The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) is achieving greater levels of availability of its Eurofighter combat aircraft fleet, despite some overseas exercises having to be cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The Luftwaffe appears to have turned a corner with its Eurofighter availability rates, with the Federal Ministry of Defence reporting ‘a positive trend’ over the last 12 months.
The Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg) reported on 9 June that “the positive trend” of Eurofighter serviceability has continued over the past 12 months, with the numbers of aircraft available to the Luftwaffe increasing on a daily basis.
“During this reporting period, the squadrons had about six more Eurofighters available for flight operations each day than on average during 2019. Overall, the number of operational Eurofighter has increased by 50% in the last three years. As a result, the development of flight hours also shows a positive trend,” the BMVg said in its annual equipment report.
The positive feedback for Luftwaffe Eurofighter availability came on the back of earlier reported problems on the number of aircraft available for flight operations, and the impact that this was having on pilot training.
The Luftwaffe fields 143 Eurofighters of Tranche 1 to 3A standard, with deliveries having run from 2003 to late-2019. Owing to the incremental introduction of additional capabilities, about 40% of the Luftwaffe's Eurofighter fleet is undergoing modification at any given time, which along with a shortage of spares has resulted in low aircraft availability.
As noted by Janes World Air Forces, the Luftwaffe aims to meet NATO standards that each pilot have 180 flight hours per year (40 of which can be on simulators). The lack of available aircraft up to now has hampered the service’s ability to attain this target.
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