§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to review the number of Typhoons which will be(a) purchased and (b) brought into service by the UK; and what the in-service date for the Typhoon in the United Kingdom is. [151792]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 1 March 2001]: Typhoon is the name given by industry to the export version of Eurofighter; it is not the name for RAF aircraft.
The UK currently intends to acquire 232 Eurofighter aircraft, and we plan to bring all of these aircraft into service, except for two Instrumented Production Aircraft and one to be used for the Major Aircraft Fatigue Test.
Production contracts for the first 55 RAF aircraft were signed in September 1998. Contracts for the remaining aircraft are planned for 2003 and 2007. The in-service date of Eurofighter, which is defined as delivery of the first aircraft, is June 2002.