RUSI report on airpower welcomed by Eurofighter CEO
Above:
Eurofighter Typhoons.
Courtesy MoD / Crown Copyright
Alberto Gutierrez (right) says the RUSI report proves beyond doubt the case for further investment in the aircraft programme to bring out the full potential of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The Munich-based Eurofighter CEO said: “Given the current fragile geo-political situation we believe this is a timely and important report that deserves a far wider audience.”
The Report states that ‘the Eurofighter’s combination of high thrust-to-weight ratio, manoeuvrability at all speeds, 65,000-foot service ceiling, supercruise capability, powerful radar and large missile load ensures that it outclasses any currently operational fighter aircraft in the world with the exception of the US F-22 Raptor.’
“This is hugely encouraging,” says the Eurofighter CEO. “It is also noteworthy that the Report underlines the fact ‘the Eurofighter Typhoon will provide the backbone of Europe’s combat air power for at least a decade on from 2020’ and makes clear that the aircraft is expected to be ‘more than a match for any enemy aircraft well beyond 2030’.”
Gutierrez notes that, at the heart of the report, is a call for a continued ‘relatively modest level of sustained funding’ in the Programme to ‘fully optimise the aircraft’s multirole capabilities’. He says: “We believe this report is positive and encouraging because it makes such a strong case for the aircraft. It also demonstrates the value of investing in Eurofighter which is a long-term investment in the defence and security of those nations who operate our combat aircraft.”
Recent investments in the Eurofighter Programme around E-Scan radar, Brimstone, Storm Shadow and Meteor missiles and new launcher systems, have all been well-received.
The author of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) ‘Whitehall Report’ is Justin Bronk, a research analyst specialising in air power and technology in the Military Sciences team at RUSI.
The full Report can be found at: www.rusi.org/downloads/assets/WHR_1-15_Maximising_European_Combat_Air_Power.pdf
