Typhoon Tranche 1 final deliveries made - contract decisions loom for Tranche 3

The four-nation Eurofighter consortium has delivered its last of 148 Typhoons from a Tranche 1 production order from Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

Deliveries of 236 Tranche 2 aircraft will commence in mid-2008, with 38 of these now in final assembly at four sites across the partner nations. Saudi Arabia will also receive the first of 72 Tranche 2 Typhoons next year under its Project Salam deal with the UK government which was threatened by the huge US$1 Bn. BAE bribery scandal covered up at the insistence of Tony Blair.

There is a combined commitment to buy 620 Typhoons by the 4 launch nations , plus 90 options, although Italy and the UK are believed to be seeking to reduce their planned purchases from the final production standard.Contract signature for Tranche 3 is now due.

More than 34,000 flight hours have been logged to date over half by the UK Royal Air Force - the first joint exercise with the type was held recently at Spain's Morón air base near Seville.