Eurofighter Typhoon proves close-air support credentials for RAF

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Eurofighter Typhoon proves close-air support credentials for RAF
ATE:23/06/08
SOURCE:Flight International
By Craig Hoyle

Early in 2007, the incoming commanding officer of the UK Royal Air Force's newest unit to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon was issued with a daunting challenge: to prepare his aircraft, pilots and squadron personnel to sustain deployed operations as a multirole type from 1 July this year.

For 11 Sqn boss Wg Cdr Gav Parker, this meant an ultimate objective of being able to deploy to Afghanistan's Kandahar airfield, and potentially within less than 18 months of receiving his first Typhoon in March 2007.

With the deadline for the Typhoon FGR4's multirole employment imminent, Flight International visited 11 Sqn at Nellis AFB in Nevada on 3-4 June as it was completing its toughest test to date: a detachment of around seven weeks to the USA. Conducted alongside the US Air Force, the manoeuvres provided an operationally realistic test of the RAF's ability to use the Eurofighter for missions such as providing close-air support for ground forces.

For years branded a "Cold War relic" by programme critics in the UK because of its initial focus on air superiority duties, could the Typhoon succeed in proving its doubters wrong, and soon protect British and coalition forces against the threat of the Taliban?

"We knew we had a world beater air-to-air, but we weren't sure about the air-to-surface environment," says Typhoon force commander Gp Capt Stu Atha.

Seven of 11 Sqn's aircraft left the unit's home base at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on 21 April for Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona - the home of the USAF's Fairchild A-10 community. After a week of work-up activities, the RAF unit participated in a two-week exercise, during which 67 live 455kg (1,000lb) bombs were dropped, including more than 40 Raytheon Paveway II laser-guided bombs, plus laser/GPS-guided Enhanced Paveway IIs and freefall weapons.
Representing the first squadron-level opportunity to demonstrate the UK's so-called austere weapons capability for the Tranche 1 Typhoon, the work came just weeks after BAE Systems had in early March completed the integration of the aircraft's Rafael Litening III laser designator pod. Bombs were typically released from a medium altitude of around 10,000ft (3,000m), with pilots using a mix of co-operative and self-designated targeting.

With interoperability a key objective of the detachment, Typhoons in some cases operated alongside USAF A-10C pilots acting as airborne forward air controllers (FAC).

"The [litening III] pod has been one of the success stories of this detachment," says Parker, whose squadron received the systems only on arriving in the USA. Capable of displaying high-quality images in TV and infrared modes, the design also features a datalink card that enables pilots to relay live images to Rover III terminal-equipped FACs. An IR marker also means a target can be verified by the ground controller before weapons release.

Weapons accuracy at Davis-Monthan was high, with 100% of released stores landing within their circular error of probability distance, and 65% scoring direct hits on their targets. Several pilots from the RAF's 3 Sqn - its first frontline unit to have received the Typhoon, initially for use only for air defence purposes - took part in the exercise, where around 700 rounds were also fired from the type's Mauser 27mm cannon. More work needs to be done with the reactivated weapon, but Atha says: "As a first step, we're there."

The Typhoons achieved a 99.3% "strike rate" against their planned sortie programme, with just two missions having been cancelled: one due to high winds, and the other because of a technical fault. "That's unprecedented, in my knowledge," says Parker, who adds that the Typhoon's strong performance was also "a real head-turner" for the RAF's Panavia Tornado GR4 community, which also participated in exercise Torpedo Focus.

The 11 Sqn aircraft then moved on to Nellis near Las Vegas to take part in the USAF/US Army Green Flag West manoeuvres, which concluded on 6 June. They were joined by a further three Typhoons and personnel from the RAF's 17 Sqn operational evaluation unit, with 20 pilots and around 150 engineers and support personnel forming the UK presence.

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http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/06/23/224826/eurofighter-typhoon-proves-close-air-support-credentials-for-raf.html