eurofighter to enhance the aircraft in service through software upgrades much quicker than before, adding new sensors and weapons as needed. "There will be no Mid-Life Update in 15 years time," said Haslam. "We are already working with customers on what they would like to see after it enters service."
Much of the software development centers on the flight control system, which protects the pilot and the airframe with "carefree handling." This allows maximum performance without overstressing the airframe or flying into unsafe flight situations. It is highly complex because it constantly computes the aircraft's center of gravity no matter what the changing weapons load taking into account the already highly unstable flight characteristics needed for good fighter performance.

Already Eurofighter is discussing how to maintain support of the aircraft's software configurations as customers modify aircraft to their own requirements.

"The previous managing director, Brian Phillipson, had the honor of signing a contract for 620 aircraft. That will never happen again," said Haslam. "And I get the honor of seeing it into service. That, too, happens just once in a lifetime."

By John Morris