20 JULY, 2017 SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM BY: CRAIG HOYLE LONDON
The UK Royal Air Force is to enhance the
capability of its Eurofighter Typhoons by using money saved via a new
in-service support model for the multirole type.
Dubbed the Typhoon total availability enterprise, or
Tytan, the new, 10-year arrangement between the RAF and industry partners BAE
Systems and Leonardo is expected to reduce the Typhoon's per-hour operating
cost by 30-40%. This should equate to a saving of at least £550 million ($712
million), which "will be recycled into the programme", according to
BAE Systems Military Air & Information managing director Chris Boardman.
Introduced one year ago at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire
and RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, the Tytan framework is already delivering
savings, and attracting "phenomenal" interest from other programmes,
including Lockheed Martin's F-35, Boardman says. His goal is for the initiative
to eventually result in the Typhoon having a per-hour operating cost
"equivalent to a [Lockheed] F-16".
"You can't reduce cost by just using the same
system," Boardman says. "We need to get more for less if we're going
to push forward."……Read rest of article: HERE
While a final decision has yet to be reached, operations
with the Tranche 1 aircraft are likely to be dedicated to air-to-air duties,
such as flying quick reaction alert sorties, while they also could support
training activities, acting in an aggressor role. The UK currently has no
funding allocated to enable the early production-standard aircraft to carry
Meteor missiles, so they will continue to operate with Raytheon's AIM-120
AMRAAM.
Duguid says 10 Tranche 3 Typhoons are now operational
with RAF squadrons, with the service having previously taken delivery of
additional examples which have been placed into temporary storage.
Doubt that’s going to happen
Eurofighter vs F-16 Flight Cost Per Hour
Source: aviatia.net
Related post:
Eurofighter Typhoon: Details
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