After years of political negotiation between European allies, the governments of the UK, West Germany, and Italy signed an agreement in Turin on 2 August 1985 to develop the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA), later named EF2000\. Spain subsequently joined the programme. Originally conceived as an air defence fighter, the supersonic, twin-engine, canard-delta aircraft evolved into a highly capable multirole platform. Renamed Typhoon, it is produced by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo under the Eurofighter banner.The first development aircraft, DA1, flew at Manching on 27 March 1994\. It was soon followed by the first UK-built prototype, DA2 (ZH588), which made its maiden flight from Warton on 4 April 1994\. The Typhoon achieved International Type Acceptance on 30 June 2003, entering service with the German Air Force. Since then, around 680 aircraft have been ordered by nine nations, with over 600 delivered. The aircraft is expected to remain operational until at least 2040.In RAF service, early Tranche 1 aircraft were designated Typhoon F.2 and T.1\. Limited initially to air defence, they nonetheless represented an unprecedented capability and assumed the UK’s Quick Reaction Alert mission on 29 June 2007\. The Typhoon had always been promoted as a ‘swing-role’ aircraft, capable of multiple tasks in a single sortie. In 2008, Tranche 1 jets gained air-to-ground capability and were redesignated FGR.4 and T.3\. Continuous upgrades have since enhanced the aircraft through a spiral development process.The Typhoon saw combat over Libya in 2011 during Operation _Ellamy_ and has since flown missions over Iraq and Syria under Operation _Shader_. It also supports NATO air policing and UK QRA duties.In this illustrated volume in his renowned ‘RAF in Camera’ series, Keith Wilson traces the Typhoon’s development and first twenty years of RAF service, covering its major operations, exercises, and combat deployments.
