Post by mstokes on Aug 22, 2008 11:10:08 GMT 12
The Eurofighter would certainly be a great platform for New Zealand, given that the aircrraft has been designed to operate at the cheapest running costs and efficiencies to flight hour to maintenance hours.
The aircraft is also a highly variable platform, as I believe that Italy, Germany, the UK and Spain all had different requirements for the aircraft, so it was designed with versatility in mind and usually what is required to chang the role of the aircraft is to flick the software in it. I believe they call these developments Tranche, and this is where the aircraft is updated based on software updates rather than airframe modifications.
I know the Eurofighter is capable of air defence and ground attack, however knowing the demands or European operators, I would not be surprised to see it capable of using the Penguin air to surface missile that was retrofitted to European F16's.
It would be lovely to have a squadron of them, however at around 57 million pounds apiece it could be a bit of a stretch.
However I have noticed that Austria purchased 15 German surplus Tranche 1 models (who then got 15 Tranche 2 in return) so maybe some deal could be arranged?
Also, in the tradition of European vehicle manufacturing, the Eurofighter has a global update (and remanufacturing?) centre in Germany in which every aircraft is like a car under warranty! certainly could help reduce independent maintenance costs, however the RNZAF would probably need a tanker to help get the aircraft back to ensure warranty is not voided
Would be an experience to fly one, apparently 70 computers halp with control inputs to maintain controlled flight, part of it's unbelievable handling is the fact that the aircraft is inherently unstable and'left to the pilot would probably quickly leave controlled flight!
The aircraft is also a highly variable platform, as I believe that Italy, Germany, the UK and Spain all had different requirements for the aircraft, so it was designed with versatility in mind and usually what is required to chang the role of the aircraft is to flick the software in it. I believe they call these developments Tranche, and this is where the aircraft is updated based on software updates rather than airframe modifications.
I know the Eurofighter is capable of air defence and ground attack, however knowing the demands or European operators, I would not be surprised to see it capable of using the Penguin air to surface missile that was retrofitted to European F16's.
It would be lovely to have a squadron of them, however at around 57 million pounds apiece it could be a bit of a stretch.
However I have noticed that Austria purchased 15 German surplus Tranche 1 models (who then got 15 Tranche 2 in return) so maybe some deal could be arranged?
Also, in the tradition of European vehicle manufacturing, the Eurofighter has a global update (and remanufacturing?) centre in Germany in which every aircraft is like a car under warranty! certainly could help reduce independent maintenance costs, however the RNZAF would probably need a tanker to help get the aircraft back to ensure warranty is not voided
Would be an experience to fly one, apparently 70 computers halp with control inputs to maintain controlled flight, part of it's unbelievable handling is the fact that the aircraft is inherently unstable and'left to the pilot would probably quickly leave controlled flight!