Answer: It denotes the export version of what used to be known as the EFA, or European Fighter Aircraft, and then the EF 2000. After prolonged tooth-sucking, the four Eurofighter partners finally agreed on a name which sounds the same in all their languages, and is a logical follow-on to the multi-national Tornado, now incorporated in NATO's Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NEFTA), with overall control of the two programs.

Confirming the new name last Wednesday, three days after it had been leaked in the weekend London newspapers, Eurofighter managing director Brian Phillipson denied their reports of German objections because of its destructive WWII connotations with Hawker's rocket-firing and Panzer-busting Typhoons. The original Messerschmitt 108 Taifun was an advanced pre-WWII low-wing four-seat touring lightplane from which the renowned Me 109 was eventually scaled-up and developed. It went on to become the most widely-produced aircraft to date, with more than 33,000 built in all.

Phillipson said that the Typhoon name, which has now been legally registered to Eurofighter, had the support of all four chiefs of air staff and governments of the countries concerned. Internally, however, they would still continue to refer to the Eurofighter by this original name.

He also denied London press reports that an "internal wrangle within the UK" concerning initial maintenance support for the Eurofighter could delay fixed-price contract signature for the first production batch of 148 aircraft, originally expected at this year's Farnborough. Prolonged negotiations were involved which involved "a huge amount of work" to ensure the required supportability for a program of this complexity, but signature issues in the program were all on target.

Costs for the UK's share of the Eurofighter program are now being officially quoted as £15.9 billion, which includes £4.4 billion for R&D, with the remainder for production of 232 aircraft and their operating support over a five-year period. Overall production for the four countries concerned is planned of 620 aircraft, including 180 for Germany, 121 for Italy and 87 for Spain, with options for a further 90.

The seven development Eurofighters now flying have accumulated more than 800 sorties to date, a few lasting more than seven hours during initial air refueling trials, and at speeds exceeding Mach 2. The German-built DA5-one of two with fully-functional ECR-90 fire-control radars-is being flown at Farnborough on alternate days by BAe Warton and DASA project test-pilots John Turner and Chris Worning with full carefree handling clearance up to 7.25g and 27-degree angle of attack (AoA) from Phase 2A flight control-system software. Next spring, this will be integrated with the autopilot with Phase 2B2 software, towards final Phase 3 and 9g clearance to production standards.

FCS software improvements have greatly expanded the Eurofighter's display envelope, as will be seen at Farnborough, despite high-weight operation with a full (real, but inert) missile load, 80% internal fuel, radar and test-flight instrumentation. Watch, in particular, for its startling velocity-vector roll while at maximum AoA, and instant rather than progressive afterburner light-up from a five spray-bar installation on its Eurojet EJ200-3A turbofans.

By John Fricker