A Eurofighter carrying the Brimstone missile pack. Germany is to join Spain, the UK, and Qatar in fielding the combination, with a contract signed on 5 July. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
Germany is to equip its Eurofighter combat aircraft with the MBDA Brimstone air-to-surface missile, with a contract announced on 5 July.
The European missile house announced the deal for the latest Brimstone 3 variant of the precision, low-yield missile saying a final assembly line and a service centre will be set up at its Schrobenhausen site for this contract.
News of the contract came months after Bundeswehr budgetary documents disclosed in January that the Luftwaffe intends to acquire 274 Brimstone missiles. No further details of the procurement have since been disclosed, but with the Brimstone requiring the Phase 2 Enhancement (P2E) capability package, the missile is compatible with all of the Luftwaffe's 70 Tranche 2, 31 Tranche 3, 38 Tranche 4 (Project Quadriga), and 20 Tranche 4+/5 jets.
In German service, the Eurofighter is primarily tasked as an air defender with MBDA Meteor, RTX AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), and Diehl IRIS-T missiles. However, it has a secondary ground attack role for which the Brimstone will augment the type's existing air-to-surface weapons fit of GBU-10, GBU-12, and GBU-16 (also known as the GBU-48) laser-guided bombs. It is also fitted with an internal 27 mm cannon. The Eurofighter can carry 12 Brimstone missiles on four launcher packs of three missiles each (although such a configuration is rarely carried, with aircraft employing a mix of weapon types instead).
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