Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1333129
Germany Luftwaffe is currently the second-largest user of the Eurofighter platform. The service opera- tes 143 aircraft as such, designated EF-2000. The airframes in question play a foundational role in the Luftwaffe's air combat capabilities. The latest multi-role jets also act in a comple- mentary air-to-ground role, alongside the 60 active Tornadoes. The Eurofighter aircraft are operated by four tactical aviation wings at the moment, inclu- ding three operational units: 31st „Boelcke" Tactical Aviation Wing, based in Norvenich; 71st „Richthofen" Tactical Aviation Wing, based in Wittmund; 74th Tactical Aviation Wing, based in Neuburg, the only unit that also deals with flight training; 73rd „Steinhoff" Tactical Aviation Wing, based in Laage. The Eurofighter's Luftwaffe career began in 2003, as the first examples of those jets were delivered in the Tranche 1 variant - a transition version with limited air-to-ground capabilities. 33 Tranche 1 jets were delivered to Luftwaffe by 2008 in total. Then, the German Air Force received 79 Tranche 2 jets. The third production lot was to consist of 236 aircraft in total, with the Luftwaffe receiving 68 of those. The budgetary constraints forced the users to divide the order between Tranche 3A and Tranche 3B lots. Within the framework of the first lot, the GAF has received 31 jets. The transaction regarding Tranche 3B has been put on hold, due to budgetary constraints. The last of the Tranche 3A aircraft was handed off on December 18th, 2019. The EF-2000 platform reached the IOC status in June 2008. Currently, the Eurofighter facility in Manching, changing their business profile, has decided to focus on delivering airframe components to the remaining facilities han- dling the consortium's „order portfolio" - loca- ted in Italy, Spain, and the UK. In a few years though Manching would return to a manufac- turing role, first to meet the requirements of the Quadriga project (described below), and then within the framework of the program aimed at replacing the Tornado strike aircraft. The Quadriga project is aimed at the acquisition of jets that would replace the legacy Eurofighter Tranche 1 aircraft. This decommissioning is supported by the significant differences in the configuration of the airframes making it impossible, or cost-ineffective, to upgrade the legacy aircraft, so that their capabilities would be on par with the new jets. The main problem here stems from the necessity to car- ry out a major modification of the jets, inclu- ding structural changes, as well as changes regarding the electrical and antenna cooling systems, should intention emerge to use a new AESA radar. R&D as such is lengthy and time-consuming. For that reason, Luftwaffe is willing to sell all of its Tranche 1 jets and re- place them with up to 38 new aircraft (33 + 5, with the 5 being an option here). The jets wo- uld be delivered meeting the latest Tranche 4 standard, being fitted with the E-SCAN AESA radar and a modified ECM suite. The schedu- le adopted by the German MoD assumed that the agreement on that matter would be signed in early 2020 so that the first fighters are received by Luftwaffe in 2025. The annual production scale was to be at the level of 8 to 10 examples. Nonetheless, the COVID 19 pan- demic has delayed these plans significantly. The information released by the Bundestag's budgetary committee suggested that the pur- chase was scheduled in October. The Tornado aircraft listed above are a part of two units: 33rd Tactical Aviation Wing based in Buchel equipped with Tornado IDS aircraft; 51st „Immelmann" Tactical Aviation Wing that uses a mix of Tornado IDS and ECR aircraft. Tornado IDS are used in a strike role, while the ECR platforms carry out the SEAD mission. The IDS jets were commissioned in 1982. The first examples were of the ECR aircraft be- coming a part of the Luftwaffe's inventory in 1990. Since then, the aircraft in question have all undergone several upgrades. Their time in Luftwaffe is slowly fading away. As the decommissioning of Tornadoes is gradually becoming closer and closer, the Luftwaffe took steps towards the selection of www.fragoutmag.com