Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
SHOW MAN
FLT LT NOEL REES
IS THIS YEAR’S EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON DISPLAY PILOT
FOR THE UK ROYAL AIR FORCE
2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD EDITORIAL 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 3
WELCOME
I
know I am perhaps a little bi-
03 Editorial ased but one of the wonderful
things about leading an organ-
04 Eurofighter News isation like Eurofighter is the
chance to work with so many tal-
10 The Changing Man ented individuals.
Alberto Gutierrez has just one thing on his mind – change. In Eurofighter World we often
celebrate the many technical
Title: wonders that Typhoon represents
Eurofighter Typhoon taking
off with full reheat at but I guess sometimes we don’t
Farnborough Air Show 2014 14 Making connections always acknowledge the people
We spoke to Luis Rodriguez Salinder who manages the IWSSC behind these stories. Well I am
Photos:
Geoffrey Lee, to find out more. delighted to say that in this issue
EDITORIAL
Planefocus of the magazine we have gone some way to
addressing that situation.
16 Show Man So for example, as well as hearing from the
Flt Lt Noel Rees is this year’s team behind the integration of the Brimstone
Eurofighter Typhoon Display pilot weapon about what the process entails, you’ll
for the UK Royal Air Force get to meet some of the pilots, engineers and
back-office people who help make Eurofighter
such a powerful force.
22 Winning the Take Nils Anders, Head of Training at the
export battle Luftwaffe’s Laage Air Base. He paints a very
Export Director Joe Parker has spent the last four years honing clear picture of what it’s like to handle the
Eurofighter World is published by the message to make sure the world understands exactly what the power of Typhoon. Then there’s Noel Rees the
Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH,
PR & Communications Eurofighter brand stands for. UK RAF’s Typhoon Display pilot who has spent
Am Söldnermoos 17, 85399 Hallbergmoos the summer wowing air show crowds with his
Tel: +49 (0) 811-80 1587
communications@eurofighter.com
26 The perfect platform. The perfect weapon incredible displays. The views and insights
With work ongoing to bring the likes of from our customers are always valuable to us
Editorial Team Meteor, Storm Shadow and Brimstone to and we’re grateful they were able to share
Simon Shrouder
Martina Schmidmeir Typhoon there’s a great focus in the them.
Eurofighter World on weapon We all recognise that the future of
Contributers
Alenia Aermacchi
integration. But what exactly Eurofighter Typhoon will depend on how we
BAE Systems does that mean and perform in the export market and there’s a
Airbus Defence & Space
what’s involved? very insightful look from Export Director Joe
EUROJET Turbo GmbH
Royal Air Force Parker at what it takes to be successful.
Tactical Air Wing 73 “Steinhoff”, Laage As planning for this issue coincided with
Viva PR
32 My Eurofighter World... the first anniversary of me being in my post I
Photography Interviews: was interviewed about my vision. I hope you
Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH
Eurofighter Partner Companies
Major Nils Anders, Head of Training in Laage find it an interesting read.
Geoffrey Lee, Planefocus Oberst Bernhard Teicke, Training Base Commodore Laage With this issue of Eurofighter World we
Alvise Predieri Erik Lorch, Manager Weapon System, Pre Development have attempted to bring our community to life,
Gareth Stringer/Global Aviation
David Case, Vice President ILS to reflect on the progress we are making and
the journey we are on. We’ve tried to shine a
36 The Power behind Typhoon light on a wider Eurofighter family and look at
Design & Production We speak to Wolfgang Sterr, Deputy Technical Director and what it means to be part of it.
images.art.design. Werbeagentur GmbH
Export Manager at Eurojet, about the significance of these I hope you enjoy it and, as always, I’d wel-
www.iad-design.de
achievements and what makes the EJ200 so come any feedback you may have.
Printed by special.
ESTA Druck GmbH
www.esta-druck.de
October 2014
4 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD NEWS NEWS 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 5
STORM SHADOW ADDS TO STRENGTH FIRST LOOK AT Eurofighter Typhoon's full range of new capabilities were
showcased at MSPO in Poland - the first time they had been
MSPO seen in the Baltic Countries.
THE CHANGING
Gutierrez is a huge champion of Euro-
fighter, both its Typhoon aircraft and the com-
bined achievements of the core partners, but
he is also on a mission to set it on a new
course. And he’s doing so with strong deter-
MAN
mination.
“I am not looking for popularity, all I am
focused on is results and securing a good
future for the company,” he says without fuss.
Quietly spoken, but with a steely glint in
his eye, Gutierrez makes it clear he won’t be
diverted in his aims.
“I am passionate and extremely persistent
about getting results.”
Couple these ingredients with a natural
drive and determination and Alberto has a
very clear vision of where the Eurofighter pro-
ject needs to get to. His priorities are two-
fold. The first is concerned with helping to
shape the internal structure with a focus on
delivery and efficiency.
The second is banging the drum in the
export world and doing everything possible to
put Eurofighter Typhoon in the frame for new
orders.
“Over time we have transitioned from a
pure production organisation into one with far
more focus on in-service activities. At the
same time we are working hard for exports. It Alberto Gutierrez at the Farnborough Air Show this summer
is not better or worse than what we have but
it is different. But we have demonstrated that
we can work well in a core nation environment
and we have also demonstrated in Austria and
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman that
we can produce exports too. kind of debate we are in. We have already car- deliver some form of customer participation.
“But our market is much bigger. We have ried out some analysis and produced certain Nobody has the same level of experience as
huge expectations in other markets but we scenarios and we have to keep working.” we have in transferring technology and manag-
know it is a competitive environment. “We are He makes it clear that production is only ing complex supply chains, moving parts all
also delivering more and more capabilities – one aspect of what is being looked at as the around the world in an efficient manner.
like AESA radar and weapons like Storm future of Eurofighter evolves. “We can deliver. We have proved it. One of
Shadow.” “The way we organised ourselves, the deci- the fundamental aims of the Eurofighter pro-
In terms of the goals Alberto, who spent sion-making process, the certification gramme was to transfer technology and get
several years away from Eurofighter before process and so on, was all based on some key everyone up to the same level — in some cas-
returning as CEO in 2013, couldn’t be clearer. founding principles. But in an export market es from scratch. Now there is the same level
A sailor in his spare time, Alberto is used do these have to be the same? For me the an- of sovereign capability in the four nations. It
to navigating choppy waters and it’s a skill swer is no. In my career I have seen up close needs to be that way in order for them to keep
that may come in handy given the challenges where things can be done differently.” growing and maintaining their own fleets.
he has set himself. Optimistic and pragmatic by equal mea- What we have achieved is of tremendous
Says Gutierrez: “At the start of the pro- sure, Gutierrez believes Eurofighter has value and if I look across the fighter aircraft
gramme life cycle there was a focus on work demonstrated through its unique four-nation world I don’t see better examples of technolo-
share and a healthy competition between the way of working that it can deliver exactly what gy transfer and supply chain management.”
different companies to try to deliver the best, the export market is looking for. As he reflects on his first year at the
the first. But it’s not like that anymore. Today “Of course there are ups and downs like Eurofighter helm he is honest about what he
there is a perfectly synchronised production there are in any business but we work well to- has achieved and the amount of work still
system. gether and as we have shown the potential ahead of him and his team.
“So things have changed. And if you look you can derive out of this arrangement is “One of my key tasks over the last 12
at the purpose of Eurofighter when it was tremendous,” he says. months has been trying to bring clarity to
He’s just completed his first year as CEO of Eurofighter and established we have achieved many of our “From a practical point of view this is a fan- what Eurofighter is all about. Looking at what
goals many goals. The aim was to produce an tastic system. No other single company fight- the main challenges are and what things need
Alberto Gutierrez has just one thing on his mind – change. aircraft but it was also to get the four indus- er producer in the world has been able to pro- to be done. I have spent a lot of time with
tries in different nations up to a certain level duce such a complex supply chain with all the various stakeholders and we have already
Alberto is guiding the organisation through a period of of technology and to build up capabilities. constraints that exist. changed a great many things. Now across the
Now the debate has shifted and it is centred “So yes, it is complex but the kind of learn- different stakeholders there is no uncertainty
re-evaluation, giving it renewed focus and energy. on how to shape ourselves for the future. One ing that we get out of working like this is of or doubt. We know we need to adapt and we
key is to reduce costs. tremendous value. need to do something. So in that sense we
“My view is that if there is an opportunity “Today any business selling a fighter into an have achieved what we have wanted to
to reduce costs let’s try to do it. That’s the export market is likely to be requested to also achieve. >>
12 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD EUROFIGHTER EUROFIGHTER 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 13
“But I am from an operations background “When I leave the office and go to air terms of capabilities. We will deliver something POWER TO THE PEOPLE there are better ways of what we are doing the answer better than the people who are
and that means I am very result-orientated, so bases and see what a fantastic product we that is unbeatable. I am talking about E-scan, The CEO’s drive for change and efficiencies is that has to be part of our daily activities.” actually doing the work.
I want to see outcomes quickly.” have in Typhoon and compare that to what about integration of new weapons, as well as reflected in a new culture Alberto Gutierrez is Gutierrez isn’t talking about a top down re- “If we do it differently, empower people to
Clearly it’s a challenging role, there are else there is in the market it gives me a lot of all the capability that exists already and that trying to bring to Eurofighter and to all the form, rather he wants to give the teams who make decisions themselves, without having to
daily demands on Alberto´s time and trying to energy,” he says. gives you a kind of energy. It allows you to for- people who work there. He wants to devolve work at Eurofighter the power to make the go back through the hierarchy we will im-
bring change to a pan-European organisation “I truly believe that we have enormous op- get about all the minor irritations. power to people and create an atmosphere changes they believe are needed. prove. Of course there has to be a framework
is almost bound to bring its share of frustra- portunities. We are about to get an extremely “My job is about making people aware that that allows decisions to be taken at grass- “As important as the things you do, is the for these initiatives to thrive. What we can’t
tions but whenever he feels his energy being capable aircraft in terms of a platform. It’s a there is a fantastic future in front of us if we roots level. way you do it. Nobody wants to do things bad- have is anarchy.” <<
sapped he has an instant remedy. platform no-one else can compete with in do things properly.” “The bulk of my experience in this industry ly. Nobody wants to produce poor quality.
has been in streamlining and optimising Nobody wants to do something in a way that
processes and I have been identifying ways doesn’t bring results.
we can do that,” says the man who rejoined “It is not up to me to tell everyone what
Eurofighter after spending six years as Head they have to do. We have to give people the
of Operations at Airbus Military in Madrid. time and the framework for them to reflect.
“As leaders it’s part of our duty to turn a People are being asked to think if there are
critical eye on what we are doing and see if ways we can do things better. No-one knows
14 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD WEAPONS WEAPONS 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 15
Why is the IWSSC important? just one customer - which gives you limited
To understand that, you have to put yourself information in terms of the conditions or tim-
in the shoes of the customers. If you can do ing around a particular issue – but from sev-
that for a minute then you can understand eral. So we have more to go on when looking
why this role matters. Typhoon’s new capabil- for solutions.
ities grab a lot of headlines – it’s the cool
stuff - but the in-service performance of the Why is the IWSSC needed?
aircraft is equally important to our customers Eurofighter Typhoon is a complex product and
and our organisation recognises this. That’s naturally ongoing support and service is im-
the reason we exist and why we are impor- portant and, like any other rival platform, is-
tant. We provide that constant support. sues occur from time to time. That said, over
the 11 years it has been in service what we
How does the process work on a day to have seen is a rise in the level of sophistica-
day basis? tion of requests we receive from customers.
One of our key tools is the Request and Initially when we started and when the plat-
Response tool. It’s an IT channel that con- form was new the typical requests we re-
nects us with the nations in their national ceived centred on learning how to use the
support centres and with the partner compa- platform. Now you have a different set of
nies. It allows us to exchange information, so- questions, aimed at getting the most out of
lutions, produce short-term mitigations. It al- this fantastic aircraft.
so helps us record problems, present results
from investigations, and outline the solutions. Is the service well used?
Yes. We have a large volume of demands
So how close are you to the customers? through the helpdesk system. We deal with
Very. We deal directly with air forces – our more than 600 each year, from the simple to
core customers – and we have representation the complex. Consequently we need a team
from them here in our offices in Munich. They that can respond on time and satisfy the
each have their own small teams and they needs of our customers as expediently as
mix in the offices with our guys, who are en- possible. Of course if there's an operational
gineers with Air Force experience, and na- requirement we make that a priority and talk
tional representatives. to the nations to understand how quickly they
They sit and work together, deal with each need it and talk to the Partner Companies
other as colleagues but of course at the same to get that message across. As I said before,
time we are contracted to provide services to working closely to each other makes the
LUIS RODRIGUEZ them. Of course working this closely makes a
difference, you get that direct human contact.
difference.
SALINDER As well as the day-to-day contact we also What would have happened if the IWSSC
MANAGER IWSSC hold an In-Service Panel several times a year.
This gives us a chance to come face to face
didn’t exist?
The individual companies would have been
with the customer involving people from out- producing solutions - some with more suc-
side of the IWSSC. We review, present how cess than others – but undoubtedly there
we are solving things and agree on a joint would have been a degree of duplication.
Final checks: RAF Pilot Noel Rees prepares for one of his display flights
T
hroughout 2014 complete strangers
have been coming up to Noel Rees
telling him that he’s got ‘The Best Job in
the World’. That's because Flt Lt Rees is this
year’s Eurofighter Typhoon Display pilot for
the UK Royal Air Force and it’s his job to
showcase the aircraft’s capabilities at air-
shows across the world.
So what does the man himself think?
“Well, it’s a job and, like any job, you can
sometimes find yourself consumed by the
day-to-day detail but when I do get a chance minute he could be asked to meet a leading
to sit back and reflect then ‘yes’, they’re prob- politician and a moment later a member of the
ably right – it really is the best job in the public.
world.” “The three trade day displays were very
There’s no question that Noel’s job de- well received and we also played our part for
scription has the wow factor but the world industry – we appreciate we have a role to
perhaps doesn’t quite appreciate it is a hugely play there,” he says.
demanding role too. Not only does he have to In practice, supporting industry meant
harness Eurofighter’s incredible power by Noel was asked to join the dignitaries at
putting on displays that will dazzle the watch- Eurofighter’s pavilion where he was intro-
ing crowds, but he’s also got to be part PR duced to a number of delegations as the man
man, salesman and team leader. in the Typhoon cockpit. “The display doesn’t change much from
Take the Farnborough Air Show in July, for “I guess it just adds a certain bit of some- venue to venue so from that point of view a
example, where Rees was an incredibly busy thing if there is a visiting delegation, just to big trade show like Farnborough is just anoth-
man. During the week he put on six displays – put a face to the aircraft that has just been er venue. On the ground it is a little easier be-
three during the public days and three during flown. There’s not too much more asked of me cause there is usually a very structured plan
the trade days. And when he stepped out of than to be the voice of the RAF for Typhoon, from the likes of BAE Systems and Eurofighter
the cockpit there was plenty more work to do. but actually the aircraft speaks for itself. of where you may be needed and when.”
An affable and capable communicator, Noel is Naturally you’re aware of how important that The displays represent eight minutes of in-
Blue sky thinking: Noel Rees puts the
blessed with great people skills which is partly part of the job is and working with industry tense physical and mental effort for Noel but Eurofighter Typhoon through its paces
why he was selected for the role. These skills throughout this year has actually been quite he’s also in charge of a lot the public don’t see.
are a definite plus in a role which means one smooth going. Indeed the biggest surprise for him this >>
18 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD T Y P H O O N D I S P L AY T Y P H O O N D I S P L AY 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 19
q Show business: The Eurofighter presence at the Dubai Air Show in 2013.
JOE PARKER
EXPORT DIRECTOR
EUROFIGHTER
WINNING THE S
o what exactly does it take to be a win-
ner on a global stage? Parker says
there are four key elements that make
nations and air forces sit up and take notice:
anyone would need. It also has capacity to
take on future capability in the years ahead
which is truly exciting.
Of course, a lot of rivals will be able to
base in Italy. The speed with which the opera-
tion was put together was phenomenal but
that’s not the most jaw dropping aspect. The
most amazing part is that they were away for
W
hen it comes to aircraft weapons period in the history of Typhoon. Its capability GmbH confirmed that NETMA had placed an
Andy Lumb is the man in the know. is getting a significant boost. order with it to integrate the Storm Shadow
As Head of Typhoon Weapon For much of this year Lumb’s own focus long range attack missile onto the Typhoon.
Systems Architecture Engineering at BAE has been on evaluating the chances of inte- Work on that had already started in anticipa-
Systems he knows the process better than grating of MBDA’s Brimstone 2 which is a low- tion of the contract signature.
most. collateral damage air-to-ground precision guid- Together these activities add to work that’s
“It is quite a big undertaking to bring a new ed weapon. It’s work that’s being funded by already ongoing around the integration of both
weapon to any aircraft. If you’re talking about the UK Ministry of Defence, who agreed an ini- Meteor and Paveway IV.
an adaptation of an existing weapon then it tial study contract, valued at £5 million in For anyone who blithely assumed that you
makes it a bit easier,” says Lumb. January. could simply take virtually any weapon off the
The reason we are talking weapons at this And, in a separate but related move, at the shelf and make it work on any aircraft with a
point in time is because this is an important Farnborough Air Show in July Eurofighter minimum of fuss then it’s time to think again.
28 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD WEAPONS WEAPONS 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 29
The case for Brimstone is launcher from Typhoon, even at sub sonic
clearly a strong one. There’s speeds, means looking at a series of other
no question that it’s a desir- questions – top of the list is ‘Where does the
able piece of hardware to car- launcher go when it comes off the jet?’”
ry. So the question that re- So when it comes to the exam question
mains is – can it work on the about integrating a weapon there are quite a
aircraft? few boxes that need to be ticked before you
“Brimstone is a weapon can add it to your arsenal. It’s the same
that’s fired off a launcher and process for every weapon and every aircraft.
effectively that’s like hanging “There are a whole host of different factors
two crates off the aircraft,” you have to look at. Even something like plume
Each weapon behaves differently when re- says Lumb. “Now Typhoon is a highly agile air- modelling. The thing is Brimstone is fired as a
leased from the aircraft and that behaviour has craft so our first concern is understanding the rocket off the aircraft so you have to work out
to be fully understood. In addition pilots have impact of putting what is essentially two large what will happen if the plume from the missile
to be able to use them in a way that’s actually crates, each carrying 3 Brimstone missiles on is ingested into the intake.”
useful to them. the outboard weapon stations of the aircraft Then there’s the other potential impacts:
“The point is that not all weapons act the would have. In particular, we need to look at flutter, avionics, general systems, icing on the
same way on all platforms,” explains the pa- what it means for the aircraft’s Flight Control launcher, fatigue and structural health, the air-
WEAPONS INTEGRATION: tient Lumb. System.” frame and how it fits into the overall weapon
“As you might imagine Typhoon’s particular Another major consideration for Brimstone system. Every aspect needs to be considered.
CHILD'S PLAY? characteristics – it’s a hugely powerful and ag- in particular is the launchers and the possible Lumb and the rest of the Typhoon team
ile platform - present their own unique chal- need to get rid of them if the pilot needs to started work on Brimstone in the wind tunnel
lenges. The weapons might come off the jet make a quick get-away. at Warton in early 2014 when a baseline ‘art of
but what you really need to establish is “Typhoon needs to be able to protect itself the possible’ assessment was carried out. The
whether you can support the weapon in an op- and in a ground attack scenario the pilot may results: well it’s a work in progress but the
erating envelope that actually makes it useful need to be able to leave quickly and that in early signs for Brimstone are ‘positive’.
to the RAF or an export customer. So your turn means they may well need to be able to
weapon of choice might be brilliant as a devel- jettison the launchers. Jettisoning a 3-pack See I was right, child’s play!
opment demo but unless you can do some-
thing that’s operationally worthwhile then it’s
useless.”
These are the top level questions the
Brimstone study contract is designed to an-
swer. Essentially the Ministry of Defence want
HOW ABOUT... to be satisfied that if they move on to the next
stage - a contract for full integration of the
weapon - they are going to buy something
that’s useable on Typhoon.
Airframe Design Brimstone integration will be a key step on
■ Mechanical interfaces the Typhoon capability journey. It’s a weapon
■ Electrical Interfaces that’s currently used on Tornado, one that was
■ Pylons, Launchers, ERUs used extensively during the Libyan crisis and
has an excellent reputation for use against
Structures fixed and ground moving targets.
■ Environmental - vibration With Tornado heading out of service to-
■ Fatigue/SHM wards the end of the decade the RAF would
■ Strength like to have the weapon available on Typhoon
■ Bird strike in the not too distant future.
■ Role Equipment (pylons) For the export market Brimstone is
FCS/Aerodynamics regarded as an excellent option for anyone
Avionics ■ Store Release/Jettison needing to defend against attacks from
■ Armament Control ■ Flutter enemies in fast boats because the missile is
■ Displays/Controls ■ Loads very good at picking out targets and seeing
■ Attack & Ident. Wpn. Integration Mgmt. General Systems Hardening ■ Performance modelling exactly where the threat is. It is designed with
■ Role Equipment ■ Weapons expertise ■ Fuel (drop tanks) ■ EMC ■ Structural Coupling what’s called a Millimetre Wave Radar in the
■ Communications ■ Customer interface ■ Engine – plume ingestion ■ Tempest ■ Mass/CG/Inertia missile itself and a Semi Active Laser. The
■ Navigation ■ Supplier interface ■ Icing ■ Store configurations pilot ‘paints’ the target with a laser and the
■ Monitoring/Recording ■ Safety analysis ■ Power Generation ■ FCS missile switches to its Millimetre Wave Radar
■ UCS/MDP ■ Plume modelling as it gets closer to the target.
30 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD WEAPONS WEAPONS 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 31
A
s Typhoon evolves with greater capac- new workload challenge for a pilot and that’s Systems. attack capability. Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS), and the works. But it is also really important that we
ity for different weapons then the job something that’s being tackled. “P1Eb is all about integration of the “In doing this we addressed the workload latest interoperability updates for the fighter’s optimise the pilots’ workload at the same time.
of the pilot changes dramatically too. The work draws on lessons learned from Paveway 4 weapon onto Typhoon. In particular issues for the pilot. We wanted to make sure Multifunction and Distribution Systems So for each weapon we have to make sure that
That’s why, in parallel with weapons inte- the operations that took place in Libya, and the it allows us to get the integrated swing role that a single pilot could carry out a swing role (MIDS), which together ensure the Typhoon is the information is properly displayed and
gration there are a series of enhancements new enhancements have been designed to capability onto the aircraft, using a targeting mission where he might be called on to prose- ahead of the pack. understood by the pilot. Particularly when that
going on under the skin at the same time – significantly increase Typhoon’s air-surface device - the Litening Lighting 3 laser designa- cute an air-to-surface attack and can deal with Work has moved on apace this year. In July pilot could well be operating in a high threat,
within the Phase 1 Enhancement packages. capabilities and completely revise the Human tor pod and making sure the pod, the weapon an air-to-air threat at the same time and 2014 the RAF put two aircraft into operational high workload scenario.” <<
32 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD INTERVIEW INTERVIEW 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 33
MY EUROFIGHTER OBERST
WORLD... BERNHARD TEICKE
TRAINING BASE COMMODORE
LAAGE
L
aage is the home of Eurofighter How does it feel to step from a Tornado emergencies. Of course eventually in What do you think about the new potency How well received has the Eurofighter
Training. Here Head of Training Major into a Typhoon? Eurofighter you will be all by yourself so we that comes with AESA and stand-off been in the GAF?
Nils Anders currently has 10 B Course It’s a major change. The Eurofighter is built pay special attention in our training to make missiles? It’s now 10 years since the introduction of the
students on the line, a cohort of more experi- for a pilot so it’s a carefree environment. sure the young pilots can handle anything. It is a huge leap. Eurofighter into the German Air Force and the
enced pilots, and 18 Instructor Pilots under I don’t have to worry about limits, G’s or any- Eurofighter is a wonderfully designed air- aircraft means a lot to us. I personally believe
his wing. Major Anders started his air force thing. It’s feels like I can do anything I want to frame. The ergonomics of the cockpit are If you are a small child and you are read- it has been the most successful introduction
career in 1996, with the jet. On a Tornado, the main limiting excellent, very well designed. It is easy to ing this? of a new fighter into the GAF.
spending time in factor was the airframe, not so much the understand. Of course, there’s a lot of infor- It’s a dream and you have to do everything to
both Germany and pilot. With the Eurofighter it is usually the mation for you to deal with and that’s the fulfil your dream. You have to stay focused to How easy is it to train pilots on the
the United States. pilot that is the limiting factor. With all the hard part, but, from the first second you sit in what you want and never forget what you aircraft?
He graduated in avionics involved and the high dynamic capa- this airframe, you feel at home. It feels like really want. I started off with model kits and Well, we are the training base for the German
2000 and spent bility of the airframe itself, you have to be it’s tailor-made for any pilot. Even when it is then glider flying – flying was always my and Austrian Air Forces and to date we have
five years on an op- really on top of things. relatively new, you feel at home. fascination. had 200 students through the system. This is
erational Tornado not simply because our training instructors
squadron in Nörve- What’s the difference when you’re training What about the next 10 years? Do you ever have to pinch yourself? are good (they are by the way) but also
nich, before mov- someone? I think the Eurofighter, especially for the GAF, is Oh absolutely. There are so many aspects because I believe this is a very pilot-friendly
ing on to become The most obvious difference is Typhoon is a a major milestone in terms of power and capa- when you climb into this jet and you find your- aircraft.
an instructor pilot. single seat airframe, whereas Tornado is a bility. We’re not at the end of the capability jour- self at 30, 40 or 50,000 feet and you are
He moved to Laage two-seat cockpit and therefore you have a ney either, it is a continuous process to evolve always amazed at how this airplane feels, How important is it to European airpower?
in August 2009. second guy who can do something in case of more and more capability on the airframe. behaves and flies. You just feel on top of the In my view air power has become more and
MAJOR world. That’s a feeling you don’t want taken more important after recent ground heavy
NILS ANDERS away from you. operations. For example in Afghanistan and
Iraq it was important to have boots on the
HEAD OF TRAINING ground. But I believe the appetite to get en-
gaged with ground troops has decreased
significantly. Good air power offers you the
chance to very quickly show a deterrent
effect.
MY EUROFIGHTER
WORLD...
programme. It also defines a time line for im- Brimstone which has precision strike capabil- on the end game which is to give the cus- places, and to be as operationally effective as
plementation dates, or in-service dates. ities, specifically in close air support mis- tomers, the end users, the best possible out- you can whilst at the same time being cost ef-
sions. This will give the user more flexibility in comes. fective. In industry you are aiming to support
How much do the customer requests vary? the missions they face. your customers. There is a technical element,
Sometimes a request is along the lines of What’s the biggest achievement you have and also a business element, so it’s different in
something as simple as, ‘I want weapon x’. What advantages are there of having 4 been involved in as part of the Eurofighter that sense. However in both cases teamwork is
But in other cases the requirement comes partners involved in this? programme? crucial. If the team doesn’t work when you are
with a long list of sub-requirements such as, I The four partners bring us four types of expe- That’s an interesting one. We’ve just celebrat- wearing military uniform then you’ll fail badly.
want weapon x, I want to fly with it at that rience, four types of opinion on how a ed 250,000 flying hours for the programme And the same applies when you are wearing
speed, I want to launch the weapon in this requirement should be worked out, and four for the fleet of aircraft across six nations and civilian uniform. People in the team are there-
area of, for example minimum speed to maxi- types of industry experience. We take the I think the biggest achievement is we’ve been fore absolutely crucial and I’m pleased that
mum speed, minimum altitude to maximum best out of all of that knowledge and bring it able to provide products and services to en- having gained lots of experience from different
ERIK LORCH altitude, this kind of thing. So they can be to the product. DAVID CASE able that to happen. To be part of such a sig- roles and appointments in the past, I can give
MANAGER WEAPON SYSTEM very detailed. VICE PRESIDENT ILS - nificant achievement is really heart-warming. something back and do some coaching with
Whatever way requests come the key is cus- What do you see as the single most excit- I don’t think we celebrate the things that have those around me to help them.
PRE DEVELOPMENT tomer interaction. We need to understand ing thing that is going to happen to Eu- INTEGRATED LOGISTIC gone well often enough. We’ve got a wonder-
what they really want. We like to talk directly rofighter in the next 5 to 10 years? SUPPORT ful aircraft, and if you talk to any of the pilots It sounds like there are a lot of transferable
What’s your specific job title? with the customer to smooth the process. The enhancements that will come for air to sur- they’ll tell you they love flying it. skills?
Manager Weapon System Pre Development Together we can come to a joint understanding face capability is one thing we’ve touched on, So what does the role involve? Absolutely. As it turns out one of the tasks I’ve
about what is required in detail and what solu- another will for example be further enhance- Essentially we’re responsible for the non-re- What personally drives you to get out of got on at the moment is to pay some particular
Tell me a bit about yourself, and what your tion is best to pursue so there are no nasty ments of defensive aids capability and the inte- curring part of support of the weapon system bed in the morning and do your job? focus on how we as a company approach cus-
specific job role is? surprises and nothing is lost in translation. gration of the E-Scan Radar. Taken together and principally associated with technical gov- I’ve now been involved in the Eurofighter tomer satisfaction so I’m leading a team on a
It’s our job to look at the first phase of any these will take Eurofighter to the next level. ernance of all the support products and ser- Typhoon programme since before first flight; project which is focused on that. And in many
enhancement, or any capability development What’s the most challenging aspect of vices we provide to the customer. Basically I was part of the customer community at the ways I’m well placed to help do that given my
with the Front End Development Team (FEDT). your job? So how did you get into all of this? What the things that they need to operate the air- time serving in the RAF. Having worn the uni- previous experiences.
We are right at the front end of the product The word ‘challenge’ can sound negative but was your route to this job? craft. That covers a whole range of things form and been there operating and support-
life cycle, that said, we are very solution- to me it’s a good thing. I really enjoy manag- I studied Aerospace Engineering at the from aerospace ground equipment through to ing aircraft, I’m really delighted that I’m able How do you switch off away from work?
focused. ing lots of different people and all the rela- University of Munich, with a focus on flight technical publications and so on. By the very to offer something that will ultimately feed I have a wife and two children so my family al-
Effectively the team is the first port of call tions with the different people. Everybody in- mechanics and aerospace systems and while nature of the programme, Eurofighter back to those who are doing the job today at ways keeps me busy. I also sing in a couple of
when any customer raises a new require- volved has a different view or specific under- there started working for what was EADS Typhoon is complex and there are lots of play- the sharp end. I also enjoy the fact there is choirs, a local church choir and the Munich
ment. We look at everything starting with a standing and to get each of them on the same (now Airbus). I started my career as a system ers. Part of the key role we play is pulling going to be something new and unexpected English Choir, which is challenging but also very
very early analysis of the requirement to road so we can go where we want to can be engineer for weapon integration, then worked everything together so we get a coherent ap- that comes along which acts as a challenge rewarding. Beyond that I read a fair bit when I
ensure we have really understood it. challenging but it’s what I like about this job. a few years in programme management at proach. and we as a team have to solve it. can, generally paper rather than ebooks and we
We then go through a feasibility assessment, Airbus, which also related to future enhance- are lucky in the sense that we live in a lovely part
understanding what impacts any implementa- What gives you the biggest satisfaction? ments. I’m now in my second year at Why I like my job: What excites you most about the future of of Europe and there are tremendous opportuni-
tion would have; looking at the implementa- Easy. When the front end team defines an en- Eurofighter. I have responsibilities that cut across all of the programme? ties around us to enjoy the outdoors. <<
tion options that are open to us; what possi- hancement which then gets implemented and the nations, including all of the export na- In a nutshell there’s lots of work to be done
ble solutions are there. All this activity is part over time is flying on the aircraft. What does your typical day consist of? tions, so I’m interacting daily with people and significant opportunities. Further suc-
of the engineering life cycle. However, in A large part of my job is a coordination role from different backgrounds and different cul- cess in the export market will involve us in
parallel to this activity we are also providing How would you assess the capability of working towards a common goal. There’s a tures, who speak different languages, and supporting new requirements. Overall I think
support to enhancement proposal prepara- Eurofighter? great deal of interaction with people who basically it’s a joy. we are in a position where we can’t rest on
tion activity. In my view we are the best when it comes air- have different backgrounds or responsibili- our laurels, we have to be proactive as we en-
to-air combat and that’s widely accepted. ties and the aim is to get them all working to- What is a typical day in the life of David gage to do the best we can for the weapons
Tell me a bit more about the integrated That gives us a good baseline for taking the gether. The other part of my job is more engi- Case like: system in the future.
engineering programme? aircraft forward and becoming an excellent neering related and involves work on techni- There’s no such thing but meetings, both
In short it’s a capability road map. It com- air to surface platform too. We already have cal and requirements documentation, as well physical as well as telephone and video con- How does working in industry compare to
bines all potential requirements from cus- good air to surface capability and we are go- as the integrated engineering programme. ferences figure a lot. The key thing for me is being at the sharp end?
tomers into one forward-looking enhance- ing to focus more on that and specific ammu- engaging with the various stakeholders be- There are some clear differences. In the mili-
ment programme. It defines a possible way nitions going forwards. The first important What are your interests outside of work? cause it is through people that we get things tary things are clearly laid out in terms of
forward looking at how we integrate and im- thing is a longer range strike capability, which Sport is the best way to come down from a done. A lot of what we do is by persuasion, by chains of command and objectives. There is
plement all the requirements from all the Storm Shadow will give us. Then we will look hard day at the office. I enjoy snowboarding, personality and by engaging and ensuring always one clear focus: to be prepared to
different customers into one single integrated at smaller type of ammunitions like skateboarding and I also play the guitar. that logic applies, and trying to keep focused deal with difficult situations in dangerous
36 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD EUROJET EUROJET 2014 • EUROFIGHTER WORLD 37
T
he late Enzo Ferrari once famously
We speak to Wolfgang remarked, “Aerodynamics are for peo-
ple who can’t build engines.”
Sterr, Deputy Technical Although his design team might not have
appreciated the comment, the point Ferrari
Director and Export was making was a profound one.
You can have the best looking car on the
Manager at Eurojet, about starting grid, but what ultimately differenti-
ates it from its competitors is what lies under
the significance of these the bonnet.
The same is also true of jet-fighters.
achievements and what One of the key factors in the success of
the Eurofighter Typhoon is the engine that
makes the EJ200 so powers it.
Developed over a decade, the Eurojet
special. EJ200 is revered throughout the world for its
unprecedented performance record, its mul-
ti-role capability and its competitive life-
WOLFGANG STERR cycle costs.
DEPUTY TECHNICAL Now you can add reliability to that list too,
after the Eurofighter Typhoon Programme
DIRECTOR AND clocked up 500,000 engine flying hours this
EXPORT MANAGER AT summer, across six Air Force fleets.
THE POWER
be extremely reliable. If you compare it to pre-
vious generations then we have fantastic on
wing time – more than a thousand hours on
average. Compare that to some of our main
competitors and we come out favourably.
BEHIND TYPHOON
“If you look at the operations that took
place in Libya, for example, we had fantastic
engine reliability - close to 99% - so it’s pretty
evident this engine really works well and we
have no issues with it.”
Then in 1986 the Eurojet consortium, com- edge and know-how was acquired from that outcome you get is of a higher quality because One of the areas Wolfgang and his team
prising Rolls-Royce (UK), MTU Aero Engines programme,” explains Wolfgang. you get those different perspectives. are paying particular attention to is the cost of
(Germany), ITP (Spain) and Avio Aero (Italy), “Many of the people who worked on “For me, those are the two main reasons ownership.
was formed to co-ordinate and manage the Tornado and RB199 then carried on working why we now have such a good and mature “This engine was designed for low life-cy- GROWING SOCIAL
development of what became the EJ200 on the next generation fighter, which was product. cle costs and that is the case, but with the ex-
engine system. Eurofighter featuring the Eurojet EJ200 engine. “Whenever I talk to pilots in the air forces perience we have gained up to now we feel we SUPPORT
A
Since delivery of the first production en- “The fact we were able to transfer all of they all say the engine is awesome. They nev- could go beyond that and reduce the life-cycle big thank you to all our fans, followers,
gine in 2003, more than a thousand EJ200 en- that knowledge and experience into the new er raise any issues about it, they tend to say costs even further. That’s certainly one area supporters and contributors. During
gines have been supplied to the fleets of six programme is one of the reasons why they just sit in and start it, it’s easy to han- we are keen to focus on. Farnborough Air Show this year the
nations, and the overwhelming feedback from Eurofighter and the Eurojet EJ200 engine has dle, carefree and highly reliable. That’s the “What you have to bear in mind is today’s Official Eurofighter Typhoon Twitter account
the customer is it’s the best in the world in its been so compatible. It’s a continuation, if you consistent feedback we get from the pilots engine is the first batch of the production reached 10,000 followers and almost at the
thrust class. like, of what we started in the 70s. who fly the jet, which is a really great en- engines. We never did an upgrade in any same time the Official Eurofighter Typhoon
“My own personal view on why is has “I also think this consortium we have with dorsement. respect, since there was no requirement for Facebook account achieved the 25,000-like
proved so successful, and the same is proba- the four partner companies is another major “That doesn’t mean to say we can afford to it. This leaves lots of room for future en- milestone.
bly true of the airframe as well, is we started strength. be complacent. On the contrary, we are con- hancements In the coming months we’re looking forward to growing our global fan base even further
building jets in Europe in the 1970s as part of “If we discuss technical issues then you stantly looking at ways in which we can devel- “To achieve both is a big challenge but that because we want to make sure that you receive the best and most up-to-date information and
the Tornado programme and a lot of knowl- get the views of four chief engineers so the op the engine and make it better.” is why you always have to insert new tech- images of Eurofighter Typhoon.
nologies and keep developing your product. If If you’re new to these channels this is how our
you look at some of our competitors’ engines, landing pages on Social Media look. So please join
it’s a bit like a family and they go back to the in, follow and share your images with our growing
Seventies so in some instances they have al- fan base.
ready upgraded two or three times and even-
tually they will reach a point where it doesn’t
make sense to go any further.
“However that is not the case with us. We
have a very sound base line right now and
we’ve got great growth potential from this
point onwards.”
The force on the small first stage tur- Don’t miss the very latest news on Eurofighter Typhoon
bine blade at take-off is about 10 tons.
That’s equivalent to hanging a double- updates
decker London bus on each blade.
Our special reports from Indonesia
See what’s in store for Typhoon at IDEX and Aero India
Plus the results of our readers’ Photography Competition