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In 2007 the RAF finally took the first deliveries of the very pretty, very agile, and very expensive Eurofighter or Typhoon aircraft. This monstrously expensive white elephant is officially ‘just’ 4 years late although it has taken over 20 years to develop at cost the UK alone a whopping 19 Billion pounds - nearly 3 times the original quoted cost of £7 Billion!

Those magnificent men in their flying machine! The Eurofighter Typhoon - darling of the airshows but is it any use? Is it bankrupting the rest of the armed forces?

Unfortunately the Euro fighter was designed to defend the UK mainland from the threat of Soviet bombers and escorting fighters – a threat that currently does not exist. While it is prudent to have air defence for the UK in the future, if this money had been spent on developing a naval carrier-based fighter it would have been far more use in the current climate of overseas involvement but could just as easily contribute to UK mainland defence. Additionally, for a fraction of the cost, the UK could have purchased (or manufactured under license) existing US fighter designs but political considerations and a desire to been seen to be co-operating with our beloved European partners over-ruled such common sense.

A Euro fiasco
The whole project has been a fiasco, mainly by trying to involve European partners with different requirements and budgets. Bitter experience shows that most large defence projects with European countries that are meant to save money actually mean delays and cost more (Eg the European NFR 90 and then the ‘Horizon frigate’ which the UK thankfully gave up on and went for the UK-only, but now delayed, Type 45 destroyers).

Eurofighter is the triumph of politics over common sense. A series of defence ministers (and civil servants), lacking the guts to cancel the project merely kept paying the huge bills and passed the problem on to their successor, knowing that in the long run it will be someone else’s who has to sort out the mess after they are long gone. Nobody seems to be held to account for this debacle and it looks likely the whole sorry story may be repeated again for future procurement programs.

White Elephant
The UK committed itself to a massive order of 232 in 3 batches or ‘tranches’ in order to keep the program from faltering. This order was made with such legally binding clauses that even though we don’t need so many aircraft it is virtually impossible to cancel them and spend the money on urgently needed items.

The Typhoon is in some ways a remarkable aircraft, amongst the best fighters in the world. It is incredibly agile would be great in dogfights against other fighters. However it’s shortcomings are even more remarkable, given its price tag. Its weapons and radar are far from ready for the frontline and most aircraft will have to be ‘upgraded’ long after they are delivered in order to meet basic requirements. In the ground attack role which they would actually be most useful they are poorly equipped and will require yet more 'upgrading' at a later date. The last time a British fighter aircraft engaged another aircraft was over 25 years ago in the Falklands war and tellingly, they were RN carrier-based Harriers. However UK aircraft have carried out many ground-attack missions in recent years in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

During the August 2007 intrusion by Russian reconnaissance planes close to British airspace, the RAF proudly showed off photos of Typhoons escorting the Russians away. What they didn't show was the old Tornado aircraft that took the photos and that actually had the weapons to warn them off. The Typhoon (At approximately £80 million each) is still unready for combat and was just there for show. In fact about the only positive thing to say about the Eurofighter folly is that about 16,000 people are employed by the program in the UK.

Harrier GR9 ground attack specialist but little use for defending the fleet.

Typhoon - paid for by cuts
The purchase of the Typhoon is by far the biggest drain on the defence budget in recent years. (If we accept the government line that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not being paid for from the defence budget) Although the RAF has also suffered cuts, the cost of the Typhoon has undoubtedly contributed to the lack of funds for the RN.

The Typhoon has very limited use compared to the flexibility of carrier based aircraft. Carrier aircraft can go all over the world and do not need friendly airfields in order to deploy. The very presence of a carrier off a coastline can exert a huge influence without the need for aircraft to even get airborne. Carrier aircraft are more robust and can use local airfields or spend extended periods at sea. If the money spent on Typhoon had been spent on new carriers and the development of a naval fighter/bomber (to replace the Harrier FRS2) the UK would be in a far stronger position now.

The new carriers that are now being built have a big question mark over what aircraft they will be armed with. The Typhoon has no potential for conversion to a carrier borne aircraft and the "Joint Strike Fighter" program in partnership with the US that is supposed to provide the aircraft for the new carriers is troubled.

Since the Harrier FRS2 aircraft were decommissioned prematurely to save cash, the RN has no fighters to defend the fleet. At present the only area air defence for the fleet relies on the ancient Sea Dart missile system carried on 8 elderly Type 42 destroyers. Also most seriously, the Fleet air arm now has no specialist fighter pilots. They have all (resigned?) or been converted to fly the ground attack GR9 Harrier. Where will the RN find the experienced pilots needed to operate the JSF if and when it finally flies? The RAF has always been keen to get its hands on the Fleet Air Arm (going back to the 1930s) RN pilots now fly from RAF bases and the new Joint Force Harrier is manned by a mix or RN and RAF personnel. Inter-service co-operation is always desirable but there is no substitute for the RN having it's own fighters under its own control. This lesson has been learned over and over from Crete 1941 to the Falklands 1982.