Early Typhoons could be retired as early as 2015

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The Guardian newspaper reports that the Royal Air Force is to lose up to 55 of its early ‘Tranche 1’ Eurofighter Typhoons by 2015 in further cost-cutting measures.

Introduced in 2005, the early aircraft, mainly two-seaters, will be retired as it will be “too expensive” to upgrade them to the latest Tranche 3 standard, says the report. The RAF will be left with a fleet numbering around 100 aircraft by the middle of the decade. Total planned Typhoon acquisition for all variants, Tranches 1 to 3A, currently stands at 160 aircraft. Deliveries to date total 60 aircraft, the majority of which are based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

A spokesperson for the RAF has confirmed that the aircraft will be offered for sale rather than scrapped

(key.aero)