I don’t think so, PW IV isn’t cleared for the current aircraft as they are in service. It would require new software uploads and possibly more than that in order to be deployed. So expect those aircraft operating with PW II & EPW II.

Ero_Senin has a point. While his views are in some areas a little bit exaggerated or inaccurate, the main point is true. The Eurofighter programme structure and management were and still are very inefficient. Virtually no critical decision has been made on time due the lack of support and commitment besides one or more partners at various stages of the programme. There are a lot of unnecessary redundancies among the partner nations which make things complex and add to the cost. The production run isn’t that large to justify 4 assembly lines and that different companies produce parts for even minor systems isn’t efficient either. The reasons for that are political and also forced by industry so that everyone gets a bit more from the cake. But is it really necessary to let 4 companies produce parts of a single computer for example?
The slow decision making process has caused the waste majority of delays, which in turn added to the cost and the aircraft could have been farther developed and cheaper by now. The time last can’t be made up and money sunk can’t be returned, what’s left is restructuring the programme management and arrangements for the rest of the programme. At least on the support/logistics front advances are made and they appear to bore fruits. The operational costs are being reduced by enormous amounts (up to 50% savings!). The fact that the partner nations are largely cash strapped and still unwilling to invest is a major stumbling block however, as it has ever been. Wrt the T3, “only” part B is at risk, not part A. I also don’t see the market to be flowed with T1s, spare perhaps the British T1s which are to be retired in 2019 according current plans (who knows what things will change in the future with potential further delays of the F-35 etc.). Italians insisted that they would trade T1s for T3Bs, but that’s probably not going to happen. Neither Germany nor Spain insisted that they would like to sell their T1s and neither has Austria.

For now the industry continues funding of the AESA, that doesn’t mean there will be no support besides the partner nations. The BWB already sponsored the CAESAR trials campaign onboard DA5 back in 2007 and the UK MoD is funding another AESA Typhoon demonstrator (contract awarded to Selex Galileo in February 2010). Even if the Industry has to fund full development, it doesn’t translate into “other countries have to pay for it or it won’t be developed”.

Wrt T3B it was stated that the contract must be signed until May 2012 (albeit targeted at the end of 2011) to ensure uninterrupted production and delivery of T3B aircraft by 2015. IF they would sign a contract in 2013 or 2014 deliveries would could begin around 2017. I personally believe that they may extend the T3A in fact to satisfy potential international customers if there will be any in the future. The lack of commitment and funding is a clear stumbling block, another one I may add, which may prevent Eurofighter from securing more orders.

Nothing of that sort is stated in either article! Neither that export customers will have to pay for the AESA, nor that T3B will be postponed beyond 2020.

Drop tank update

The investigation of the incident where a Luftwaffe Eurofighter has “lost” its wing tanks during a training sortie concludes that it was caused by a pilot error.