The Insane Engineering of the Eurofighter Typhoon

Video from the channel JE Documentary about Eurofighter Typhoon, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 32:31. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Documentary about the engineering of the Eurofighter Typhoon, organized into chapters: aerodynamics, propulsion, flight control, avionics, cockpit, weapons integration, programme difficulties and future evolution.

The Typhoon was conceived as an air-defence fighter with a relaxed-stability delta-canard configuration. The end of the Cold War reduced European demand and forced order cuts: according to the video, the United Kingdom went from 250 to 232 aircraft, Italy from 165 to 121 and Spain from 100 to 87, which required renegotiating the industrial workshare. The Ada language was chosen for the mission computer software. Looking ahead, the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) study, the P4E package and a new electronic warfare system aim to keep it in service until 2060 and act as a bridge to sixth-generation fighters.

82% of the structure is made of composite materials (70% carbon fibre and 12% glass fibre), with an estimated service life of 6,000 flight hours. Each Eurojet EJ200 engine delivers about 13,500 lbf dry and 20,200 lbf with afterburner, and the aircraft can sustain supercruise around Mach 1.5. The digital, quadruplex flight control system governs 11 control surfaces, allows 9 g and includes an automatic recovery mode that levels the aircraft's wings at 300 knots in a climb. The CAPTOR-E AESA radar detects targets beyond 370 km and tracks up to 40 at once; self-protection is handled by the Praetorian DASS subsystem. The cockpit has three multifunction displays, a helmet with display and night-vision capability, and a direct voice input system that recognises around 200 words and is not used for weapons release or the landing gear. It has 13 hardpoints for Meteor, IRIS-T, ASRAAM, AMRAAM, Storm Shadow, Brimstone II and Paveway IV.