Article Posted on : - Dec 10, 2010

EADS D IPA 7 with 6xLGB and 4xAMRAAM and 2xsidewinder from Manching, Germany. Photo by Eurofighter

PARIS (BNS): The Eurofighter IPA 7 test aircraft has completed its 100th flight carrying a new flight software version.

During the flight in November pilot Heinz Spölgen tested the new software's autopilot functions, particularly the one for automatic landing approaches, Eurofighter said in a press release.

The aircraft forms part of the four-nation test fleet and is used with the appropriate software standard for tests of the plane's enhanced capabilities.

The IPA 7 was commissioned in January 2008 as the first series aircraft of the Tranche 2 standard.

The difference between Tranche 2 and Tranche 1 production Eurofighters is their new avionics computer, which distinguishes itself through its higher processing speed and memory capacity.

This superior computer performance is needed for enhanced aerial combat capabilities of the Tranche 2 aircraft, for air-to-ground operations and for the use of long-range guided weapons, it said.