Meggitt has been awarded a contract for the supply of braking systems for the Eurofighter Typhoon contract with the Qatari Air Force.
In September 2018, BAE Systems announced a £5 billion order for the delivery of 24 Typhoon aircraft to the Qatari Air Force, resulting in a Meggitt order for braking technology including; wheels, carbon brakes, landing gear computers and hydro-electric valves.
Deliveries are set to commence in 2020, say the firm.
Meggitt was also selected to provide lifetime support for the fleet including spares distribution, ground support equipment, training and maintenance.
The Typhoon’s latest export success follows on from recent defence wins in Kuwait and Oman, all of which use Meggitt’s advanced brake-by-wire equipment, which has now been fitted on over 600 aircraft.
Meggitt say it recently developed a Brake Temperature Monitoring System for the Typhoon which is available as an option fit aimed at fleets operating in ‘hot and high’ environments.
Once fitted the system provides the pilot with real time data enabling quicker turnarounds between missions and reduced waiting times after prolonged taxi manoeuvres.
Chris Allen, President of Airframe Systems, said:
“Meggitt is proud to be delivering our total braking system for the Eurofighter Typhoon programme. This contract again highlights both our strength in the defence industry and Meggitt’s innovative design and service of high performance braking systems which enable significant operational benefits.”
Yet there is a concern that the Typhoon may not attract any new customers:
https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2019-06-17/can-typhoon-still-win-orders-era-f-35
This comes on the back of a Reuters report that Eurofighter’s Director of Marketing has yet to commit to the pending Canadian Fighter competition (88 jets).
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-airshow-eurofighter-idUSKCN1TK182
We await the current Swiss and Finnish fighter decision with interest …