Wed, Jul 08, 2009
Tests For Aircraft Control With Full Weaponry
Eurofighter Typhoon's Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA)
have been busy lately, pushing forward in the testing of the fleet
of development aircraft. IPA 7 recently completed a Paveway IV bomb
handling, qualities familiarizing flight at EADS site in Manching.
The flight which took two hours and seven minutes saw the aircraft
flying with six Paveway IV bombs, four MRAMMs and two SRAAMs
missiles on board. Proving the true swing role configuration of the
aircraft which only the Eurofighter Typhoon can have with such a
range of defence systems. This test was important in order to prove
how the Flight Control System (FCS) reacts with full weaponry
loaded. Flown by EADS test pilot Martin Angerer, the successful
flight is a key stage in the Phase 1 Enhancements.
Being fully utilized to support IPA 6 in avionics testing, IPA 7
has also completed five Missile Approach Warning (MAW) flights,
carried out with the support of a Luftwaffe F-4 Phantom and a
Tornado. Come August, a UK based RAF Harrier will also contribute
to the MAW trials.
IPA6 has recently undergone a series of DASS test flights as
well as Helmet Equipment Assembly (HEA) and Forward Looking
Infra-Red (FLIR) flights. IPA 6 is the test bed for the Service
Release Package 5.1 which is due to be introduced to in-service
aircraft in the near future.
Further recently successful testing saw IPA 1, the UK
owned Typhoon aircraft, commence a sequence of fifteen Paveway IV
jettison drops. To date 3 successful drops have been performed. The
trials see Paveway IV's dropped in a number of store configurations
to ensure safe separation and verify that bombs do not interfere
with their neighbors when released. Carried out over the Irish Sea
with a full load of weapons, RAF pilots Rob Elworthy, Duncan Forbes
along with Mark Bowman and Paul Stone, test pilots from BAE Systems
Warton base, flew the aircraft during the trials
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