Eurofighter Typhoon sales: what a difference a decade makes
The 2010s saw a number of export contracts for Typhoons placed by Middle Eastern air forces. (Photo: BAE Systems)
In the second week of August, BAE Systems released a statement confirming that 12 of 24 Typhoon Tranche 3 models had now arrived in Qatar. Despite this favourable export news, the aircraft’s industrial future remains somewhat clouded.
Although the Typhoon is regarded as an excellent aircraft, it suffers from several shortcomings. Its four partner nations had differing perspectives and enthusiasm for investment from the outset, and from an export viewpoint, this complicates government-to-government and commercial negotiations.
The upgrade path has been erratic, particularly compared to France’s Rafale, and the aircraft is complex and expensive to operate (published Austrian figures of around €77,000 per hour did not help). But seen as an export proposition, a summation of these and some wider issues seems to suggest it has lost its market niche.
Why have there been no recent export
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