The five-year support contract will provide a range of engineering services and contribute to the customer’s 30% savings target on Typhoon support. It will also help to sustain UK engineering capability and jobs.
 
The in-service support agreement, known as Contract 1, will introduce significant efficiencies by bringing together a number of legacy contracts and proposed new work into an overarching umbrella contract. It demonstrates a commitment by all parties to the continued development of Typhoon’s capabilities.

 
The order will help to sustain around 600 jobs at BAE Systems' Warton and Samlesbury sites in Lancashire focused on engineering, supply chain and project management. 
 
This work will provide the test and evaluation infrastructure for the future air-to-air and air-to-ground Typhoon capability enhancements announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). The contract will also underpin the essential day-to-day support to air force operations across four nations (Germany, Italy, Spain and UK).
 
Typically the type of engineering support will involve query answering and investigations following customer operations. There are studies ongoing on how to improve availability and reliability to maximise flying hours and reduce cost. Emerging operational requirements for Typhoon will also be covered including for example, the Olympics.
 
Martin Taylor, BAE Systems’ Combat Air support director, said: “This contract is great news for BAE Systems and for the Eurofighter programme as a whole.  Over a five year period the contract will deliver significant savings to the customer and will ensure that we have the skills, capabilities and funding in place to support Typhoon users across Europe.”
 
The BAE Systems element of this contract is part of the wider support contract, which was awarded to the Eurofighter partner companies through NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency). NETMA is the prime customer and management body for the four-nation Eurofighter Typhoon weapon system.

Enzo Casolini , Eurofighter CEO (above, seated left), said: “This contract is important for the Eurofighter programme but also for the nations and the Air Forces. The contract’s goal is not only to deliver savings to the customer, but also guarantee a better management for the processes involved in the sustainability of the aircraft in-service. This can be considered a massive step in supporting the enhancements programme planned for Eurofighter, which is a fantastic, young platform with plenty of development capability still to be exploited”.