Article Posted on : - Jan 25, 2011

Eurofighter 2000 fighters of the Italian Air Force. An Eurofighter GmbH photo

HALLBERGMOOS, GERMANY (BNS): Alenia Aeronautica, a partner company of Eurofighter GmbH, has recently delivered five Eurofighter Typhoons to Italy.

The aircraft, designated IS037, IS039, IS040, IS041, IT011, were handed over to the Italian Air Force on a single day on December 28, 2010.

With this, the total number of Eurofighter deliveries in 2010 went up to 51 – far higher than had been predicted, Eurofighter said.

The company, on December 22, 2010, had also delivered another Eurofighter to Italy which was the 250th such fighter delivered to the four core customer nations of the programme – Germany, Italy, Spain and UK – since 2003 when the first Eurofighter was delivered.

A twin-engine multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft produced by the European consortium Eurofighter GmbH, Eurofighter Typhoon has been ordered by six countries so far that includes Austria and Saudi Arabia besides the four partnering nations.

Italy, however, had announced last year to bring down its original planned purchase for 121 such fighters to 96 in order to save around $2.6 billion as part of a national debt reduction plan.