Source: ChannelNewsAsia

Posted: 30 May 2004 0710 hrs

Britain to sell off up to 50 Eurofighters: report

LONDON : Britain is to sell off up to 50 brand new Eurofighters to Austria and Singapore after being left red-faced over the escalating cost of the project, a British newspaper said on Sunday.

Britain will receive the bulk of the 232 Eurofighters it has committed to, despite concerns that the aircraft - 10 years behind schedule and way over budget - is not suitable for modern warfare, the Sunday Telegraph said.

Austria has agreed to purchase 18 aircraft, while Greece, which had said it was interested in buying 60 British Eurofighters, has deferred a decision until after the Olympic Games in August.

Singapore has agreed to buy an unspecified number the British Eurofighters, the newspaper said.

Britain's Royal Air Force, which has already taken delivery of six of the aircraft, had agreed to buy the Eurofighters in three tranches of 55, 88 and 89 over the next 10 years.

The arrival of the remaining 49 from the first package will be delayed if required by other countries, the Sunday Telegraph said.

Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram hinted in parliament last week that Britain was keen to sell on some of the Eurofighters.

"Some consideration has been given to the scope to provide for early export of Eurofighter to potential overseas customers," he said.

Britain's Evening Standard newspaper reported in April that test pilots had found problems with the fighter plane's computer systems and information displays.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a multi-role combat jet with a range of 2,500 kilometres and can be equipped with a mix of missiles depending on its mission.

It is built by a four-nation consortium involving the French-Spanish-German group EADS, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Alenia, but is four years behind schedule and hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) over budget.

Besides Britain, Italy has ordered 121 Eurofighters and Spain 87.

Last month, Germany officially put its first five Eurofighters into service in the northern city of Rostock. They will mainly be used for training.

Each Eurofighter costs about 80 million euros (US$96 million). - AFP

Source: Sunday Telegraph

MoD to sell off undelivered Eurofighters

By Sean Rayment Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 30/05/2004)

The Ministry of Defence is seeking to sell off dozens of Eurofighter aircraft before it has even received them in an attempt to avoid further embarrassment over the escalating cost of the project.

The Government is committed to buying 232 Eurofighters despite concerns that the aircraft, which is 10 years behind schedule and £5.4 billion overspent on a budget of about £15 billion, is already outdated and not suited for modern warfare.

Ministers are now planning to sell up to 50 of the jets to Austria and Singapore instead of first re-equipping the Royal Air Force. The aircraft, which cost about £43 million each, could even be sold off at a loss if a country bids for a large number of them. Other countries on a list of potential purchasers include Norway and South Korea.

Austria has agreed to purchase 18 aircraft, while Greece, which had said it was interested in buying 60 British Eurofighters, has deferred a decision on the final contract until after the Olympic Games.

The Government had agreed to buy its Eurofighters in three separate packages of 55, 88 and 89, over the next 10 years as part of a joint project with Germany, Italy and Spain.

The RAF has already taken delivery of six of the aircraft, which are being used to train pilots. The arrival of the remaining 49 from the first tranche will be delayed, however, if required by other countries.

Although senior RAF officers have tried to argue that the full complement of 232 aircraft is essential for the security of Britain, the heads of the Army and the Royal Navy have convinced the Government that the money could be better used on more relevant defence projects.

The decision to sell off some of Britain's Eurofighters was disclosed by Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces minister, in a reply to a parliamentary question by Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat MP.

Mr Ingram said: "Some consideration has been given to the scope to provide for early export of Eurofighter to potential overseas customers.

"If pursued, a sale might be accomplished by adjusting the delivery profile to the RAF. The RAF remains, however, the primary customer for these aircraft and any decision made will take full account of its requirements."

Paul Keetch, the defence spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said: "If other countries get their hands on Eurofighter it will be a blow to our pilots who have been waiting for this plane for years.

"The fact that the Ministry of Defence is trying to sell off planes ordered for the RAF might make financial sense, but it is a damning indictment of government procurement strategy."

The embarrassing revelation comes just days after it emerged that the Eurofighter's test pilots had been told to avoid flying through clouds because computer problems risked throwing the aircraft into a "catastrophic spin".

In a leaked report by a test pilot it emerged that the computer had a tendency to switch from flight mode to ground mode while still in the air.

Eurofighter was originally conceived 30 years ago to attack formations of Soviet bombers attempting to penetrate Western airspace before a full-scale invasion of Europe.

When the threat of invasion disappeared with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the aircraft was remodelled to become a multi-role aircraft. The project has since been beset with a succession of problems, which have delayed the arrival of the aircraft and pushed up the cost.

Two weeks ago, Mr Ingram was also forced to admit that the separate £25 billion Joint Strike Fighter project was also facing serious difficulties after it emerged that the aircraft, which is due to replace the Harrier jump jet, was more than 3,000lb too heavy to fly safely.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed that the Government was examining a deal that would see Eurofighters delivered to the Austrian air force before being delivered to the RAF.

All Eurofighters were recently grounded because of problems with landing gear and brakes - a problem described by the manufacturers, British AerospaceSystems, as "teething troubles".

In 2002, during a test flight, a Spanish Eurofighter crashed after both of its engines failed. Both crew ejected and survived.

looks like CNA jump the gun and re-interpreted the news wrongly...

scare the hell out of me... to even think we would even consider the typhoon when they didnt even bother to show up on AA2004 and the subsequent trials in singapore vs RAFAEL and F-15.



and with the F-15 being raped in india... things are looking up for the rafael....

Well Well….hope we dun go with the Typhoon sia…

Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday it was examining the rate at which it takes delivery of Eurofighter jets, after a newspaper report said some orders could be diverted to countries including Austria.

"Nothing is decided but we're looking at our delivery rates," a ministry spokesman said.

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that the government was considering a deal that would see Eurofighters delivered to the Austrian air force before Britain. The paper also named Singapore, Norway and South Korea among potential buyers.

However, the spokesman said that the ministry was still committed to taking the same total number of aircraft.

"Examining the delivery rate is not the same as reconsidering the quantity of aircraft. We certainly still expect to procure the same number of aircraft," he said.

Key manufacturers on the programme are Airbus parent EADS , Britain's BAE Systems and Alenia Aeronautica of Italy.

Copyright 2004, Reuters News

http://www.forbes.com/business/manufacturing/newswire/2004/05/29/rtr1389239.html

Will they throw into the deal some refurbished Spitfires and WWII Typhoons, how about a Lancaster? I need a few to spruce up my garage/hangar. Also to buzz the noisy neighbours across the street.

Originally posted by tripwire:

looks like CNA jump the gun and re-interpreted the news wrongly...

scare the hell out of me... to even think we would even consider the typhoon when they didnt even bother to show up on AA2004 and the subsequent trials in singapore vs RAFAEL and F-15.



and with the F-15 being raped in india... things are looking up for the rafael....

the EF-2000 wasnt suppose to turn up for those trials...it's trial is sometime around now or july......not confirm if they coming anot though.

Originally posted by ferret69:

Will they throw into the deal some refurbished Spitfires and WWII Typhoons, how about a Lancaster? I need a few to spruce up my garage/hangar. Also to buzz the noisy neighbours across the street.

Lancasters and the old Typhoons? Any flying examples these days? I know the Spitfire still flies in the hands of private owners.

Not too sure about the Typhoons or Lancaster, but the most exotic that I do know of is the
Me-262
http://www.stormbirds.com/project/index.html

Bet you would want to have one of those in your backyard

Originally posted by bcoy:

Lancasters and the old Typhoons? Any flying examples these days? I know the Spitfire still flies in the hands of private owners.

Originally posted by |-|05|:

the EF-2000 wasnt suppose to turn up for those trials...it's trial is sometime around now or july......not confirm if they coming anot though.

better dont... we are a tropical country... rain almost every week.. now plus indonesian forest fire smoking us... the last thing i want is a typhoon dropping on my head becuase its engine cant take the water or the smoke

Haha….. disprite all these so call news, think the final RSAF will go for RAFAEL which seem like the most cost effective of the 3 fighters.

Saw an article in Flight International that the Typhoons will be here next month, with at least 2 coming...so don't rule 'em out too soon.

SAF is more likely to buy a French fighter … and when that happens, stock market players, it’s time to accumulate some ST Engg shares …

the claim that sg bought the eurofighters was made by the Sunday Telegraph. IIRC this is a very sensational tabloid that goes after things like Who Slept With David Beckham. half of what is says is prob bullsh*t so take the news wif a very big pinch of salt.

dont panic folks. i think we'll still get the rafale

Originally posted by storywolf:

Haha..... disprite all these so call news, think the final RSAF will go for RAFAEL which seem like the most cost effective of the 3 fighters.

cost effective? maybe maybe not.....since i think the EF-2000 more integrated with US system since the brits are a major us ally

Let's not forget the most obvious answer to this.

MOST COST EFFECTIVE ANSWER is to buy more F-16s maybe in the guise of the F-16XL .......still a single engine configuration but then so is the JSF!

If Mindef really go for Typhoon........then it must come with a 'deal' to give every Singaporean a British passport because that's what we'll need!

Even the Aussies are extending their F-18s as a fallback to the JSF!

Of course they have the F-111s........

Originally posted by Fairyland:

Let's not forget the most obvious answer to this.

MOST COST EFFECTIVE ANSWER is to buy more F-16s maybe in the guise of the F-16XL .......still a single engine configuration but then so is the JSF!

If Mindef really go for Typhoon........then it must come with a 'deal' to give every Singaporean a British passport because that's what we'll need!

Even the Aussies are extending their F-18s as a fallback to the JSF!

Of course they have the F-111s........

Too bad the F16XL is not in the market, for it to be use by us alone, it be more expensive than the rafale. Also the JSF is too far away for delievery.

Originally posted by |-|05|:

cost effective? maybe maybe not.....since i think the EF-2000 more integrated with US system since the brits are a major us ally

Don't write off the french rafale, no decent fighter pilot will forgot that, the six day war, how the mirage III perform. The french are one of the leading producer of military hardwares.

You can be sure that Singapore will get a deal that cover the integration with US and other system, and it will still be cheaper then the EF-2000.

To be Continue..... Topic : Singapore's New Generation Fighter

Rafael is an Israeli company, Rafale is the actual name…..please don’t get it wrong….ok…back to topic…....today Streats also have the news

Originally posted by storywolf:

Don't write off the french rafale, no decent fighter pilot will forgot that, the six day war, how the mirage III perform. The french are one of the leading producer of military hardwares.

You can be sure that Singapore will get a deal that cover the integration with US and other system, and it will still be cheaper then the EF-2000.

not writting it off....i'm just pointing out that we should not write off the EF-2000.

CLARIFICATION OF ERRONEOUS MEDIA REPORTS ON SELECTION OF NEXT GENERATION FIGHTER

We refer to the reports, ‘Eurofighters headed here’ by STREATS (page 8, 31 May 2004) and ‘UK will be selling 50 Eurofighters to Austria and Singapore’ by Zao Bao (page 19, 31 May 2004).

Both reports said that Singapore had agreed to buy an unspecified number of the UK’s Eurofighter aircraft. The reports are erroneous. The three shortlisted candidates for our Next Generation Fighter Programme – the F-15T, Rafale and Eurofighter – are still undergoing flight trials and technical evaluation. A decision is not likely until next year.

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/display.asp?number=2109

To be Continue..... Topic : Singapore's New Generation Fighter