German Typhoon EF2000 First visit at Cornfield Range

On the Western end of the Island of Vlieland off the Dutch coast is a live gunnery range NATO codename Cornfeld. A German Typhoon E2000 2 seat trainer , visited on 28th October to practice strafing with 100 bullets from the wing mounted Mauser machine gun. More pics at link.

Picture above from here and a 3 minute recording of the event can be overheard here, in which the pilot says they are tight on fuel having flown from Neuberg - home location of Jagdgeschwader 74 which have been on QRA alert since January this year .

With increased activity from Russian bombers, maintaining aircraft on QRA for the RAF is a major burden, while the Tornados now guarding the Falkland Islands need to be replaced ( planned October 2008).

Many believe that the RAF simply can’t spare a frontline Typhoon squadron for an extended overseas commitment (Afghanistan) , though others expect that a much smaller, brief deployment might still be made to demonstrate the capability. (For purposes PR etc).

Plans to deploy RAF Typhoons to Afghanistan in July were abandoned - meanwhile with just two frontline squadrons operational and a shrinking Tornado F.Mk 3 fighter force, maintaining the RAF’s existing fighter commitments is becoming problematic.