Eurofighter Typhoon - UK documentary: The Heir to a century of air power (Long version)

Video from the channel Eurofighter Typhoon about Eurofighter Typhoon, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 8:50. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

An English-language piece, published on the programme's official channel, presenting the Typhoon as the heir to a century of British combat aviation. Each quality of the aircraft is linked to a predecessor: manoeuvrability to the Camel and the Spitfire, aerodynamics to the Spitfire, versatility to the original Typhoon, engine technology to the Meteor (the RAF's first operational jet) and speed to the Hunter, which once held the world air speed record.

The video places the Typhoon in the line of the Tornado, the first example of multinational European industrial collaboration, and as the result of a long evolution of European industry in manufacturing methods, materials, flight controls, weaponry, avionics and radar.

An operational pilot explains that the aircraft is so easy to fly that it leaves him capacity to make the most of its swing-role character: fighting through to the target with air-to-air weapons, dropping a precision-guided bomb and returning while still fighting. Industry testimonies cite around 80% of the structure in composite materials, more than 100,000 people working directly or indirectly on the programme, and canards of welded titanium treated at very high temperature. A designer argues that the aircraft balances thrust, manoeuvrability, weapons load, defence and the pilot interface.