The Spanish Air Force has confirmed the procurement of 25 additional Eurofighter Typhoon.
The contract, referred to as Halcon II, was signed between Eurofighter and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) on 20th December 2024.
This order follows a previous purchase of 20 Typhoons under the Halcon I agreement in 2022 and will bring the Spanish Air Force’s total Eurofighter fleet to 115 aircraft.
The new jets are scheduled for delivery between 2030 and 2035, replacing part of Spain’s ageing F-18 fleet based in Torrejon and Zaragoza.
The new Typhoons will feature advanced avionics, electronically scanning radar (E-Scan), improved sensors, enhanced weapon capabilities including Brimstone III and Meteor, and upgraded connectivity systems.
Eurofighter officials highlighted the aircraft’s service life, which extends beyond 2060, ensuring integration into future European air combat systems. According to Giancarlo Mezzanatto, Chief Executive of Eurofighter:
“The Spanish order for 25 additional Eurofighter jets is another proud chapter in the programme’s ‘renaissance’ period… The new Spanish order will also bring significant economic benefits to our core nations and the economies of Europe.”
The Eurofighter programme supports over 100,000 jobs across 400 companies in Europe, making it one of the continent’s largest defence initiatives. A report by PwC earlier this year projected that the programme could contribute €90 billion to Europe’s GDP and generate €22 billion in tax revenue over the next decade.
AVM Simon Ellard (ret.), General Manager of NETMA, emphasised the importance of the deal:
“Halcon II is a significant achievement which underscores Spain’s strong commitment to the Eurofighter Programme. The additional 25 aircraft will not only enhance Spain’s defence capabilities but also drive significant economic and industrial benefits for Spain and the rest of Europe.”
Spain’s purchase comes as other Eurofighter nations, including Germany and Italy, prepare their own orders. These acquisitions are expected to expand the programme’s additional order book to between 100 and 200 aircraft over the next decade.
Lots of orders coming in for Typhoons whilst we cut ours! Now even Spain will have more than us! We’re led by donkeys!
Tragically, before long the UK will have the smallest fast jet fleet and the smallest SAM capabilty of all the major western powers and come close to even some of the smaller ones.
Check out the ozzie Air force. Full fleet of f35a alongside f18s including growler variants. Arguably they offer more punch than the RAF can currently offer. They even have fekin AWACs!
AWACS is old mate. RAF have RivetJoint which is much more modern. Even the US are replacing AWACS now.
AWACS and Rivetjoint aren’t even remotely the same purpose. RJ is an ELINT aircraft, it controls nothing.
Both UK & US are replacing the old E3 AWACS with the RAAF E7-Wedgetail version. Australia is acquiring the MC-55A which is probably best described as a ‘Rivet Joint Lite’. These are complementary rather than competing capabilities.
Yes when it comes to our leaders it’s starting to sound like Lord hee-haw. 🤐
We’ve been led by buffoons not donkeys for 14 years.
Utterly rubbish and frankly short sighted daft decisions by the Tories
I’m afraid defence is ‘way down’ Labours priority list.
I expect SDSR25 to be yet another cutting exercise.
The Unions smell blood and the government will cave, any and all available cash will go into pay rises
Yup, but the unions also are with Typhoon, shipbuilding etc etc.
So expect to see orders for continuity of production.
To be totally fair ordering warships isn’t like the old days when costs were all over the place and the workforce and companies were a total nightmare. Hopefully the H&W have smelled coffee and agreed to a five day week!
Regarding the H&W workforce, I’d be very surprised if they have moved their position one single iota ! It’s one of prime reasons none of the U.K companies will touch it, they take one look at that industrial relations hand grenade and just walk away. For decades it’s been pretty obvious that given its facilities and geographic location H&W would have been a very sensible acquisition for BAe, but ……👎🏻 not with those T’s n C’s.
Then the solution will be H&W make some simple blocks and maybe assemble the hulls.
Up to the workforce if they want jobs and work.
I cannot understand why we are not ordering more Typhoons like Spain and Germany. We are using them hard and even if all goes smoothly, Tempest won’t reach IOC until 2035. I would be happy to see all the F35s assigned to the RN with the RAF compensated by more Typhoons. They would be capable of deploying a full range of air to air and air to ground weapons, unlike current F35s. Rebuilding combat airpower is far more important than building additional frigates that the RN won’t be able to crew.
Yay!!! Fly Navy 👍👍👍
We can’t afford more frigates or Jets, that’s why there’s no new orders
Of course we can. Lots of other things could be cut or reduced to fund them.
What’s left to be cut, every cupboard is bare
We can afford they just don’t want to if they can pay 12bn for green stuff abroad and 12bn for illegals and multiple billions for various other rubbish nobody wants they can spend some money on the military
We can afford, we choose not to instead prioritise other spends.
The RN will be able to crew more frigates, especially as modern frigates require 25-30% less crew Vs a type 23 and we’ve just a lightened ourselves of 2 perfectly functioning amphibious assault ships freeing up crew for 6-7 new frigates.
Both assault ships had no crew left, we’ve gained no crew
We really need another 25+ typhoons to keep the fleet working into the late 2040s as it will be at least a decade after tempest IOC before it equips all the front line squadrons at present most of our typhoon fleet will be very old and knackered and probably out of airframe hours in 15-20 years time..we need around 25 that will still be flying in the late 2040s.
I’d say the RAF needs a modern batch of 40 more typhoons, unless of course an updated typhoon with UK advanced radar is still inferior to F35B.
Regardless of which is the best option another batch of typhoon are sorely needed to keep UK combat air fleet viable upto tempest/ GCAP entering service.
Not sure it should be typhoon or more frigates. It should be typhoon and more frigates. It’s not a choice it’s a necessity
Agree personally I think there needs to be a full National effort restore some key capabilities to the UK armed forces..at present we are not only failing to keep up,we are in the middle of a collapse in capability…which I firmly put at the government of the last 14 years door ( Blair brown, did not exactly do great…and they are to blame for 6 AAW destroyers we don’t have and the dropping the surface fleet from 33 to 23…but the final collapse was under the government of the last 14 years).
In the end the realistic peace time armed forces required for the UK is
Navy
20 frigates ( half ASW with some AAW, half GP with some ASW)
10 AAW destroyers and or frigate mix
2 carriers
2 Assault ships ( commissioned front line amphibious vessels)
12+ patrol and mine warfare mother ships 2000 ton + vessels ( its needs to generate 1 south Atlantic, 1 Falklands, 1 North Atlantic, 3 home waters, 1 med, 1 Middle East)
9 SSNs
4 SSBNs
2 occean going survey vessels
75ish rotors…Rotors for Small ship fights for 10 deployed frigate and destroyer small ship fights, 1 carrier wing, 1 amphibious vessel, and medium rotor small ships fights for 3-4 auxiliaries.
RM with 6 commandos+ full CS, CSS for a brigade level operation.
RFA
6 fleet tankers
2 logistics landing vessels with Role 3 medical
2 general logistic landing vessels
2 strategic sea lift vessels
3 solid stores ships
Airforce
8 frontline Typhoon squadrons ( 2 QRA 6 deployable) for around 140 typhoons
4 front line F35 squadrons (3 for carriers 1 land deployments) for around 78 F35
12 ASW patrol aircraft
6 AEW aircraft
strategic air lift to and support airmobile brigade
Tactical airlift ( medium and heavy rotor to support an infantry brigade deployment)
Army
3 armoured brigades of 1 MBT reg and 2 armoured inf battalions and 1 mec batttion ( each including full CS, CSSincluding medical, logistics, engineering, signals regiments, armours cav reg, 1 self propelled fires reg, 1 long range precision fires reg)
1 Mec infantry brigade ( 4 mec battalions in APC not protected mobility vehicles) full CS CSS, including self propelled fires reg, armoured cav)
1 light role brigade ( 4-6 light role infantry that should have access to protected mobility when deployed) full CS, CSS, self propelled fires, cav regiment
1 airmobile brigade of 4 battalions with airmobile CS , CSS.
3 regiments of rotors.
Special forces
Clearly at preset what is required even for a peacetime force is now profoundly aspirational and not something that could be in place without at least a decades work, capital expenditure, recruitment and development of manpower and infrastructure.
And all that would be less than we had 25 years ago. Just shows how far short of acceptable force levels we have sunk.
Yes it’s scary when you consider by 2014 they new we were heading for a new Cold War.
No problem, the ministry of cuts can offer them another batch of RAF aircraft to the spanish after the next Strategic defence cuts (review)
In a few years the RAF will have less aircrafts than Hungary.
A welcome surprise to be honest. The Reverend Starmer and his robotic sidekick take note, the rest of Europe can see war coming why can’t you two cretins?
Can’t blame Starmer for this cluster feck of mess. He’s only been in power <3 months. It's the 14+ years of moron Tories that have brought the UK to this state, never ever forget that.
Tories not Labour are responsible. If after 14 years of Labour our armed forces are as bad as current then yes blame Labour.
Uk government is more concerned with funding for illegal migrants and their welfare. Its absolute insanity.
Starmer is the most absolute anti british premier in modern history