Eurofighter Typhoon DA4

DA4, built by BAE Systems, was the programme's first two-seater. It first flew on 14 March 1997 with Derek Reeh at the controls and made its first supercruise flights on 20 February 1998. Lightning strike trials were carried out at Warton between May and June 1998. On 28 April 1999 the autopilot and autothrottle were activated, and on 17 June that year the aircraft made the first flight with the helmet-mounted display; the first flight with missile approach warners followed after 2000. Ground testing of the DASS began in 2001, followed by an upgrade of the onboard electrical generation and the avionics, with flight testing resuming in November 2001. In January 2002 DA4 and DA2 performed the first double air-to-air refuelling. Weapons integration trials followed, with the first AMRAAM fired against a drone on 9 April 2002. The aircraft also achieved the first air-to-air refuelling of a two-seater, the first with external tanks and the first at night, and flew the longest Eurofighter sortie to that date at four hours and twenty-two minutes. From 2002 it supported electronic support measures testing and, from March 2004, direct voice input flights. An improved flight control system was fitted in September 2004, and in February 2005 the aircraft shot down a drone with an AMRAAM. On 13 December 2006 it was moved to RAF Coningsby, where the airframe was used for training purposes. It belongs to the Imperial War Museum collection.