Eurofighter Typhoon proves air-surface capability
Typhoon, the RAF’s newest fighter aircraft, has passed its latest major hurdle on the way to becoming a fully fledged multi-role combat aircraft. While taking part in Green Flag, a major exercise held at Nellis United States Air Force (USAF) Base in Nevada, seven Typhoons from XI Squadron, based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, dropped munitions and fired their cannons with such precision that they have been declared combat ready by the target date of 1 July 2008.
It can be inferred that Typhoons are ready to be deployed on operations wherever they are required. Exercise Green Flag West is a joint USAF and Army exercise in which close air support for ground forces is a crucial element aimed at preparing air and ground forces for deployment to overseas operational areas. It is played out in scenarios which simulate the sort of asymmetric combat experienced in conflicts such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Along with Typhoon, this exercise involved around 6,500 US Army ground troops receiving their final training prior to deploying to Iraq, and a USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon unit, normally based in Japan, which is also bound for Iraq before the end of this year. British Forward Air Controllers worked alongside their USAF counterparts.