§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they anticipate that the first tranche of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft will enter into full operational service with the Royal Air Force; to what extent this process will be staged; and how many such aircraft will come into operation at each stage. [HL3916]
§ Lord BachEurofighter Typhoon Tranche 1 aircraft are expected to enter into full operational service with the Royal Air Force in the second half of the decade. The first stage towards this—initial pilot training and operational evaluation—is under way and will involve increasing numbers of aircraft as they are delivered. The second stage will be reached when aircraft are declared operationally employable, by which time most of the first tranche aircraft are expected to be available for operations.