GS250
Member
- Joined
- 18 Mar 2019
- Messages
- 1,031
Had more or less forgotten about this aircraft until I came across the video here.
EAP test flight
Remember seeing this at Farnborough in 1986 and getting rather excited that we had finally had an aircraft that could rival the F15 and the rumoured (to be shown in 1988) impressive aircraft from Russia. Did not expect it to be another 17 years until it entered service though! Does make you wonder what we would have ended up with if BAE (finances allowing) had gone alone to produce its own variant of the EAP. I suppose it would have had more powerful and uprated versions of the RB199 engines allowing far better performance at altitude (that the Tornado F3 sorely lacked) although choice of radar would have been interesting. The troublesome Foxhunter radar used in the F3 wasn't really fixed until the early-mid 90s of which I guess would have been the date of service entry for the EAP. Dare I say it would have entered service with AMRAAM and ASRAAM missiles giving it an excellent primary air to air weapons system. A luxury only afforded to the much maligned F3 after it did poorly against German F4's with AMRAAM in a well documented televised exercise that must have embarrassed the MOD top brass.
No doubt that patience paid off and that we probably ended up with a superior product to what BAE could have produced. However it did finally arrive just at the time when aerobatic, fast climbing and well armed aircraft were finally being questioned by the development of stealth based fighters. Possibly 10 years too late but the political climate at the time was a lot more relaxed as far as potential adversaries go. Maybe this alone was a demotivator to develop the Eurofighter with a sense of urgency?
EAP test flight
Remember seeing this at Farnborough in 1986 and getting rather excited that we had finally had an aircraft that could rival the F15 and the rumoured (to be shown in 1988) impressive aircraft from Russia. Did not expect it to be another 17 years until it entered service though! Does make you wonder what we would have ended up with if BAE (finances allowing) had gone alone to produce its own variant of the EAP. I suppose it would have had more powerful and uprated versions of the RB199 engines allowing far better performance at altitude (that the Tornado F3 sorely lacked) although choice of radar would have been interesting. The troublesome Foxhunter radar used in the F3 wasn't really fixed until the early-mid 90s of which I guess would have been the date of service entry for the EAP. Dare I say it would have entered service with AMRAAM and ASRAAM missiles giving it an excellent primary air to air weapons system. A luxury only afforded to the much maligned F3 after it did poorly against German F4's with AMRAAM in a well documented televised exercise that must have embarrassed the MOD top brass.
No doubt that patience paid off and that we probably ended up with a superior product to what BAE could have produced. However it did finally arrive just at the time when aerobatic, fast climbing and well armed aircraft were finally being questioned by the development of stealth based fighters. Possibly 10 years too late but the political climate at the time was a lot more relaxed as far as potential adversaries go. Maybe this alone was a demotivator to develop the Eurofighter with a sense of urgency?