Eurofighter- Typhoon.

Video from the channel DN9 Documentary about Eurofighter Typhoon, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 48:37. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Early-2000s television documentary, re-uploaded by the channel, about the history of the Eurofighter programme, presented as Europe's largest defence project. It recounts a programme marked by delays, cost overruns and clashing national interests, with testimony from test pilots, analysts, engineers and policymakers.

The project was born in the 1980s in response to the Soviet MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters, which outclassed the F-16 and British aircraft. In 1983 the United Kingdom sought partners among its Tornado partners, Germany and Italy, and in France; Spain joined afterwards. France withdrew in 1985 over design disagreements and its demand to control the programme, going on to develop the Rafale. In 1988 the four partners signed the development of seven European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) prototypes, with 765 aircraft planned. The fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification put the programme in doubt. German minister Volker Rühe proposed a cheaper aircraft, and Italy even sided with Germany. However, agreed penalty clauses and British pressure, led by Malcolm Rifkind, kept the project alive, and it was secured by the end of 1992. The first prototype flew in Germany in March 1994. That year the aircraft was renamed Eurofighter 2000 and, after the 1998 production contract, Eurofighter Typhoon.

The workshare was 33% for the United Kingdom and Germany, 21% for Italy and 13% for Spain. When Germany reduced its order, the total fell from 765 to 620 aircraft: 232 for the United Kingdom, with 37% of the work, and 180 for Germany. The British National Audit Office blamed the delays on that rigid workshare, and the flight control system, assigned to Germany, was one of the critical points. The estimated cost rose from £20 billion in 1988 to £41 billion in 1993. On 21 November 2002, prototype DA6 was lost in Spain after both engines failed; its two occupants ejected. Type acceptance came on 30 June 2003 in Manching. The documentary includes criticism calling it a Cold War dinosaur as well as defences highlighting its ability to switch roles in flight.