A model of the Eurofighter displayed at the International Fighter Conference 2024 in Berlin. The consortium is now in the final stages of closing out a follow-on Halcon II buy with Spain, as it looks to chase down further global sales opportunities. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
Eurofighter and Spain have concluded negotiations for the Halcon II follow-on buy of the Typhoon (C.16 in Spanish service), with a deal now set to be signed as part of a wider international sales push for the multirole combat aircraft.
Speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2024 in Berlin on 5 November, Stephan Miegel, chief operating officer programmes at Eurofighter, said that contractual terms for the 25 new Halcon aircraft that were announced in 2023 had now been agreed, ahead of the formal signature between the consortium and the NATO Eurofighter 2000 and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) that manages the programme on behalf of the partner countries.
“Spain is about to order another 25 [Eurofighters]; we have finished the contract negotiations on that one,” Miegel said.
The Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire Español: EdAE) now fields 17 Tranche 1, 32 Tranche 2, and 19 Tranche 3 Eurofighters. It has already contracted 20 Tranche 4 jets under Halcon I to be delivered from 2026, with the 25 Tranche 4+ Halcon II aircraft to follow as a partial replacement for the EdAE's 91 EF-18A and EF-18B Hornet aircraft. Added to these, it may be that a further Tranche 5 Halcon III buy is forthcoming, or the EdAE may acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II in line with its long-standing tradition of operating both a European and a US aircraft type in tandem.
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