Article Posted on : - Jul 19, 2011

Eurofighter Typhoon

LONDON (PTI): As India prepares to open the commercial bids for the USD 10.8 billion tender for 126 medium range multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), Eurofighter hopes to make the country a partner in its Typhoon fighter jet programme which it says would be a game-changer.

"We are offering India to become a full participant in the programme...fully or partially whatever India chooses to do...get involved in future developments. Combat aircraft programme never stops. It will operate over decades," said Peter Maute, Senior Vice-President of Cassidian Air Systems, the security and defence company of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).

Quoting an independent study, Maute said choosing Eurofighter Typhoon would create more than 20,000 high skilled jobs in India.

The European consortium hopes that the offer to make India a full industrial participant in the Eurofighter Typhoon programme would be a game-changer.

According to Eurofighter officials, 280 Typhoons have already been delivered out of the 707 aircraft on contract to Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Austria and Saudi Arabia.

Asked if Eurofighter is willing to "give away" its unique selling propositions, source codes of radars and design for the "sake of 126 units", the consortium said it would not be an issue if India becomes a partner of the Eurofighter programme.

In the meanwhile, the Eurofighter partner countries of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are doing all they can to showcase and aggressively promote Typhoon as the world's most advanced swing-role combat aircraft.