China View: Germany, Italy, Spain and UK to order Eurofighter

Four E.U. nations will go ahead with a new set of orders for the Eurofighter, which has been a bit revamped to increase its ground attack ability. Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. will spend about $17 billion to buy 236 planes, signing the deal as early as this week. This order was put on ice for two years, largely due to British concerns that the plane – which is now more than three times as expensive as originally planned – had anemic ground engagement capabilities. The program is six years behind schedule. The 20 year old Eurofighter program is Europe’s largest defense program, including about 400 suppliers. Boosters hope that the new order will help the plane’s credibility and salability in the broader defense market. The new order includes some development costs as well as the aircraft production, but leaves out weaponry, support and maintenance. More…

The U.K. intends to use Brimstone anti-tank missiles, Storm Shadow stand-off bombs and Paveway II laser-guided bombs on this next batch. Germany and Spain have indicated they will use Taurus ground-attack missiles and GBU guided bombs.

The delay in this second tranche of orders forced the manufacturers to slow the first order’s delivery so that the production lines stayed open. So far, the only non-participant customer has been Austria, buyer of 18 planes. Greece and Singapore are also considering orders.