The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) has decided to formally sign a Letter of Intent with Italian aerospace powerhouse Leonardo S.p.A for the acquisition of multi-role combat aircraft Eurofighter Typhoon. The agreement was reportedly sealed at the Bangladesh Air Force Headquarters in Dhaka on Thursday.
The agile, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, which has been in service since 2003, is used by several countries in Europe and Asia, and its acquisition is seen as a major boost for Bangladesh's ongoing plan to modernise its armed forces. The Eurofighter Typhoon is one of Europe’s most sophisticated fourth-generation++ fighter jets, capable of beyond-visual-range air combat and precision strikes, among other capabilities.
What are Swing-Role fighter planes?
A swing-role combat aircraft is a fighter jet that can switch between multiple mission roles during the same flight. They are designed to make these mission set changes mid-air without needing to land or be reconfigured. For example, during the same sortie, a swing-role jet would be capable of switching from air-to-air combat (fighter role) to air-to-ground attack (bomber/strike role) or reconnaissance or air defence mode. Needless to say, they are equipped with advanced weapons that can be used for varying challenges of every mission set, advanced sensors and radar, and sophisticated mission computers. Most reports list the F-35, Rafale, and Eurofighter Typhoon as the best swing-role combat aircraft available in the market today.
Eurofighter Typhoon: 5 key facts
1. The official website claims the Eurofighter Typhoon is the world's most advanced swing-role combat aircraft. The aircraft has a wingspan of 10.95 metres (35.93 feet) and a length of 15.96 metres (52.36 feet). It is powered by two Eurojet EJ200 reheat turbofan engines, which together produce a thrust of of 2 × 90 kN (20,000 lbs). It can take off from a standstill in under eight seconds and produces a total thrust generated with the afterburner engaged of 180 kN, which is split evenly with 90 kN coming from each of its two engines. The aircraft's maximum speed is Mach 2.0 (2,495 km/h) when operating at high altitude, and it can achieve a maximum speed of Mach 1.25 (1,530 km/h) at sea level. It can fly at altitudes above 16,764 metres (over 55,000 feet).
2. Austria, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom are among the listed users of the fighter jet to date. According to Airbus, the aircraft's human-machine interface includes LCD screens, hands-on throttle and stick, helmet-mounted display and voice input. The Voice, Throttle and Stick (VTAS) control concept of the jet allows critical functions to be carried out without the pilot needing to remove hands from the flight controls, or look down into the cockpit. "VTAS enables single pilot operations even in the most demanding air-to-air, air-to-surface and swing-role missions," the official website of Eurofighter claimed.
3. The manufacturers claim protection from radar-based enemy systems as only 15% of the aircraft's surface is metallic, which is a great advantage during stealth missions. It is equipped with The Pirate System (Passive Infra Red Airborne Tracking Equipment) which allows simultaneous detection and tracking of multiple and manoeuvring targets. The manufacturers also guarantee that its engines deliver 1,200 flying hours without needing unscheduled maintenance.
4. Its air-to-air arsenal consists of AMRAAM, ASRAAM, IRIS T and METEOR missiles, while the air-to-surface weapons include the StormShadow, Brimstone II, GBU-10, GBU-48, GBU-58 LJDAM, MK 82, SPEAR 3, Paveway IV, LDP Sniper LDP Litening III, LDP Litening V, TAURUS, LDP Damocles and RECCE XR. While it cannot carry them all at the same time, Airbus's official information claims that, "In the air interdiction role, the Eurofighter Typhoon is configured for ground attack and although it is equipped with a targeting pod and up to 4 ground attack weapons, it still carries 4 radar and 2 infrared missiles."
5. According to a report, the Eurofighter Typhoon was the first fighter jet to be equipped with the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) rada. AESA revolutionised the radar sector by replacing the single, mechanically steered antenna found in traditional radars with thousands of tiny, fixed transmit/receive modules (TRMs). They can rapidly change their operating frequency and depend on very short, low-power pulses across a wide range of frequencies, making the signal appear as random noise to enemy radars. Thus, detecting the Typhoon becomes even harder.
