Eurofighter closed out 2024 with two news orders totalling up to 49 jets for Spain and Italy and the signing of a contract to secure the Eurofighter Typhoon’s long-term development.
On 20 December 2024 it was announced that the leaders of the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) and Eurofighter had signed a contract for 25 additional jets for the Spanish Air Force. Known as Halcon II, the Spanish order continues the modernisation of the Spanish Air Force’s Eurofighter fleet and follows the first Halcon order for 20 fighters, made at the ILA show in Berlin in June 2022. The contract covers 21 single-seat and four twin-seat jets, to be delivered between 2030 and 2035, that will replace part of Spain’s legacy F-18 fleet, based in Torrejon and Zaragoza, bringing the total number of Typhoon aircraft in the Spanish Air Force to 115.
The new Spanish Eurofighters will be equipped with advanced avionics, electronically scanned-array (E-Scan) radars, an enhanced weapon suite that includes MBDA’s Brimstone III ground attack missile and Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, new sensors and improved connectivity.
Also on 20 December it was reported that Giancarlo Mezzanatto, chief executive of Eurofighter, and Air Vice Marshal (ret) Simon Ellard, general manager of NETMA, had signed the contract for Part 1 of the Eurofighter’s Long Term Evolution (LTE) Technology Maturation Phase (TMP).
The LTE programme will boost the growth capacity of the Eurofighter through the development of new cockpit, mission computing and flight control computing capabilities, along with new communications equipment and armament controls. In addition, it will be a key enabler for the delivery of future production aircraft, as well as facilitating continued capability enhancements for the remaining life of the Eurofighter.
“LTE will be the major midlife technology upgrade for the Eurofighter, bringing several major enhancements to the jet – specifically to its avionics architecture,” noted Mezzanatto. “There will be an evolution of the cockpit configuration and human machine interface and an expansion in its ability to handle large amounts of data, much faster.
“The signature of the LTE contract demonstrates the commitment of our customers to continue the effectiveness of the Eurofighter aircraft and programme for many years to come. It will also meet the evolving needs of our air forces,” Mezzanatto added.
Then, on 23 December in Rome, the leaders of Eurofighter and NETMA signed a contract covering up to 24 new Eurofighters for the Italian Air Force, which will replace Italian Tranche 1 Typhoons currently in service.
As with the new Halcon II Spanish order, the new Italian Eurofighters will be equipped with advanced avionics, enhanced weapon systems capable of operating Brimstone III and Meteor, new sensors and improved connectivity.
The Eurofighter Typhoon fleet is slated to have a service life that will extend well beyond 2060, with technical enhancements that will allow the aircraft to be fully integrated into Europe’s future air combat environment.
