February 2, 2005
SIR TOPHAM HATT WILL BE PEEVED:
Storm brewing over glitches in Typhoon (MURDO MACLEOD AND BRIAN BRADY, 2/01/05, The Scotsman)
THE seriously delayed and massively over budget Eurofighter Typhoon is so unreliable it is barely airborne, according to the German government, which has just taken delivery of a squadron of the £60m planes.The new fighter-bomber, being jointly built by the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy, also lacks some of the most basic systems to protect it over the modern battlefield and has been plagued with technical problems.
A report prepared for the defence committee of the German parliament said that the eight aircraft bought for the air force spent an average of just one hour a week in the air because components had to be replaced so frequently.
German officials - whose reluctance to go ahead with the project in the 1990s delayed it by several years - have tried to play down the problems, but have admitted "teething troubles" with the new aircraft.
The CIA thinks Europe is a rival. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 2, 2005 7:33 AM
Makes you hope the Airbus A380 doesn't go the way of the Soviets' TU-144 when it debuts at the Paris Air Show...
Posted by: John at February 2, 2005 9:13 AMThere is a Dick Dastardly and his Flying Circus with Muttley the Snickering Hound quality to the European aircraft industry.
Posted by: Bart at February 2, 2005 10:30 AMThey are not being very useful machines.
Posted by: Sir Topham Hatt at February 2, 2005 12:29 PM"Teething troubles"?
They need to stay away from pinchy (Diesel #10).
Posted by: jim hamlen at February 2, 2005 2:02 PMWhoa, you can really tell who's got 3-year old boys around these parts.
OJ, mine are girls.
Posted by: Dave W. at February 5, 2005 11:45 AM