Eurofighter Typhoon Storm Shadow Ground Test Completed

Engineers at Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi in Turin-Caselle, Italy, and at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, completed a series of ground-based tests of the Eurofighter Typhoon with MBDA’sStorm Shadow cruise missile, in preparation for flight trials to take place in the U.K. later this year.

Engineers fitted Italian Instrumented Production Aircraft 2 (IPA2) and UK production Typhoon aircraft BS111 with two MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missiles for ground-based Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) tests. EMC testing ensures the integrity of the electrical systems onboard the aircraft and the missile. Following these tests, the missiles have been prepared for flight by positioning a series of laser tracking points which will allow engineers to accurately analyze the trajectory of the weapon when released from the aircraft.

Italian aerospace and defense company Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi leads the program to integrate Storm Shadow onto Typhoon with the support of MBDA engineers. The company, supported by engineers from BAE Systems, will also lead the U.K.-based flight trials, which will build upon previous trials in Italy that saw the first successful release of a Storm Shadow from a Typhoon. The trials will involve the missile being released from Italian IPA2 aircraft to collect safe weapons separation trajectory data and to verify the correct release sequence of the missile.

MBDA’s Storm Shadow combat-proven cruise missile, already in service with the Italian Air Force and Royal Air Force Tornados, is a conventionally armed, stealthy, long-range, stand-off precision weapon. It will add new capability to strike in all-weather conditions, well-defended infrastructure targets, such as port facilities, control centres, bunkers, missile sites, airfields and bridges that would otherwise require several aircraft and missions.

Eurofighter Typhoon is an advanced, new generation swing-role combat aircraft currently available on the world market. Seven nations (Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia, and Oman) have already ordered the Eurofighter Typhoon. Eurofighter Typhoon is currently the largest military procurement program in Europe.

“Its high technology strengthens the position of European aerospace industry in the international market,” officials say. “The program secures more than 100,000 jobs in 400 companies.”

Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH manages the program on behalf of the Eurofighter Partner Companies: Finmeccanica - Alenia Aermacchi, BAE Systems, and Airbus Defence and Space in Germany and Spain.

Since delivery of the first Eurofighter Typhoon to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom at the end of 2003, a total of 436 aircraft have been delivered to six nations and close to 300,000 flying hours have been achieved.