BAE to support Typhoon jets for United Kingdom

WARTON, England, 13 April, 2012. BAE Systems has received a contract worth $587.8 million to support the fleet of Typhoon jets. The five-year support contract will provide a range of engineering services. The in-service support agreement, known as Contract 1, will introduce efficiencies by bringing together a number of legacy contracts and proposed new work into an overarching umbrella contract. This work will provide the test and evaluation infrastructure for the future air-to-air and air-to-ground Typhoon capability enhancements announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). The contract will also underpin the day-to-day support to air force operations across four nations (Germany, Italy, Spain and UK).

Typically the type of engineering support will involve query answering and investigations following customer operations. There are ongoing studies on how to improve availability and reliability to maximize flying hours and reduce cost. Emerging operational requirements for Typhoon will also be covered.

The BAE Systems element of this contract is part of the wider support contract which was awarded to the Eurofighter partner companies through NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency). NETMA is the prime customer and management body for the four-nation Eurofighter Typhoon weapon system.