FIRST STORM SHADOW CRUISE MISSILE RELEASE FROM A EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON IS A SUCCESS
11/12/2014
Storm Shadow provides a significant leap in the Eurofighter Typhoon’s operational capabilities, enabling the platform to deploy multiple weapons at a very long range well clear of danger from air defences. Storm Shadow, already in service with the Italian Air Force and Royal Air Force Tornados, is a conventionally armed, stealthy, long-range stand-off precision weapon designed to neutralise high value targets. The new weapons system will add the capability to strike in day or night in all-weather conditions, well-defended infrastructure targets such as port facilities, control centres, bunkers, missile sites, airfields and bridges that would otherwise require several aircraft and missions. This is a new addition to the Eurofighter Typhoon’s potent simultaneous multi-/swing-role capabilities. Powered by a turbo-jet engine, with a range in excess of 560 km, the Storm Shadow missile weighs approximately 1.300kg and is just over 5 metres long. It will be available to operators when the Eurofighter Typhoon Phase 2 Enhancements become operational.
Eurofighter Typhoon is the most advanced new generation multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft currently available on the world market. Seven nations (United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia and Oman) have already ordered the Eurofighter Typhoon. Eurofighter Typhoon is currently the largest military procurement programme in Europe. Over 265,000 flying hours have already been accumulated and 421 aircraft delivered.
The high technology within the Programme strengthens the European aerospace industry in the international market and secures over 100,000 jobs in 400 companies. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH manages the programme on behalf of the Eurofighter Partner Companies Alenia Aermacchi, BAE Systems and Airbus Defence and Space in Germany and Spain, which are the most important aviation and aerospace companies in Europe with a turnover of about 123.2 billion euro (2011).
The first tests on Storm Shadow integration for the Eurofighter began in December 2013 with development aircraft IPA2 operated by Alenia Aermacchi. Initially the Early Weapon Integration Flexibility tests featured a configuration of 2 Storm Shadow missiles, 2 AIM-9L Air-to-Air missiles, and 4 under fuselage Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM).
Six further flights were then completed in the following weeks to assess the Storm Shadow’s compatibility with the Eurofighter’s Air Data System and Flutter & Structural Coupling tests were also carried out. An additional later flight was then performed with baseline configuration (2 AIM-9L, 4 under fuselages AMRAAM and 1 Fuel Tank only) for comparative analyses purposes. The assessment of the Performance & Loads on the aircraft while carrying the missiles was done in March 2014 in a programme known as Extended WIF phase 1. Five flights were performed with the Storm Shadows installed and a further three with baseline configuration. The recent inert drop-tests and store release trials will now be followed by work on the instrumented missiles for the Environmental Data Gathering tests known as Phase 3. Additional work will include flights with the automatic pilot set for new aircraft configuration, and further flights for assessing handling qualities.
