Eurofighter’s Upgrades: Enough? In Time?

Future Typhoon
weapons array?

At the opening of the Farnborough 2012 defense exhibition, British Prime Minister David Cameron discussed the Eurofighter’s future:

“Typhoon’s growth potential is huge and the four partner nations, Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK have agreed the next steps required to further exploit this. The integration of the METEOR missile, an Electronically Scanned Radar, enhancements of the Defensive Aids System, further development of the air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities and integration of new weapons.”

All of these capabilities will be welcome. Indeed, all are necessary, in order to address key platform weaknesses, and keep the plane competitive in the international marketplace as a multi-role fighter. A short synopsis of each aspect follows.

Rapid Fire July 10, 2012: Always Be Shipping | Australian Plans

• Afghan logistics are a high priority for NATO members in what remains a tense, entangled situation. Use of the Ulyanovsk airport in Russia should start next month, while Pakistan is expanding capacity at the Torkham border crossing. A lot of trucks still seem stuck in Karachi for the time being. Some Islamic clerics protested Pakistan’s border deal with the US over the weekend, followed by an attack killing 8 Pakistani soldiers yesterday. The Obama administration agreed to release withheld Coalition Support Funds, but this may have to gain approval in the Senate.

• Jeffrey Zients, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget since the beginning of the year, will testify in front of the House Armed Services Committee next month on the Administration plans, if any, to deal with sequestration. One scenario that has emerged is for budget cuts to remain largely on the table, but executed in a more structured and less precipitated way than the ham-fisted sequester. Zients will tell Representatives that it’s their mess to clean up.

• The Australian DoD published its 2012 Defence Capability Plan [PDF]. The DCP shows projected procurement and sustainment spending by sector over the 2012-2016 period and outlines schedules for 111 projects worth about AUD $153B (about the same in US dollars).