Eurofighter Typhoon IPA7

IPA7 flew on 16 January 2008 as the first and only aircraft to full Tranche 2 standard, with Chris Worning at the controls. Trials with the 500-pound Paveway began around June 2008. That same year missile approach warner tests were flown over the North Sea alongside Luftwaffe F-4 Phantoms and Panavia Tornados, a campaign that continued through 2009. From late 2012 the aircraft has been used for software validation, and from late 2013 for Taurus cruise missile trials: on 15 January 2014 it made the first test flight carrying two KEPD 350 rounds. In mid-2014 additional strakes above the canards and larger rudders were tested, intended to better control the pitch-up moment in flight with conformal fuel tanks, to allow pulling through the stall and to improve roll rates in that regime. Together with IPA4, IPA7 closed the Phase 1 Enhancement flight test campaign on 28 October 2013.