BAE Systems wins £1.3bn Typhoon contract

Work will commence in 2021 at BAE Systems’ sites in Lancashire, maintaining continuity of Typhoon production through to the mid-2020s and sustaining high-value engineering roles in the North of England.

More than 5,000 BAE Systems employees directly support the Typhoon programme in the UK. A further 10,000 jobs are supported in the UK economy as a whole.

BAE Systems will deliver more than a third of the components for each of the new Typhoons ordered by the German Air Force. This includes the aircraft’s front fuselage and tail. Final assembly will be undertaken by Airbus in Manching, Germany.

The aircraft programme has four separate assembly lines. Each partner company assembles its own national aircraft, but builds the same parts for all aircraft including exports.

BAE Systems is responsible for the manufacture of the front fuselage, foreplanes, windscreen and canopy, as well as the final assembly of all UK Typhoons.

The design, development and production of the Typhoon sustains more than 100,000 jobs in 400 companies across Europe.

The new aircraft will join the existing German Air Force Typhoon fleet from the mid-2020s and will be equipped with the latest technology, including an advanced electronically-scanning radar.

“Germany’s decision to purchase additional Typhoons reinforces the aircraft’s position as one of the world’s most successful combat military aircraft,” said BAE Systems chief executive Charles Woodburn. “The Typhoon programme makes a significant contribution to the UK economy, generating billions of pounds through exports and supporting more than 15,000 jobs across the UK including thousands of highly skilled roles in the North of England.”

The combat air sector delivers £6 billion of revenue to the UK every year and is responsible for 87% of the nation’s defence exports, a significant proportion of which comes from Typhoon.

The order was awarded to BAE Systems by Eurofighter, the consortium which represents the core nations’ industrial partners comprising Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.

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