A Royal Air Force Typhoon has received special markings to mark the global fleet of Eurofighter aircraft passing the 500,000 flying hours mark.
“Passing the 500,000 flying hours milestone underscores the fact that today Eurofighter Typhoon is the backbone of NATO’s European air defence.
“But, looking to future horizons, it will continue to be developed to defend against all threats for decades to come. The aircraft will play a key role in the future battlespace, and will be a central pillar in any future European combat air system, developing and integrating key technologies that will feed in to that future system.”
Volker Paltzo
CEO of Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH
The RAF Typhoon Force is steadily growing. In July this year 12 Squadron reformed to operate Typhoon and next year IX(B) Squadron, which currently flies Tornado, will stand up at RAF Lossiemouth.
The Eurofighter Typhoon has rapidly accumulated hours across the fleet, particularly in recent years, following an increase in the tempo of air policing and combat operations. The RAF will return to the Baltic to conduct air policing next year, and also undertake the same mission in Iceland for the first time.
With a total of 623 aircraft ordered to date the Typhoon is currently the largest military procurement programme in Europe. Typhoon is an advanced swing-role combat aircraft and can be deployed in the full spectrum of air operations including air policing, peace support and high intensity conflict.