Article Posted on : - Apr 13, 2011

Eurofighter Typhoon

WASHINGTON (BNS): Eurofighter Typhoon has successfully added more air-to-ground capabilities, the company said.

The Eurofighter’s air-to-ground capabilities were further improved last week when its partner company Cassidian Spain achieved the first EGBU-16 precision guided munition avionic release.

The success comes immediately after the first successful Paveway IV release carried out during February in the UK. The trials saw both bomb types being successfully released from Eurofighter aircraft and focused on the functional integration into the weapon system.

The EGBU-16 is the selected dual mode precision guided munition for Germany, Spain and Italy whereas the Paveway IV precision guided bomb is the choice for the UK.

Included in the broad-ranging Phase 1 Enhancement (P1E) programme, both weapons improve the all weather precision attack capability on the Typhoon, a statement issued by the company said.

The Typhoon aircraft has been autonomously air-to-ground capable since 2008 when the RAF successfully integrated the Paveway laser guided bombs with the Litening III laser designation pod on to its Typhoon fleet.

Demonstrating an unrivalled precision, the combination of weapons has been tested during several exercises both in the UK and abroad, confirming the built-in multi-role capability of the Typhoon, it said.