Wed, Oct 22, 2008
Up To 20 Planes To Be Delivered Annually Over Seven Years
Britain's Royal Air Force has taken delivery of the first of 91
new Typhoon combat aircraft, ordered four years ago and delivered
on time. New Defence Equipment and Support Minister Quentin Davies
was at RAF Coningsby to witness the arrival of the second
generation Typhoons.
The two aircraft flew in from BAE Systems' Warton factory in
Lancashire to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, where they will
shortly be released for flight trials, and are expected to join
front line UK-based air defence squadrons in January 2009.
"Typhoon is delivering a world-class capability to the RAF and
is the cornerstone of the UK's air defence capabilities," said
Davies. Today's arrival of the second Tranche is an important
milestone delivering to the RAF an aircraft with more powerful
computer systems and the ability to carry heavier weapons -the next
generation of Typhoon.
"Typhoon directly employs some 16,000 aerospace and engineering
staff in some of the UK's leading companies. Militarily and
industrially this program is successfully delivering the
capabilities the country needs."
The production of Typhoon Tranche 2 will maintain 16,000 direct
jobs within UK's defence industry, through its principal
contractors BAE Systems on its sites in Warton and Samlesbury in
Lancashire and Rolls Royce in Bristol. Other key suppliers include
Selex Galileo in Edinburgh.
"Maintaining the flow of these advanced aircraft to front line
RAF squadrons is very important," said Chief of the Air Staff, Air
Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torp. "Typhoon has now been operational in
the air defence role for over a year and recently achieved its
multi-role capability. I am confident that forthcoming exercises
and deployments will provide further demonstration of its
qualities."
The RAF expects to take delivery of between 6-20 Typhoon
aircraft annually for the next seven years under the Typhoon
Tranche 2 contract.
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