Giancarlo Mezzanatto has been Chief Executive Officer of Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH since May 1. and spoke optimistically about the future of the program to Militär Aktuell and a small group of international trade journalists at the Paris Air Show. He expects substantial new sales of the fighter jet in the coming years.

@Georg Mader
Eurofighter CEO Giancarlo Mezzanatto in conversation with MIlitär Aktuell editor Georg Mader.

Mr. Mezzanatto, you have now been in your new position for just under seven weeks: what is your first impression of the situation and position of Europe’s largest fighter aircraft program?
I’ve only been here for a few weeks, but of course I already know the company and the program from previous assignments, and I’ve already worked for this company (note: Mezzanatto was already COOP of EurofighterGmbH for two years). Eurofighter GmbH). Without going into details, the company is much more optimistic about the future today than it was a few years ago. Why?
Of course – as in the entire sector – the situation in Ukraine and the invasion of this and the invasion of this sovereign European state by Russian President Putin in February 2022 had a huge impact. It has caused European countries to re-examine, and rapidly, what capabilities they consider appropriate for their armed forces. It has also caused them to rethink their approach to defense exports. https://www.militaeraktuell.at/rheinmetall-acs-bundeswehr-fixiert-caracal-deal/

Has anything really changed substantially?
Just look at Germany, where our company is based. The previous refusal of the government in Berlin to approve export licenses for further Eurofighter sales to Saudi Arabia (note: a stance in the wake of the murder of US-Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October 2018 and Riyadh’s involvement in the war in Yemen) has softened in light of the Ukraine war. A three-year spare parts and repair contract for Riyadh’s existing fleet was only signed at the end of 2022, under the current German government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. So the political scenario has changed quite dramatically, Germany is now much more committed than before. I am optimistic that the development will continue in this direction and also the United Kingdom – as the leading nation for Saudi Arabia – is already very active in this direction. A future Eurofighter order for Saudi Arabia, which currently operates 72 aircraft, could be substantial and include at least 48, or possibly even 72 aircraft. And these are not the only positive prospects.

@Georg Mader
One of currently nine operating nations: Qatar also relies on Eurofighter jets.

Where else do you see potential?
Unfortunately, due to various efforts in various potential customer countries, I will not be able to reveal this to you in detail here now, but let me make it clear: I see opportunities to sell a further 150 to 200 new Eurofighters over the next two years.

“I see opportunities to sell a further 150 to 200 new Eurofighters in the next two years.”

Eurofighter-CEO Giancarlo Mezzanatto

@Georg Mader

Does this forecast already include possible orders from existing customer countries, such as the additional machines for Germany?
Partly yes, partly not. An order for a further 15 Eurofighters could come in the form of electronic warfare variants for Germany (note: they call these successors to the ECR Tornado EK variants). We hope that these will be newly built Tranche-4 and P4E aircraft respectively, although it is still possible that Germany will decide to include them in its Project Quadriga order, which includes the purchase of 38 Eurofighters to replace Tranche-1 and was signed in November 2020. To date the Luftwaffe preferred Saab’s Araxis EW system for the Eurofighter EK variants variants, but there was no contract until a few days before the start of the Paris Air Show. Saab did not detail which Araxis solution this special version would receive. Their system will either be fully integrated into the aircraft or realized in the form of one or two missionized pods – but we are flexible. In any case, it is expected that the first operational capability will be provided in the period 2028 to 2029.

@Alrashidi
The Eurofighter also flies in Kuwait – the country is currently procuring a fleet of 28 aircraft in total.

And what about Spain, will there be a Halcon II program there?
Yes. After the first 20 units as part of the Halcon I program I assume that Spain will soon order 25 new aircraft as Halcon IIs. This should replace the EF-18 Hornets that are operated in Torrejon and Zaragoza. Spain definitely has an operational need to replace its Hornets, but a decision may be delayed by the Spanish national elections in July.

@Georg Mader
If Eurofighter CEO Giancarlo Mezzanatto has his way, production in Manching will continue to run at full capacity in the coming years.

At the Paris Air Show(-> click here for the highlights), Polish colleagues also talked about Warsaw’s interest in the Typhoon. What is the truth of these rumors?
Yes, that is interesting. I think the Eurofighter is a very interesting thing for Poland. In any case, the Polish Air Force has become very familiar with the Eurofighter thanks to the deployment of this type at Malbork Air Base in Poland as part of NATO’s enhanced air policing. https://www.militaeraktuell.at/die-highlights-der-paris-air-show-2023/

But Poland has already decided to purchase 32 F-35s in 2020 and ordered a total of 48 Korean KAI FA-50 light combat aircraft in 2022. Wouldn’t the addition of Eurofighters be a little too much of a good thing?
Well, the Poles have given some of their MiG-29s to Ukraineand other aircraft will soon be retired. We have high hopes of winning Poland as an export customer for the Typhoon, as this is primarily based on the aircraft’s air superiority. We see it as a perfect match for Poland, as the type is perfectly suited for homeland defense after the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. I met the delegation from Poland yesterday, we know their requirements and we are ready to support them in their quest for sufficient air superiority.

“We have high hopes of winning Poland as an export customer for the Typhoon.”

Eurofighter-CEO Giancarlo Mezzanatto

Now we have discussed a few sales markets.
That’s right, a few. Let me refer to Turkey, where the UK is leading a sales campaign for the Eurofighter after the country was excluded from the F-35 program in 2019 (note: the exclusion came after the purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system). Their F-16s are getting old and although Turkish Aerospace is developing the indigenous 5th generation Kaan fighterit has to fly first and then it will take another ten years to become operational.

@Georg Mader
With regard to the army’s Tranche 1 aircraft – Giancarlo Mezzanatto: “An upgrade program has been initiated and steps to extend the service life are in preparation.”

What is actually happening with regard to older fleets such as the Austrian or Italian Tranche 1? And what about the long-term logistics support for the various configurations?
Both countries want to continue using Tranche 1 and an upgrade program has been initiated for both and steps to extend the service life are in preparation. In addition, however, I am generally aiming to rationalize and harmonize the modernization of the various national fleets. The partner companies (Note: Airbus Defense & Space, BAE Systems and Leonardo) have so far delivered 589 aircraft to nine nations, with a current total order backlog of 680. One of my goals is therefore to customize our customers’ configurations as much as possible. This will be quite a challenge given the differences between the user nations and also in view of their objectives and budgets. After all, the Eurofighter entered service in 2003, but it is expected to be in frontline service until 2060. After a third of their life, the aircraft delivered in the first few years are still very young and therefore a 10-year plan was only approved by the defense ministers of the partner countries in March, which documents between the core nations and us where we stand and which long-term adaptations and development opportunities we see – and which we also want to realize.

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