2008
December 2008
The air force fleet in Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Austria surpassed the 50,000 flying hour mark. The second Italian Eurofighter unit, XII Gruppo, surpasses the 1,000 flying hours mark. First Tranche 2 aircraft for Germany delivered
November 2008
Eurofighter Test Fleet surpasses 6,000 Flying Hours.
In a combined effort of German Air Force, Operational Test Centre WTD 61 and EADS in-flight refuelling trials start with Airbus A310 MRTT. The Italian Air Force concludes in-flight refuelling trials with KC-130J Hercules Tankers. Two German Eurofighter Typhoon are deployed to Emmen, Switzerland, for a flying/technical evaluation. First Tranche 2 aircraft for Italy delivered
October 2008
Spain takes delivery of their first Tranche 2 aircraft SS012 on 24 October.
The first aircraft for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took off for the maiden flight at BAE Systems in Warton on 20 October.
The handover of BS040 to the Royal Air Force on 10 October marks the beginning of Tranche 2 aircraft deliveries to the four partner air forces.
Flight tests for the advanced capabilities covered by the Phase 1 Enhancement (P1E) programme for Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 2 weapon systems commence 24 October 2008 with the first flight of a Paveway IV on Instrumented Production Aircraft IPA2 at Alenia Aeronautica’s facility in Turin, Italy.
September 2008
Following the successful flight tests and the full delivery of the associated
documentation, Type Acceptance for Block 8 (Tranche 2) Eurofighter Typhoon weapon systems has been agreed.
Eurofighter Typhoon of Italy's 4° Stormo fly from Grosseto to Konya in Turkey for
exercise "Anatolian Eagle".
August 2008
Spanish Students of the Leonardo Da Vinci High School in Madrid, Spain, win the
Eurofighter Typhoon Trophy in the 2008 International Aerospace Summer School. The five customer Air Forces and the industrial Flight Test programme see the Eurofighter Typhoon multi-/swing-role combat aircraft surpass the 50,000 flight hours milestone end August.
July 2008
Eurofighter Typhoon begins Air Surveillance in Austria on 1 July under the leadership of the Joint Armed Forces Command, Graz, and the Air Surveillance Command, Wals, of the Austrian military. The Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Sir Clive Loader calls Eurofighter Typhoon “the most operationally flexible aircraft it [the RAF] has ever
had” at RAF Coningsby as the United Kingdom declared their Typhoon force as multirole capable 1 July. Eurofighter Typhoon is exhibited at Farnborough
As of 17 July all five air forces operating Eurofighter Typhoon perform QRA Duty with the type with Spain joining the other four air forces.
Last Tranche 1 aircraft delivered, to Austria
June 2008
The UK Ministry of Defence announces the successful completion of Eurofighter
Typhoon’s participation in the annual Exercise Green Flag at Nellis AFB, USA.
The German Air Force Fighter Wing 74 starts NATO QRA duties with Eurofighter
Typhoon.
May 2008
Eurofighter Typhoon is present at Internationale Luftfahrtausstellung ILA at Berlin. The RAF takes part in 'Exercise Green Flag West' at Nellis Air Base in the US, bringing seven Eurofighter Typhoon aircaft with them and dropping over 80 bombs.
March 2008
For the first time, all four Eurofighter Typhoon core Air Forces from Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom take part in a mutual exercise at Morón Air Force Base, near Sevilla, 10 to 14 March. GT015, a German Twin-Seat aircraft, is the final aircraft out of Tranche 1 destined for the four partner Air Forces of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, delivered March 20, 2008.
January 2008
The Second Tranche of Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids (ASTA) Programme is launched and the next batch of 15 ASTA devices can be delivered The Eurofighter Typhoon fleet in air forces and industry logged over 35,000 flying hours by end 2007. IPA7, the first Tranche 2 aircraft, takes off for its maiden flight at EADS in Manching, Germany