The end for Austrian Typhoons?

[JJC]

Entire fleet replaced from 2020 onwards, according to this link:

https://airshowinfo.hu/airshowfeed/2017 ... from-2020/

Too expensive to upgrade? Very odd

[davidjones533]

.

[Unknown74]

In that case I'm glad I saw the 2 which attended Leuchars Airshow in 2013.

[Red Dragon]

Creation of a Central Europe maintenance centre deal with the Czechs and Hungarians maybe?

[n0143773]

No surprise - the avionics and weapon systems have serious issues, and they're fed up of paying money for stuff that doesn't work. Next!

[Skyflash]

A bit of a kick in the teeth for the whole of the Typhoon project if one of the European operators is replacing theirs so soon.

I wonder what they will look at by way of a possible replacement? Gripens? After all, they have form for operating Saab types in the past.

[Ouragan]

They've often gone for Saab products as Sweden is/was another neutral nation. Back when the Austrians bought the Draken BAe were offering them the ex-Saudi Lightnings, which by all accounts were a better option. But politics won out, as usual.

The controversy surrounding the Typhoon purchase has left a bad smell, but replacing them with Tranche 2 or 3 airframes may be much cheaper than going for a wholly different type. As to the ongoing problems, as other Typhoon operators seem not to be having the same issues, perhaps Austria ought to have negotiated a better support contract...

[st24]

Nah they shouldve stayed loyal to SAAB and had Viggens.... Imagine that..

[capercaillie]

as other Typhoon operators seem not to be having the same issues, perhaps Austria ought to have negotiated a better support contract...

I thought our Tranche 1 aircraft have exactly the same issues with upgrading, hence why they're mostly in storage. The possibility with ours is they may come back to occupy either pure air defence QRA roles or secondary aggressor duties, but unbelievably a modern state of the art aircraft cannot be upgraded because of software in today's world beggars belief?

[CJS]

as other Typhoon operators seem not to be having the same issues, perhaps Austria ought to have negotiated a better support contract...

I thought our Tranche 1 aircraft have exactly the same issues with upgrading, hence why they're mostly in storage. The possibility with ours is they may come back to occupy either pure air defence QRA roles or secondary aggressor duties, but unbelievably a modern state of the art aircraft cannot be upgraded because of software in today's world beggars belief?

I expect they're running Windows 3.1. Or is there one of these just behind the cockpit?



Does it really beggar belief caper, or is it (sadly) just pretty much what to expect these days?

[st24]

I expect they're running Windows 3.1. Or is there one of these just behind the cockpit?

Yeh! Bloody women pilots, that's the issue...

[ericbee123]

It's not solely due to software. It's that internally Tranche 1 aircraft don't physically have the same "black boxes" even installed to upgrade, that the later Tranches have.

Let's say for instance that a Tranche 3 has a sensor that wasn't even dreamed about when a Tranche 1 was built. You can't just drill a hole in the fuselage and super glue that sensor in place, use a little bit of sealant and job done. Where do you plug it in? There is no "black box" or anywhere on the wiring loom to solder it onto as it was never built to take that sensor. Try to add on all the sensors or flight controls and software which were never catered for when it was built and your Tranche 1 upgrade is now very expensive and you might as well buy a Tranche 3 with all the go faster stuff already added as a factory fit rather than trying to bodge it up with add ons from the parts department.

That's why it's cheaper and easier to buy any top of the range car rather than buy the base model, cut a hole in the roof to add a sunroof, rip out the cloth seats, install leather, remove all the internal trim and electrics to add parking sensors, sat nav, lane control, cruise control, etc

[CJS]

Well I'm very happy with my Tranche 1 Fiesta thank you

[Binbrook 01]

I seem to remember the original prime reason for the RAF retiring tranches 1s was the issue of upgrades as they aren't capable of taking the likes of all singing and dancing newer radars and so on....

Although they (the RAF) eventually decided, that they can retain most for purely the QRA role. Also as far as I am aware only about 6 are in storage. although some of the twin seaters days maybe numbered..

I think the Austrian public/ then government opposition parties weren't keen on it first time around when the original order idea for 18 hit the fan.. Which then got downsized to the current 15, some of which came from those already delivered to the German AF

Some perfect examples for export i reckon.

[blackcat]

Yet for instance the F15 and F-16 have been around 40 years and are still rolling off the production line and having upgrades with stuff that was Not invited when they first came out.
Something's not right about the Whole Typhoon Tranche 1 thing.

[speedbird2639]

Something's not right about the Whole Typhoon Tranche 1 thing

I agree blackcat and seeing as they planes were made by a consortium of European companies it would not be unreasonable for the representatives of the tax payers of those countries to expect that any upgrades to the spec would be either backwards compatible or the older planes would be brought in and modified to the latest spec. To have aircraft sitting in storage, condemned as 'obsolete' that were only introduced in 2004 at the earliest is a scandalous waste of resources and tax payers money.

I've seen tv programmes where they have been updating Chinooks and the Aussies bought a load of F-111s off the Americans and updated the avionics. Sounds like a scam by BAe to get the Government to pay £90m for a new plane they don't need.

[Binbrook 01]

The recent article in AFM on 41 Sqn mentioned that Tranches 1s are referred to as distant cousins of the newer T2 and T3 jets which are more like sisters.

I think it was down to a bulkhead in the front end of the T1s thats the issue