Timeline of the Eurofighter Typhoon

This is the timeline of the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon, a multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers, Eurofighter GmbH, formed in 1983.

1970s

* 1972
** Royal Air Force (RAF) issues Air Staff Target 396 (AST-396), a requirement for a STOVL aircraft to replace the Harrier and Jaguar fleets.
** AST-403, specification revised for an air superiority fighter. STOVL requirement dropped and AST-409 lead to the development of Harrier GR5.
* Mid-1970s
** France, Germany and the UK initiate the European Combat Aircraft (ECA) programme.
* 1979
** Following differing requirements (particularly French requirement for carrier compatibility,) BAe and MBB propose the European Combat Fighter (ECF)

1980s

* 1981
** Development of different national prototypes and continued differences over specification lead to cancellation of ECF programme.
** Panavia partners (Germany, Italy and UK) launch Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) programme. Following failure of Germany and Italy to fund development the UK MoD pays £80m prototype, the Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP).
* 1983
** May - contract for production of EAP prototype signed.
** The UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain launch Future European Fighter Aircraft (F/EFA) programme. Aircraft to have short take off and landing (STOL) and beyond visual range (BVR) capabilities.
* 1984
** France reiterates requirement for carrier capable version. The UK, Germany and Italy opt out and establish new EFA programme.
* 1985
** France officially withdraws, commences ACX project.
** 27 October - EAP demonstrator rolled out at BAe Warton.
* 1986
** June - Eurofighter GmbH established.
** 8 August - EAP makes its first flight, piloted by David Eagles. Configuration closely matches final Eurofighter design.
** Rolls-Royce, MTU Aero Engines, FiatAvio (now Avio) and ITP form EuroJet Turbo GmbH for development of EJ200.
* 1988
** 23 November - contracts signed for production of demonstrator engines and airframes.

1990s

* 1990
** EuroRADAR formed for development of ECR-90 (CAPTOR) radar.
* 1991
** 1 May - last flight of EAP demonstrator.
* 1992
** EuroDASS formed for development of defensive aids sub system (DASS.) Initially only UK and Italy participate. When Eurofighter enters service only RAF aircraft will exploit all capabilities of DASS.
** July - Germany announces intention to withdraw from the DASS element. Negotiations begin to reduce costs. As a single engine aircraft is ruled out Germany decides to fit cheaper systems, e.g., F/A-18's APG-65 in place of ECR-90, and delay its service entry by two years. Germany eventually participates in all systems.
** December - renamed Eurofighter 2000.
* 1994
** 27 March - maiden flight of first development aircraft, DA1 from DASA at Manching with Rolls Royce Spey engines.
** 6 April - maiden flight of second development aircraft, DA2 from BAe Warton. DA2 also flew with RB199s.
* 1995
** 4 June - maiden flight of Italian DA3, the first with EJ200 engines.
* 1996
** 31 August - Spanish DA6 becomes the first two-seater to fly.
* 1997
** 27 January - first flight of DA7 from Turin.
** 24 February - maiden flight of German DA5, first aircraft to be fitted with ECR-90.
** 14 March - maiden flight of UK's DA4, the second two-seater and last of the seven development aircraft.
* 1998
** January - first aerial refuelling trials, involving DA2 and an RAF VC10 tanker.
** 30 January - NETMA and Eurofighter GmbH sign production and support contracts for 620 aircraft.
** September - "Typhoon" name adopted, announced as strictly for export contracts. There is some controversy as the last aircraft to bear the name was the Hawker Typhoon, a World War II aircraft.
** 18 December - Tranche 1 contract signed.
* 1999
** Eurofighter International established as single contracting-management company to handle all export sales.

2000s

* 2000
** 8 March - first export sale, 60 ordered and 30 options by Greece (but delayed, maybe cancelled).
** 16 May - UK commits to MBDA Meteor BVRAAM, leading to significant benefits for export prospects.
** 7 July - DA2 emerges from ten month stand down with latest avionics. Finished in black (see below) to reduce cosmetic effect of 490 pressure transducers applied to airframe.
* 2002
** 5 April - Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA2) makes maiden flight from Turin.
** 11 April - IPA 3 makes maiden flight from EADS Military Aircraft, Manching, Germany.
** 15 April - IPA 1 makes maiden flight from BAE Warton.
** 2 July - Austria announces acquisition of 24 Typhoons, later reduced to 18.
** 23 July - "Typhoon" name officially adopted as in-service name by four partner nations.
** 21 November - DA6, flying out of Getafe, crashes. Twin engine failure is blamed.
* 2003
** 13 February - first series production aircraft, GT001 flies from Manching. This is the first of Germany's 180 aircraft.
** 14 February - in the space of just over an hour Italy's IT001 and Britain's BT001 make their maiden flights.
** 17 February - Spain's ST001 flies from EADS Military Aircraft, Getafe, Spain.
** 30 June - "type acceptance" signed, marking formal delivery of aircraft to the partner nations.
**October - integration of Meteor begins.
* 2004
** 27 June - two RAF Typhoon T1s depart UK for Singapore for marketing and training.
** 15 December - UK confirms purchase of second batch of 89 aircraft, the last nation to commit to "Tranche 2" production of 236 aircraft.
* 2005
**April - Singapore drops the Typhoon from its shortlist to supply the country's next generation fighter.
** 16 December - the ''Aeronautica Militare Italiana'' (Italian Air Force) declares the Typhoon's initial operational capability and sets it on quick reaction alert from Grosseto Air Base.
** 21 December - Saudi Arabia agrees to a purchase of an unspecified number of Typhoons with the UK Ministry of Defence.
* 2006
**January - first AMI operational squadron formed.
**February - first operational mission undertaken by the Italian Air Force as Eurofighter Typhoon defends the airspace over Turin during the 2006 Winter Olympics.
** 31 March - first RAF operational squadron formed.
** 18 August - announcement of Saudi Arabia signing a contract to buy 72 planes from the UK.
** 3 October - 100th production aircraft delivered.
* 2007
** 12 July - the first Eurofighter for Austria is delivered to the Austrian Air Force.
* 2008
** 16 January - the first Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon makes its first flight.
** 22 October - first flight of Typhoon in Royal Saudi Air Force livery.
* 2009
** 12 June - first Saudi Typhoons delivered.
** 25 November - 200th Typhoon delivered.

2010s

* 2010
** 24 August - a Spanish Eurofighter crashes in Spain, killing a Saudi pilot
** 22 December - 250th Typhoon delivered.
* 2012
** 21 December - Oman orders 12 Eurofighter Typhoons.
* 2013
** 4 December - 400th Typhoon delivered.
* 2014
** 12 December - First full trial installation of Brimstone missile.
* 2016
** 5 April - Kuwait orders 28 Eurofighter Typhoons.
** 13 July - Flights trials of E-Scan radar begin on Eurofighter Typhoon.
* 2017
** 11 April - 500th Typhoon delivered.

2020s

* 2020
** November 2020 - Germany ordered 30 single-seater and 8 twin-seater new Tranche 4 fighters for 5.4 billion euro. The contract for new Tranche 4 versions is to replace Tranche 1 versions currently in service. The latest order from Germany secures production of Eurofighter Typhoon until 2030.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=July 2018

Timeline
Eurofighter Typhoon