The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing multi-role fighter. The Government of the United Kingdom and BAE Systems are offering the Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role fighter to succeed the Hornet as the main fighter of the Finnish Air Force as part of the HX program.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a multi-national European project, produced by the leading aircraft manufactur-ers of Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. The development began in the early 1980’s, and the Eurofighter Consortium (officially Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH) was founded in 1986. There are three European aircraft manufacturers behind the Consortium – BAE Systems (UK), Airbus Defence and Space (Germany / Spain) and Leonardo (Italy). The Consortium Headquarters are located in Hallbergmoos, Germany.
The Eurofighter Typhoon flew its maiden flight in 1994, and was introduced into operational service in its manufacturing countries in 2003 – 2005. In addition to its manufacturing countries, the Eurofighter Typhoon is operated by the air forces of Austria and Saudi Arabia. Oman and Kuwait have also placed an order for the Typhoon, and the first aircraft are to be delivered before 2020. In total, almost 600 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft have been manufactured or ordered. The Eurofighter Typhoon began combat missions in Libya in 2011.
The Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons have visited Finnish air shows twice before, in 2007 and 2016. The display pilot of the 2017 RAF Typhoon Display Team, Flight Lieutenant Ryan Lawton, pilots the Typhoon performing at the Kaivopuisto Air Show. The 2017 Typhoon Display Team belongs to the 29(R) Squadron, which has its home base in RAF Coningsby.
