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EUROFIGHTER EF2000: PROBLEMS UNDER CONTROL?

The first three prototypes of the Eurofighter EF2000 have accomplished 200 flights since March of 1994 ñ a good reason for British Aerospace to make an update-presentation just before the Farnborough show. According to Steve Marsh, Bae¥s Assistant Project Director, the new European fighter is now "almost ready for the series production". Also Wing Commander Andy Stewart from the British Ministry of Defense has a positive impression of the program's progress: "I am very confident. We now have all risks under control and the reasons for all problems are understood", he said to FLUG REVUE.

This was not always the case. Two systems in particular gave the development engineers a headache: the flight control system (FCS) and the ECR 90 radar, respectively its radome.

BAe chief test pilot Derek Reeh explains that during the first test flights in 1994 the quadruplex fly-by-wire FCS had only two control gain settings available, take-off/landing and flight. The flight controls were not automatically adjusted by the computer to the respective flight condition. The flight envelope was accordingly very limited.

Meanwhile, a much improved software standard is being used, giving more acceptable flight characteristics. According to Reeh, the aircraft has high and good controllable initial roll rates. Gusts are well balanced by the Eurofighter. Furthermore, the currently used approach speed of 150 kts allows a straight view over the aircraft nose section. After some minor software changes, the approach speed will be reduced to 120 kts.

Even with the lower thrust RB.199 engines, used in the DA1 and DA2 prototypes, the Eurofighter has a good performance, says Reeh. He is also sure that the EF2000 with the EJ200 turbofans and six missiles will have a supercruise capability.

The goal is to clear the Eurofighter for 30 degrees angle of attack. The flight control software will be continuously improved over the next years. The next version (2A) is supposed to give a carefree handling (without external loads), meaning that the pilot does not have to worry about exceeding aircraft limits. Version 2B, which is projected to be available in the second quarter of 1997, will then provide the carefree handling with external loads on the aircraft.

Another problem, which was discovered late due to production delays, concerns the ECR90 radar. The radome (built by BAe in cooperation with Dasa, Alenia, and CASA) was distracting the radar beams unfavorably downwards, thus significantly reducing the performance of the radar. Since a redesign of the radome was not possible, the radar antenna's polarization had to be changed.

The functionality of this solution was meanwhile proven in flight with a BAC 1-11. The testbed was scheduled to conduct first flights with the C model of the ECR90 in July. The C standard will be use for the first flights in the EF2000 itself., and some A models are already in use at the Dasa and British Aerospace facilities for integration tests. DA5 is scheduled to be the first Eurofighter equipped with the ECR90 to start flight tests in November at Manching.

However, the next prototype to enter flight tests is DA6, which is the first Spanish built Eurofighter. The aircraft was scheduled to have flown before this FLUG REVUE issue was published. DA4 in Great Britain and DA7 in Italy are supposed to fly before the end of this year. The number of flights should rapidly increase afterwards.

More aircraft joining the test program are urgently needed since fixed minimum criteria regarding technical progress have to be proved during the development before the participating countries will commit to the following program phases. The responsible four-national controlling agency, NETMA, has defined approximately 140 criteria together with the industry. According to the German Defence Ministry, the respective governments have also "reserved their right for their own final evaluation".

NETMA and the participating countries are especially focusing on the prices for the new fighter. Since there is no official figure, there are several different speculations concerning the price, depending on the source. The scale extends from "below DM 100 billion" for a flyable aircraft (CDU member of parliament Dietrich Austermann) up to DM 144 million (Der Spiegel). The weapons are always extra. It's doubtful that the high number is to the liking of Germany's Defence Minister, Volker R¸he.

Wing Commander Andy Stewart confirms that the way to MoU 5 is difficult, saying that the final decisions will probably be made at the highest political level.

As a matter of fact, Germany's Ministry of Defence does not know how to pay for all the pending defence programs, facing the recent budget cuts. Even international projects are under close scrutiny.

Much depends on how the discussion with France concerning the German-French cooperations develops. Since this problem will most probably not be solved until the next summit, "it is not very probable that the decision for the production preparation of the EF2000 will be made until the end of this year", according to a spokesman of the defence ministry.

The industry can draw comfort from the fact that the doubts concerning the necessity to procure the Eurofighter have diminished even in Germany. Structural problems of the F-4F, causing expensive repairs, have shown that the Phantoms do need to be replaced soon.

In the end, the Eurofighter will most probably overcome the parliamentary obstacles still ahead. The program is important from the military, as well as, from the industrial-political point of view. According to British Aerospace, the production secures 16000 jobs in Great Britain alone and, more importantly, ensures that theparticipating aerospace companies remain at the forefront of technology.

From page 50 of FLUG REVUE 9/96