Eurofighter Typhoon - How Europe's Most Advanced Fighter Jet is Built

Video from the channel Military Aviation History about Eurofighter Typhoon, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 13:28. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

The video goes through the Eurofighter Typhoon final assembly line at Airbus in Manching (Germany), a space normally closed to cameras. The presenter explains that the aircraft is assembled from parts arriving from the various partner countries: the colour of the primer reveals where each component was made, so the rear fuselage section comes from the United Kingdom while the centre section is produced in Manching. Assembly goes through three phases: joining and wiring of the front, centre and rear sections; fitting of the wings, fins, canards and hydraulics; and testing of the electrical wiring, before moving to another area to complete the on-board systems.

With the panels open, the housings for the two EJ200 engines are shown (about 13,000 lb of dry thrust and 20,000 lb with afterburner, according to the presenter), which allow supercruise even with weapons loaded; the mounting for the BK 27 cannon with 150 rounds; a semi-recessed hardpoint for long-range missiles; the airbrake; the internal tanks, with about 11,000 lb of fuel split between fuselage and wings; the wings with their 13 hardpoints and a half-equipped cockpit. Part of the work goes into the wiring, about 25 km per aircraft, which a team of electricians installs and checks.

The Typhoon is presented as a twin-engine fighter born at the end of the Cold War for air superiority and later expanded to ground attack, with more than 700 units built. Its main users are Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, and it is flown by five other nations. Airbus is working on around 60 aircraft for the Halcón (Spain) and Quadriga (Germany) programmes, with first deliveries expected in 2025; each aircraft spends about nine months in final assembly. The video also mentions the Tranche 4 cockpit and the one planned for Tranche 5, with a large panoramic display.