Eurofighter partner company Alenia Aermacchi has confirmed that the primary in an important series of flight tests to integrate the MBDA Storm Shadow missile onto Eurofighter Typhoon has now taken place.
Initial flight trials to illustrate that the missile could be safely carried was successfully started. The rigors began on 27th November, by the Alenia Aermacchi Flight Test Centre at Decimomannu Air Base, in Sardinia, Italy, with the support of the Eurofighter Partner Companies, BAE Systems and Cassidian.
The intensive flight test programme began with flutter tests and an air data system large store interference assessment, using Instrumented Production Aircraft 2 (IPA2) updated to the Phase 1 Enhancement standard.
The Chief Executive Officer of Eurofighter GmbH, Alberto Gutierrez, said: “The successful start of the flight tests is excellent news for our programme. It really is one among quite a lot of enhancements which are approaching stream and there are a lot of more to return. Storm Shadow is an immense leap forward significantly increasing the air-to-ground capabilities of the Eurofighter Typhoon.”
The Storm Shadow, already in service with the Italian Air Force and Royal Air Force Tornados, is a conventionally armed, stealthy, long-range stand-off precision weapon designed to neutralise high value targets. The hot weapons systems will add the aptitude to strike in day or night in all-climatic conditions, well-defended infrastructure targets similar to port facilities, control centres, bunkers, missile sites, airfields and bridges that could otherwise require several aircraft and missions. This can be a new addition to the Eurofighter Typhoon’s potent simultaneous multi-/swing-role capabilities,
Powered by a turbo-jet engine, with a spread in far more than 250 km, the Storm Shadow missile weighs approximately 1.300kg and is simply over 5 metres long. Will probably be available to operators from 2015 when the Eurofighter Typhoon Phase 2 Enhancements become operational.
Storm Shadow will provide a vital leap within the Eurofighter Typhoon’s operational capabilities, enabling the platform to deploy multiple weapons at a truly long range well away from danger from air defences.
Background information:
Eurofighter Typhoon is the main advanced new generation multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft currently available at the world market. Seven customers (Germany, the uk, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia and Oman) have already ordered the Eurofighter Typhoon. With 719 aircraft under contract and 571 on order, Eurofighter Typhoon is currently the biggest military procurement programme in Europe.
Its high technology strengthens the location of European aerospace industry within the international market. The programme secures greater than 100,000 jobs in 400 companies. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH manages the programme on behalf of the Eurofighter Partner Companies Alenia Aermacchi/Finmeccanica, BAE Systems and Cassidian in Germany and Spain, that are the major aviation and aerospace companies in Europe with a turnover of about 126 billion euro (2012).
Since the primary Typhoon entered service in 2003, greater than 380 Eurofighter were dropped at six countries: Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Austria and Saudi Arabia. The seventh customer, Oman ordered a complete of 12 aircraft in December 2012. Before, the combined Eurofighter fleet has completed greater than 200,000 flying hours.
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